The best golfers in the world will descend on Louisville, Ky., this week for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club.
Scottie Scheffler is the clear and consensus betting favorite to win the Wanamaker Trophy (+450 at BetMGM), but this field is absolutely loaded with talent and should provide a challenge for the World No. 1.
Rory McIlroy, who won the PGA Championship when Valhalla last hosted the event in 2014, is the second-choice at +750 and is coming into the tournament off back-to-back wins at the Wells Fargo last week and the Zurich Classic team event two weeks before that.
Defending-champion Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele are next up at 14/1.
Let’s shop the different sportbooks for best available odds and see if we can’t find a couple of good sweats.
Top of the board (under 25/1)
Ludvig Aberg (22/1, DraftKings)
Though he doesn’t have a win yet in 2024, Aberg has hardly put a foot wrong this year.
Not only has the Swede not finished outside the top 25 since a T30 at the Sony Open in January (a span of eight starts), but he’s finished inside the top 10 in four of his past seven outings and was runner-up to Scheffler at the Masters, which was his first career start at a major championship.
We’ll see plenty of support for Scheffler, McIlroy and Koepka in this range, so there’s a chance Aberg flies under the radar a bit compared to the other heavyweights in this field.
Best buy-low opportunity
Justin Thomas (55/1, FanDuel)
Perhaps we’re taking a stroll down Narrative Street here, but there’s a lot to like about this price on Thomas.
First of all, he’s a Louisville native and should be familiar with the conditions at Valhalla.
Secondly, he’s in better form than you’d think judging by this price.
Thomas has been a bit boom-or-bust in 2024, but it’s certainly been more of the former. He’s finished T12 or better in five of 12 starts compared to three missed cuts.
The 31-year-old did miss the weekend at Augusta, but he responded with a T5 at the RBC Heritage and a T21 at the Wells Fargo.
There’s enough of a case to play Thomas, who lifted the Wanamaker Trophy for his last win in 2022, at these odds.
Best sleeper
Will Zalatoris (80/1, FanDuel)
You wouldn’t be shocked to hear that Scheffler leads this field in strokes gained in major championships, but you may be surprised to find out that Zalatoris is right behind him.
That bodes well for Zalatoris, who is putting together a resurgent season after 2023 was essentially a wash due to injury.
Zalatoris has, understandably, been a little inconsistent, but he has three top-10 finishes in 11 starts in 2024 and finished T9 at Augusta last month.
We know Zalatoris has just as much upside as anybody in the field outside of the favorites, so you’re getting a terrific number on a player with actual win equity this weekend.
Betting on golf?
Best deep long shots
Tony Finau (90/1), Shane Lowry (120/1) and Keegan Bradley (250/1, all FanDuel)
I’m looping these three players together for a couple of reasons.
The most notable being that it wouldn’t be an earth-shattering shock to see them in contention as we get into the business end of the tournament.
Lowry and Bradley have won majors before, while Finau has a dozen top-10 finishes, including three at the PGA Championship.
All three of them have the skill sets needed to conquer Valhalla. They’re long off the tee and have no issue grinding out tough conditions.
Credit: Source link
