The 2017 PGA Championship gets underway this Thursday and Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina will be holding its first ever major golf tournament. This is the final major of the year and also Jordan Spieth’s first chance to complete a career Grand Slam. Following his win in the Open Championship, 24-year old Spieth now has all three of the other majors apart from the PGA Championship.
Spieth will not start the competition as favourite though, that honour will go to Rory McIlroy who is 13/2 (Ladbrokes) to win the final major of the season. The main reason for that is McIlroy’s past performances at Quail Hollow; it is here where he won his first ever PGA Tour event and following on from that he has added another title, with a huge seven shot lead and also recently lost a play-off here to Rickie Fowler. The course seems to suit McIlroy’s game perfectly and even though he has been a little underwhelming recently in the majors, this weekend gives him a great chance of winning. If he does manage to win, it would set up next season perfectly for a real battle between McIlroy and Spieth.
Jordan Spieth, himself, is the second favourite for the tournament with odds of 9/1 (Ladbrokes) and considering his recent form it would take a brave man to bet against him this week. Another man coming into the tournament in excellent form is Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese golfer picked up an impressive win last time out at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and he is always there or thereabouts in the majors, so could be worth an EW shot this week.
Just behind them in the betting are three men who always seem to be in the mix come the final day; Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas. These three are always a solid EW bet and even though their odds may not be that appetising, they could be a solid banker for the weekend. One man a bit further back who could be in with a chance is South African, Branden Grace, 66/1 (Ladbrokes). Grace shot the lowest ever score in a major last time around and he has finished in third and fourth place in the last two PGA Championship events as well as finishing in the top six in five out of the last 10 majors. He certainly has the ability to do well here and he has shown an appetite for the big occasion.
There has been lots of talk about Daniel Berger heading into the final major the season and the young American certainly has all the tools at his disposal to be competitive this weekend and with odds of 50/1 (Ladbrokes) he could certainly be worth a look at. Another American who has improved his game immeasurably this year is Kevin Chappell, a man who seems to have really hit some form as the season comes to an end. Chappell is available at odds of 66/1 (Ladbrokes) and with Ladbrokes paying out on 8 places, he could be a solid EW long shot.
The Picks
Of the favourites, I think Jordan Spieth has a great chance to complete the Grand Slam here and it’s hard to look past him. Further down the field, I think Branden Grace and Daniel Berger are both solid bets with odds of 50/1 or higher.