You know the names.
Jordan. Rory. DJ. Bryson.
And when golf’s PGA Championship tees off Thursday in South Carolina, the big names should be in the middle of everything.
In fact, even the pairings – which were recently released – have some star power. Bryson DeChambeau, who won the last U.S. Open, is paired with the last two major champions, Hideki Matsuyama (the Masters) and Collin Morikawa (last year’s PGA Championship) in a group that tees off at 8:44 a.m. Thursday.
Another morning group has Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Thomas, all of whom are past PGA champions.
So this weekend’s PGA Championship has plenty of excitement. And with all the offerings at PA sportsbooks, there are plenty of possible golf betting options too.
McIlroy emerges as the PGA Championship favorite
DraftKings Sportsbook has McIlroy as the tournament favorite with odds of +1150. Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are next at +1450, followed by Jordan Spieth and DeChambeau.
This graphic from Caesar’s/William Hill has a good rundown of the PGA Championship’s futures odds. (Note: Caesars/William Hill has different pricing than DraftKings).
Over at BetMGM, Spieth owns the highest ticket percentage (8.1%) and the highest handle percentage (10.1%).
And McIlroy is the biggest line mover, with odds that dropped from +1600 to +1100. Rory is second in handle percentage at BetMGM with 8.3%.
Dustin Johnson is also a favorite at BetMGM, with 5.7% of the tickets and 7.2% of the handle. Johnson’s numbers might even be higher if it weren’t for a recent injury.
“Johnson would be at 12/1 or lower if it wasn’t for him withdrawing [last week] with a knee problem,” said Nick Bogdanovich, Director of Trading for William Hill US. “That’s a major concern. Maybe it was precautionary, but he still didn’t get a week of work, so there’s the rust factor.”
Right behind him is Thomas, who has 5.5% of the tickets and 5.4% of the handle.
FanDuel boost pays out if three big names make the cut
At FanDuel Sportsbook, Thomas is part of a boosted wager that pays +160 if McIlroy, Spieth, and Thomas make the cut.
Players can also make prop bets on which golfers will win certain matchups or groups. At DraftKings, there are odds posted on top 20, top 30, and top 40 finishes as well.
DraftKings also has a promotion that delivers a 100% profit boost on a wager for players who opt in and enter a $50k PGA Championship pool ($20 entry fee, max bet for the profit boost is $50).
Daily fantasy contests will crown a millionaire this weekend
DraftKings is also offering some huge daily fantasy contests for the PGA Championship. The Fantasy Golf Millionaire has a $3 million prize pool and a top payout of one million dollars. And for just a $5 entry, there’s a Drive the Green contest with a $600k pool and a top prize of $100,000.
Over at FanDuel, the featured contest is a PGA Eagle that offers a prize pool of $500k and a first-place payout of $100,000.
PGA Championship tees off Thursday
The golf action starts at 7 a.m. Thursday at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. Television coverage will be shared between ESPN and CBS.
The big stars will all be there – and a few of them are in the same group.
You know their names.
And some of them might be right there in the end.
Lead image credit: AP Photo/Matt York
