PGA Championship 2013: Updated Betting Lines and Tips for Major Golf Tournament

The 2013 PGA Championship is quickly approaching after an historic week at the Bridgestone Invitational, where Tiger Woods put the finishing touches on a seven-stroke victory to win the event for the eighth time.

Woods has half that amount of hardware in Wanamaker Trophies but hasn't won the PGA Championship since successfully defending his title in 2007.

Rory McIlroy—who looked to be golf's new longtime No. 1 or at least a very worthy, consistent challenger to Woods by the end of last year—won in historic fashion in 2012 by eight shots.

Unfortunately, the Northern Irishman hasn't even resembled that level of success this season, while Woods has five victories to his credit and is yet again the runaway favorite entering the year's final major.

The latest betting lines from Bovada have Woods listed at 11-2 to claim his first major victory since the 2008 U.S. Open, while reigning British Open winner Phil Mickelson is the next closest at 16-1.

If you're looking to wager on the extremely unpredictable game of golf this coming week, check out these tips on certain players who should serve as wise bets to make.

Note: Statistics and information are courtesy of PGATour.com.

Playing the Favorites

A great case can be made for Woods, as always. Although this threatens to be the 18th straight major in which he fails to walk away as the victor, he's put himself in contention many times in that span and is due for a win.

At the U.S. Open, a nagging elbow injury thwarted any chance he had to be a factor, but he's been in the hunt at both The Masters and the British Open this year. Putting has been his Achilles' heel in those instances, while in his five wins on tour, he's rolled it brilliantly for the most part.

One red flag is that Woods took 36 putts in a final-round 70 at Firestone, but he didn't have to press for birdies and showed significant improvement on his approach shots from the previous day.

Mickelson won the PGA in 2005 at Baltusrol with an overall score of minus-four—the same mark Shaun Micheel won with when the Championship was last contested at Oak Hill.

Speaking of which, Lefty held the joint first-round lead in that tournament before fading to a tie for 23rd. As well as he's played lately, he has to be held in high regard.

The current group at 35-1, which are relatively short on the odds list, includes Keegan Bradley, while Jason Dufner is close behind at 40-1. The two did battle in the 2011 PGA playoff, which Bradley won by a single stroke.

Bradley valiantly defended his title at the Bridgestone by sharing second with the recently hot Henrik Stenson, while Dufner came in a tie for fourth.

Hunter Mahan played in the final group in both the U.S. and British Opens, then led through 36 holes at the RBC Canadian Open before withdrawing due to the birth of his firstborn shortly thereafter. Watch for him as he pursues his maiden major victory.

Top Players to Avoid

Posting a solid finish the week before a major doesn't always serve as a precursor to success, and I think the same will hold true for players like Bill Haas and Luke Donald. Haas tied for seventh in Akron, while Donald was in ninth.

There's been no doubting Haas' status as a world-class player since winning the FedEx Cup in 2011, yet he has never had any notably strong performances at majors.

The five-time PGA Tour winner's best major result was a tie for 12th at the 2011 PGA. Despite nine top-10s and a win at the AT&T National in 2013, don't count on him to prominently contend at Oak Hill based on his history.

Oddsmakers apparently don't like the American's chances either, listing him at 50-1.

As for Donald, he showed signs of returning to form with a top-10 this past week but missed the cut at both the British and Canadian Opens before that.

Considering the level of success he previously sustained as the world No. 1, an argument can be made that he's the best player to have not won a major. Until he proves himself more equipped to handle these types of tournaments, he should be a stay-away even at 35-1.

Then there's the reigning PGA champ McIlroy. He hit less than half of his greens in regulation at Firestone and continues to look like a shell of the player who won both major tour money lists last season.

28-1 odds may be enticing for a player of McIlroy's obvious potential, but don't put any coin on it.

Ultimate Sleeper Bets

Rather than getting into the plethora of other elite players who could threaten for the Wanamaker Trophy, let's examine some potential champions who could truly come out of left field.

Who could have foreseen Y.E. Yang defeating Woods head-to-head in 2009? And the next year, even though Martin Kaymer was a proven winner in Europe, he was still just 25 years old and could have folded under the pressure.

Bradley won in 2011 in his first major appearance of his career, and since the little-known Micheel triumphed at Oak Hill the last time around, just about anything can happen.

Hideki Matsuyama is a good candidate to keep the trend of 20-somethings winning the PGA. The 21-year-old Japanese prodigy finished T-10 at the U.S. Open and joint sixth at the British, proving his worth on the biggest stages of golf already.

If not for a controversial slow-play penalty that cost him a stroke at Muirfield, Matsuyama would have fared even better:

An even longer shot than Matsuyama, who is 100-1, to consider would be Harris English, another up-and-coming American youngster who broke through with a win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

English (80-1) has played deceptively well in three consecutive top-15 finishes, being done in at the British Open by several big numbers. He also closed with a 68 in Akron in sporting a solid all-around game.

Finally, at 100-1 is South African Richard Sterne, who's missed only one cut all season and placed tied for ninth at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Per EuropeanTour.com, the 31-year-old is entering his prime playing magnificent golf, hitting 63.75 percent of fairways, over 70 percent of greens and enjoying his best putting year since 2006.

Betting the winner is fickle enough when it comes to golf, but those are some of the primary candidates who could beat the odds and emerge as an unlikely major champion.