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If you had fun betting the Masters last month, or simply want to get in on the golf betting action this weekend, here’s all the detail you need about PGA Championship odds, and how to bet on the PGA Championship.
The PGA is one of the marquee events in the US sporting calendar and golf betting is one of the most popular ways to bet in the world.
Golf’s stars will take over Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday, May 16. Use this guide to analyze the chances of some of the field or just follow your favorite players. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is.
How to Bet on the PGA Championship
Betting on the PGA Championship, like betting on regular PGA Tour events, is as easy as signing up for a new BetOnline account.
Join BetOnline
Visit BetOnline.ag and click “Join” at the top-right corner or on the home page banner.
Enter Your Details
Fill in all details and verify your identity, this will make your first withdrawal much faster when the time comes.
Make a Deposit
Deposit your money and don’t forget to include the bonus code to unlock the best new customer offer.
Find the Golf Markets
Click “golf” to get to PGA Championship markets and all other golf betting options.
Place Your Bet
Choose your PGA Championship betting market. Enter your stake and press “place bet” in the betslip and your bet is placed.
PGA Championship Odds
If you’re just learning how to bet on golf, let’s focus on the top of the market to keep things simple.
Odds are courtesy of BetOnline and are current as of May 15, 2024 at 7am ET.
Where is the 2024 PGA Championship Played?
This year’s PGA Championship will be played at scenic Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Valhalla was designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1986.
It will be hosting its fourth PGA Championship, most recently doing so in 2014 when McIlroy won the event.
Valhalla has produced some of the PGA Championship’s most exciting results since two of the previous three PGAs held there were decided in a playoff and McIlroy held off Phil Mickelson by just a single stroke in 2014.
It was the site where Tiger Woods beat upstart Bob May in a three-hole playoff in 2000, and Mark Brooks needed three extra holes to win ahead of Kenny Perry there in 1996.
That should make the “will there be a playoff” prop, offered by most of the best golf sportsbooks, an enticing potential market.
The 2024 PGA Championship will be the first at Valhalla since the event moved from August to May in 2019. The course also will play about 150 yards longer than it did 10 years ago, including some monster par-4s, like No. 2 (500 yards), No. 6 (495 yards) and No. 12 (494 yards) and two 590-plus-yard par-5s at Nos. 7 and 10..
Jose Maria Olazabal holds the course record when he shot a 63 during the third round at the 2000 PGA.
Betting Strategies for the PGA Championship
Away from the PGA Championship betting odds, we’ve put together a couple of key angles that use stats from the PGA Tour to consider before you place your PGA bets.
If you don’t regularly bet on PGA Tour golf, this information will help guide you in the right direction (hopefully).
Favor Long Hitters
As referenced above, Valhalla is playing long. It will play about 150 yards longer than when McIlroy won the event 10 years ago and more than 450 yards longer than when Woods won the PGA in 2000.
That’s where McIlroy’s game fits the course. He is averaging 316.8 yards per drive, the second-best distance of any player on the PGA Tour behind Cameron Champ, and is first in total driving and driving percentage 320 yards.
Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion who is going off at about +5000 to win, is also a solid longshot selection to consider either to win or finish in the top-10 (+350). Clark is one of the longest drivers on tour, sitting third in average driving distance rankings.
Consider Accuracy
Historically the roughs at the PGA Championship are more forgiving than other golf tournaments like the U.S. Open. But it is still a major, which means the course mappers will reward accuracy off the tee.
That fact will play into Collin Morikawa’s hands, he sits second in driving accuracy off the tee (78.77%) on the PGA Tour this season. When he won the tournament in 2020, he led the field in that stat and hit 39 of 56 fairways off the tee over his four rounds at TPC Harding Park in Northern California.
But, as always when you bet on golf, don’t forget Scheffler. He sits seventh on the tour in driving accuracy percentage (74.42).
Bet the Best Putters
The phrase “drive for show, putt for dough” comes to mind, since a hot putter can be the difference between a win and a top-5 or top-10 finish.
Unsurprisingly, Scheffler makes up for his less-than-dominant driving game around the green. He leads the PGA Tour in putting average (1.7) and birdie-or-better conversion percentage (39.5) and is 19th on the tour in putts per round (28.14).
