Early 2021 PGA Championship Golf Betting Picks — Kiawah Island, S.C.

by Matt Schmitto (schmitto) Last Updated 2021-05-19 13:52:16

The 2021 PGA Championship just days away, as 156 of the best golfers head to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort in their quest for a major championship and the prestigious Wanamaker Trophy. Follow along as we look at PGA Championship odds at online sportsbooks. We’ll break down golf betting tips and PGA Championship picks for the second major championship of the year.

PGA Championship Odds

Rory McIlroy’s victory at Quail Hollow catapulted him up the top of odds sheets, with sportsbooks now making him the favorite to win the PGA Championship. Keep in mind, merely a week ago the Irishman’s odds were closer 20-1 as he sat behind Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau and even Jordan Spieth in PGA Championship betting markets. The market was bearish on McIlroy, who had missed consecutive cuts at the PLAYERS Championship and the Masters. Before Sunday, McIlroy hadn’t won on Tour in over a year and a half and finished in the top-five only once during the last 12 months. It’s no wonder his odds tumbled, but as I wrote last Tuesday, Quail Hollow was a perfect bounce-back spot for McIlroy after taking a few weeks off. As such, I included him in my Wells Fargo Championship Picks. In hindsight, I should have said to go lock in his PGA Championship price, too. Even if he didn’t win on Sunday, his price was much more likely to get shorter than longer. Fast forward and here we are with McIlroy now a 10-1 favorite to win again at Kiawah’s Ocean Course.

Take a closer look at more PGA Championship odds, accurate as of May 10 and courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.

PGA Championship Betting Picks

Rory McIlroy 12-1

Maybe it’s too late to bet on McIlroy, maybe it’s not. We certainly would have preferred to grab his futures odds ahead his win, but that doesn’t change the fact that McIlroy dominated at Kiawah in 2012, when he beat the field by a whopping eight strokes en route to his first PGA Championship and Wanamaker Trophy. Quite simply, I think Rory’s odds will get shorter as sportsbooks begin taking more PGA Championship bets this week.

Gary Woodland 80-1

Woodland was on McIlroy’s heels for part of Sunday before tapering off, but oddsmakers took notice of his play in North Carolina. His solo 5th-place finish was a vast improvement from the week prior. In fact, Woodland nearly went from worst to first after shooting +6 thru two rounds at the Valspar Championship. Woodland now gets to play another seaside course, similar to where he won his first and only major championship. We bet on him that week in 2019 and we’ll do so again, at this price, ahead of the 2021 PGA Championship.

Keegan Bradley 125-1

Bradley’s game is coming on strong, as he’s made eight consecutive cuts. During that span, Bradley finished outside of the top 30 only once and has two top-10s to go along with a 2nd at the Valspar Championship. Bradley is a top-10 ball-striker, and it appears that he’s finally figured something out with the putter. It’s not much but he has gained strokes with his short stick in five of his last six outings. Moreover, Bradley actually finished 3rd at Kiawah during the 2012 PGA Championship, one year after winning the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Stewart Cink 150-1

This might be my favorite PGA Championship betting pick, considering the value. Stewart Cink has won twice since September and is playing some of the best golf of his career at the ripe age of 47. His most recent victory came just a few weeks ago at the RBC Heritage, a Pete Dye-designed course in South Carolina. Where is the PGA Championship this year? You guessed it — at a Pete Dye-designed track in South Carolina.

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