The PGA Championship is here and a few headlines worth mentioning heading into the next PGA Major on the schedule. First, fans are returning at 10,000 per day! And secondly, the PGA Championship will allow for the use of rangefinders.
The PGA of America says it should speed up play but players and caddies don’t think it will. Who knows, but we may see footage of them being used for the first time which will be neat for a few minutes for die-hard golf fans.
Regardless of how that plays out, the PGA Championship is getting underway at Kiawah Island, South Carolina on the Ocean Course. The big news here is that this is not the same course as in years past – more on that below.
Last year Collin Morikawa won at TPC Harding Park by two strokes over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. A quick look at the top-five favorites shows that none of those three players are listed!
The top spot goes to Rory McIlroy who comes in +1000 following his win at the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago. McIlroy also won the PGA Championship the last time it was held at the Ocean Course back in 2012. His second PGA Title came in 2014 in Louisville Kentucky at the Valhalla Golf Club.
Another two-time PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka who won back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019, takes a slide down the favorites list. He settles in at +3300 along with Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay, and Tony Finau.
There are still the familiar names at the top and plenty of value opportunities further down. Here are the top-five favorites through +1600 to win the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship outright according to Intertops.
Rory McIlroy +1000
Jon Rahm +1200
Justin Thomas +1400
Jordan Spieth +1400
Bryson DeChambeau +1400
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2021 PGA Championship Preview
Where: Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Course: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Club
Format: Stroke Play
Par: 72
Length: 7,876
When: May 20 – May 23, 2021
Purse: $11 Million.
TV Coverage: CBS/ESPN
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Some say the PGA Championship will finally be played on a course that will test skill as a Championship venue should. Others are saying – this may be a bit cruel! The Ocean Course is now a beast –more so than ever before as four holes on each side of the turn have been lengthened. Total yardage now tips the scales at nearly 7,900 yards.
In addition, the Pete and Alice Dye-designed layout features signature elements such as elevated greens with killer run-off areas. Now add in ocean wind, tricky fairways, and the extended yardage. This PGA Championship will certainly test the skills of every player.
2021 PGA Championship Outright Winner Picks
Rory McIlroy +1000
Rory McIlroy has returned to form over the last several months capping with his win two weeks ago. Rory has two PGA Championships with one coming on the Ocean Course. He should be able to navigate the changes at the course as well as others. McIlroy can join five other players with three or more PGA Championship wins.
Bryson DeChambeau +1400
Bryson DeChambeau can put his long-distance game on display at Kiawah Island. His massive drives should punch through most of the breeze coming from the ocean. That extra distance will help to get to the greens cleanly whereas others might be facing tougher second and third shots.
Viktor Hovland +2500
Viktor Hovland has had some great rounds as of late including consecutive T3 finishes. He’s been a master around the greens, has six T5 or better finishes this year and he won the Mayakoba Golf Classic earlier this season.
Others I Like: Great value picks are packed in the top-twenty favorites this week including Marc Leishman at +6600. Leishman has a recent win at the Zurich Classic and was T5 at the Masters. Another player is Will Zalatoris at +5000. Zalatoris showed his metal a few weeks ago with his second-place run at the Masters and has a powerful tee shot.
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2021 PGA Championship Odds
Rory McIlroy +1000
Jon Rahm +1200
Justin Thomas +1400
Jordan Spieth +1400
Bryson DeChambeau +1400
Dustin Johnson +1600
Xander Schauffele +1800
Viktor Hovland +2500
Collin Morikawa +2800
Daniel Berger +2800
Patrick Reed +3300
Hideki Matsuyama +3300
Brooks Koepka +3300
Patrick Cantlay +3300
Tony Finau +3300
Cameron Smith +4000
Sam Burns +4000
Webb Simpson +4000
Scottie Scheffler +4000
Will Zalatoris +5000
Abraham Ancer +5000
Tommy Fleetwood +5000
Tyrrell Hatton +5000
Matthew Fitzpatrick +6000
Sungjae Im +6000
Paul Casey +6000
Marc Leishman +6600
Louis Oosthuizen +6600
Justin Rose +6600
Joaquin Niemann +6600
Corey Conners +6600
Adam Scott +6600
Keegan Bradley +8000
Sergio Garcia +8000
Gary Woodland +8000
Shane Lowry +8000
Jason Day +8000
Si-Woo Kim +8000
Max Homa +8000
Bubba Watson +8000
Lee Westwood +10000
Brian Harman +10000
Garrick Higgo +10000
Charl Schwartzel +10000
Matt Wallace +10000
Harris English +10000
Robert Macintyre +12500
Billy Horschel +12500
Matt Kuchar +12500
Rickie Fowler +12500
Cameron Champ +12500
Cameron Tringale +12500
Jason Kokrak +12500
Alex Noren +12500
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +12500
Aaron Wise +15000
Charley Hoffman +15000
Russell Henley +15000
Branden Grace +15000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +15000
Kevin Na +15000
Emiliano Grillo +15000
Stewart Cink +15000
Matt Jones +15000
Francesco Molinari +17500
Ian Poulter +17500
Chris Kirk +17500
Ryan Palmer +17500
Kevin Kisner +20000
Martin Kaymer +20000
Phil Mickelson +20000
Cameron Davis +20000
Carlos Ortiz +20000
Victor Perez +20000
Zach Johnson +20000
Thomas Pieters +20000
Brendon Todd +20000
Sebastian Munoz +20000
Kevin Streelman +20000
Henrik Stenson +25000
Bernd Wiesberger +25000
Danny Willett +25000
John Catlin +25000
Talor Gooch +25000
Dylan Frittelli +25000
Sam Horsfield +25000
Dean Burmester +25000
Harold Varner III +25000
Erik Van Rooyen +25000
Joel Dahmen +25000
Matthias Schwab +25000
Lanto Griffin +25000
Brendan Steele +25000
Wyndham Clark +25000
Antoine Rozner +30000
Steve Stricker +30000
Thomas Detry +30000
Mackenzie Hughes +30000
Maverick McNealy +30000
Andy Sullivan +30000
Byeong-Hun An +30000
Tom Lewis +30000
Rasmus Hojgaard +30000
Graeme McDowell +30000
Adam Hadwin +30000
George Coetzee +30000
Tom Hoge +30000
Brandon Stone +40000
Sami Valimaki +40000
Kurt Kitayama +40000
JT Poston +40000
Kalle Samooja +40000
Aaron Rai +40000
Denny McCarthy +40000
Jazz Janewattananond +40000
Chez Reavie +50000
Richy Werenski +50000
Adam Long +50000
Jason Scrivener +50000
Takumi Kanaya +50000
Lucas Herbert +50000
Jason Dufner +50000
Harry Higgs +50000
Rikuya Hoshino +50000
Daniel Van Tonder +50000
Chan Kim +50000
Peter Malnati +50000
Robert Streb +50000
Padraig Harrington +50000
Brian Gay +50000
Hudson Swafford +75000
Jimmy Walker +75000
Jim Herman +100000
John Daly +150000
Y E Yang +150000
Derek Holmes +200000
Danny Balin +200000
Alex Beach +200000
Rich Beem +200000
Frank Bensel +200000
Tyler Collet +200000
Shaun Micheel +200000
Rob Labritz +250000
Sonny Skinner +250000
Stuart Smith +250000
Joe Summerhays +250000
Omar Uresti +250000
Peter Ballo +250000
Benny Cook +250000
Mark Geddes +300000
Larkin Gross +300000
Greg Koch +300000
Brad Marek +300000
Tim Pearce +300000
Ben Polland +300000
Patrick Rada +300000
Brett Walker +300000