Again, if Scheffler’s concentration is at all limited by having a newborn around, there are other elite putters that could get in the mix. Aaron Baddeley leads the tour in Total Putting (68.3), and Denny McCarthy leads in total putts per round (27.3).
Clark is also another interesting option since he leads the tour in putting percentage beyond 20 feet and beyond 25 feet.
Golf Betting Rules – Dead Heat
Golf can be a tricky sport to wager due to the number of finishers with the same score. But that’s where dead heat rules come into play.
Similar to how the tour will divide winning shares by the number of players that finish tied, a sportsbook may break up the payout depending on how many players finish in the top-5 or top-10. Since every place can tie after first, sportsbooks may divide a stake by the number of finishers in that place.
There may be 11-plus players in the top-10, with the ever-enticing T10th finish qualifying players to pay out as a top-10 finish, which means sportsbooks need to mitigate the payout.
Dead Heat Betting Example
If you wager $50 on McIlroy to finish in the top-5 at +200, and he finishes T5th with Scheffler, a sportsbook will divide your stake in half and pay out the +200 winnings. That makes your final payout $75 instead of the $150 you would have made if he had finished solo fifth.
A player’s stake will be divided by the number of players he finishes tied with. That means if you wagered McIlroy to finish top-5, and there’s a four-way tie for fifth place, then your stake will be divided by four then paid out — $37.50.
It’s important to note dead-heat rules only come into play when breaking up a tie for top-5, top-10, or top-20 finishes. In the example above, if you wager on McIlroy to finish in the top-5, and he finishes tied for third with Scheffler, the sportsbook will pay out your full amount of $150.
Recent PGA Championship Winners
Though recent history does not necessarily predict future outcomes, we know that these players have what it takes to win the PGA Championship.
2023: Brooks Koepka
Koepka made waves as the first LIV golfer to win a major championship, beating the odds of +2200 to win the Wanamaker Trophy.
After an opening-round 72, Koepka went 66-66-67 over the final three days, claiming a two-shot win over Viktor Hovland and Scheffler in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York.
Despite a push from Scheffler, who shot a final-round 65, Koepka closed with a back-nine 33 in the final round, which was good enough to claim his fifth major championship.
2022: Justin Thomas
Unlike the long shots in previous years, Thomas entered PGA week favored by many sportsbooks and then shot 67 in three of his four rounds.
He held off runner-up Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff for his second PGA Championship win at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Still, Thomas took a circuitous route to his victory. After a third-round 74, Thomas started the final round seven shots behind leader Mito Pereira yet reached the playoff after Periera shot 75 in the final round. Thomas defeated Zalatoris by scoring birdie-birdie-par in the playoff.
2021: Phil Mickelson
Mickelson, then-50 years old, became the oldest player to ever win a major championship and one of the most unlikely champions since his pre-tournament odds were about +30000.
Still, he finished one stroke better than Koepka and two ahead of Louis Oosthuizen, claiming his second PGA Championship with a minus-6 score at Kiawah Island Golf Course in South Carolina
Despite his final-round 73, Mickelson made five birdies and capped his sixth-career major title.
2020: Collin Morikawa
Morikawa became the fourth player to win the PGA Championship before his 24th birthday, joining the ranks of Nicklaus, Woods and McIlroy and cashing out for those who had him at +3500 to win.
He finished -13 over four days and capped his first major with a final-round 64 and a back-nine 31 to claim the Wanamaker Trophy ahead of Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey by two strokes.
Conclusion
Scheffler is the clear favorite to win, but he has been a bit snake bitten at majors outside of his two wins at the Masters. He has finished in the top-10 in three of his four PGA Championship starts, with the best finish being his T2nd last year.
It does look like everything is in place for Scheffler to win his first championship at the PGA. But don’t discount Thomas, who will be playing in his hometown of Louisville and makes a fascinating longshot at +6000.
If you’re not feeling daring, betting on a player like Scheffler or McIlroy to finish in the top-5 is a solid hedge. But be sure to look out for the dead-heat tiebreaker.
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