The second major championship of the season is upon us.
The 2023 PGA Championship will get underway on Thursday, May 18, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
Oak Hill has been completely renovated since it last hosted this event in 2013.
Still, all indications are that (and stop me if you’ve heard this before) players who can hit it long and straight off the tee should have an advantage, though you’ll also want to target some players with some magic in their short-game given the deep bunkers and tiny greens on the course.
Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are the co-favorites to win the event at +750.
Rahm is just five weeks removed from winning the Masters, while Scheffler won THE PLAYERS Championship back in March. Scheffler has not finished worse than T12 in his last 13 starts on the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy, who was essentially priced as a co-favorite with Rahm and Scheffler at Augusta, is the third choice at +1300. Patrick Cantlay (+2000), Brooks Koepka (+2100), and Tony Finau (+2400) are the only other golfers listed under +2500.
It’s pretty easy to make a case for any of the stars at the top of the board to win this event — especially in a year where most of the big tournaments have been relatively chalky — but instead of doing that, we’ll focus on a few long shots that could provide some serious value down the betting board.
PGA Championship odds, long shot picks
Shane Lowry (+9000, BetMGM)
Lowry was a trendy longshot pick to win the Masters at +5500 but has posted a couple of pedestrian results since finishing T16 at Augusta National.
Lowry finished T67 at the RBC Heritage a month ago and then followed that up with a missed cut at the Wells Fargo.
With those two results on everyone’s mind, Lowry has drifted into range for a play at a course that should suit him.
The Irishman is a solid golf ball driver and has a deft touch around the green, so he ticks many of the boxes we’re looking for at this course.
Lowry has won a major before, so we know he has the game to compete in this field and event.
Gary Woodland (+11000, PointsBet)
Another former major winner, Woodland, has been pretty resurgent in 2023, though he’s yet to work his way back into the winner’s circle this year.
Even so, Woodland has finished T14 in two of his last four outings (including at Augusta) and has habitually gotten off the blocks pretty fast.
Woodland’s game is built around his ability to drive the ball, so if he can get his putter to cooperate he could threaten the leaderboard.
Keegan Bradley (+12500, PointsBet)
Bradley was off and running in the early stages of 2023, but his game has gone a little quiet since a T10 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Even so, Bradley’s popped a few times over the last 12 months and has won a major, a WGC event, and a FedEx Cup Playoff event in his career.
In other words, we know that Bradley can take down elite competition when everything clicks.
A native of the northeast — Bradley is from Vermont and went to St. John’s University — he should enjoy these familiar conditions and is well worth a shot at a number like this.
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