PGA Championship Odds: McIlroy Favored at Kiawah Island

The 2021 Masters is in the books, and next up on the PGA Tour’s major tournament calendar is the PGA Championship, which takes place at Kiawah Island Golf Resort Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, from May 20-23.

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Rory McIlroy is the +1000 favorite to win the third PGA Championship of his career at Bovada, with Dustin Johnson (+1200), Justin Thomas (+1200), Bryson DeChambeau (+1400), Jon Rahm (+1400) and Jordan Spieth (+1400) directly behind him.

To find out all the ways you can wager on the links, head over to our How to Bet on Golf article. If you’re looking for the best sportsbook to wager on PGA Championship odds, check out our Best Golf Betting Sites page.

PGA Championship Odds

Odds as of May 14 at Bovada

Matsuyama Riding a High After Masters Win

Ten years after making his debut as the best amateur at Augusta National, Matsuyama made history at the 2021 Masters by becoming the first Japanese winner of the green jacket.

Matsuyama, who opened the week with +4600 Masters odds to go all the way, closed Sunday with a 1-over 73 and a one-shot victory over runner-up Will Zalatoris at -10. 

The 29-year-old stretched his lead to six shots on the back nine until a few moments of drama at the end. Holding a four-shot lead, he went for the green in two on the par-5 15th hole and it ended up going in the water. Matsuyama registered a bogey on No. 15, but Xander Schauffele earned his fourth straight birdie in the process.

That’s where the drama ended, however, as Schauffele’s tee shot on the par-3 16th bounced off the hill and went into the pond. His third shot from the drop area then went into the gallery before he ended up with a triple-bogey 6. Matsuyama’s price to go back to back at next year’s tournament is sitting at +2500 in Masters odds.

Schauffele (-7), Jordan Spieth (-7), Jon Rahm (-6) and Marc Leishman (-6) finished behind Matsuyama.

Matsuyama’s highest-ever finish at the PGA Championship is a T-4 showing in 2016. Since then, he’s gone T-5, T-35, T-16 and T-22. Matsuyama has never missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

Woods to Miss 2021 PGA Championship

Tiger Woods’ hunt for a 16th major championship will be put on hold indefinitely after the 45-year-old suffered multiple leg injuries in a single-car accident in Los Angeles on February 24.

Woods suffered “comminuted open fractures” to both the upper and lower portions of his tibia and fibula in his right leg, as well as damage to the ankle bones and trauma to the muscle and soft tissue of the leg, according to an update on his Twitter account shortly after the accident.

Woods, who told sheriff’s deputies after the accident that he could not remember driving and didn’t know how the crash happened, is clearly not focused on golf right now. Police have said there was no evidence that he was impaired by drugs or alcohol.

It’s always a huge loss whenever Woods is not in a PGA Tour field, especially during majors. For more odds on when sportsbooks are projecting Woods to come back to the PGA Tour, check out our When Will Tiger Woods Return to Golf? article.

Can Morikawa Go Back to Back at the PGA Championship?

At 23 years, six months and three days, Collin Morikawa in 2020 became the third-youngest PGA Championship winner since the Second World War, behind only McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus. Woods won a PGA at 23 as well.

Morikawa is also just the third player since 1970 to win a major in two or fewer major starts after his U.S. Open appearance in 2019. He’s just the ninth player to win the PGA Championship in his event debut.

Morikawa’s weekend rounds of 65-64 for 129 set the lowest closing 36-hole score in PGA Championship history, topping Woods’ 130 from 2018, and the 64 ties the PGA Championship record for lowest final-round score by a winner with Steve Elkington (1995).

Morikawa’s win made him a household name on the PGA Tour, and the American will be back with a vengeance in South Carolina while looking to add another major to his belt.

Paul Casey (T-2), Dustin Johnson (T-2), Jason Day (T-4), Matthew Wolff (T-4), Scottie Scheffler (T-4), Tony Finau (T-4) and Bryson DeChambeau (T-4) finished behind Morikawa at the 2020 PGA Championship. Morikawa is priced at +2200 in PGA Championship odds to win his second consecutive PGA. 

When and Where is the PGA Championship?

Best Bet To Win the PGA Championship

Xander Schauffele +1600

Along with Rickie Fowler, Schauffele is widely considered one of the best golfers on the PGA Tour to never win a major title. At 27, he has plenty of time to add a major to his trophy case, so don’t let that moniker scare you off from backing him at +1600 PGA Championship odds.

Schauffele’s latest close call at the Masters gave him eight top-10s and six top-fives in his first 15 major starts. Schauffele has added some serious length to his game that will benefit him at Kiawah, a course that’s been known to benefit bombers off the tee.

Since making his debut in 2017, Schauffele has a missed cut, T-35, T-16 and T-10 at the PGA Championship.

His disappointing performance on the back nine at Augusta will surely be fresh in his memory, but he has the natural talent to be a major champion. Simply put, it’s only a matter of time before Schauffele wins a major, and the timing looks right for the American to challenge for the Wanamaker Trophy in 2021. 

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Who Are The Past 10 PGA Championship Winners?

How to Read PGA Championship Odds

Looking at golf odds can be complicated if you’re new to betting on the sport, so don’t worry if it’s a little overwhelming at first. To learn more about the various ways to wager on golf, check out our How to Bet on Golf page.

Considering sportsbooks have Rory McIlroy as the +1000 favorite in PGA Championship odds, that means a $100 bet on him to win the tournament would pay out $1,100 – your bet amount of $100 plus winnings of $1,000.

It’s incredibly tough to win major championships and the PGA Championship is no different, so there is risk involved in pre-tournament bets given the significant amount of competition in the field. But McIlroy’s immense talent and past success in majors makes him an appealing option despite the shorter odds.

On the other side of the fence, a golfer like Brandt Snedeker would be considered a long shot to emerge triumphant at the PGA Championship. According to the latest PGA Championship odds, Snedeker has +20000 odds to go all the way. A $100 bet on him to win outright would pay out $20,100 – your $100 is returned coupled with your winnings of $20,000.

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