PGA Championship Odds 2015: Favorites to Win the Wanamaker Trophy

Admit it—now you wish he'd won the British Open too.

Though dual 2015 major winner Jordan Spieth's mere presence for the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, ensures maximum hyperbole compared to most years, it's a far cry from how things might have looked had the Masters Tournament and U.S. Open winner made it three straight last month in Scotland at St. Andrews.

But while the single-season Grand Slam is no longer in play, the now-22-year-old Spieth—who celebrated a birthday on July 27—can still become just the fourth player in history to win at least three majors in one year and the first since Tiger Woods copped the U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA in 2000.

He's joined in Wisconsin by defending PGA champion Rory McIlroy, who missed this year's British Open thanks to ruptured ligaments in his left ankle suffered during a pickup soccer game not long after finishing tied for ninth at the U.S. Open—five shots off Spieth's championship pace.

McIlroy has four career major wins, including the PGA in both 2012 and 2014.

The 2015 event features a deep and talented pool of players that could produce a champion from almost anywhere. Not surprisingly, the pre-tournament odds reflect precisely that.

Spieth and McIlroy are the go-to choices of bettors, but they're by no means a sure thing. In fact, the pair is followed by a bunched-up field of world-class competitors who'll be collectively tested by weather, course layout and the other intangibles that creep in come major time.

Here's a look at the favorites in the eyes of Odds Shark.

Jordan Spieth (5-1)

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

His past performances at the PGA would suggest Jordan Spieth is a 2015 long shot.

But guess what? If a guy wins two of three majors heading into a tournament, he's a favorite.

The Texan missed PGA cuts in both the 2013 and 2014 events before breaking through at Augusta National this spring. Similarly, he'd never finished better than 17th in the U.S. Open before winning it and had only wound up tied for 44th and 36th before getting within a shot of a playoff in the British Open last month.

He's clearly not the same player as he's been before.

Spieth lapped the field at the Masters in April and then reached the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay with a level of scrutiny unfelt by an American since another 20-something named Woods broke through at Augusta a generation before. And just like Woods did so many subsequent times while wearing the bull's-eye, all Spieth did was put himself in a position to win—just like a champion is supposed to do.

Until he plays himself out of contention, he's a legitimate favorite.

Rory McIlroy (7-1)

John Locher/Associated Press

If there are horses for courses, then Rory McIlroy is a pure-bred PGA stud.

Six career appearances at the late-summer event have yielded no fewer than five top-10 finishes, including wins in 2012 and 2014, ties for third in 2009 and 2010 and a tie for eighth in 2013. 

The 2010 tournament was also played at Whistling Straits, where the Northern Irishman was tied for fifth after two rounds and tied for second after three before an even-par 72 left him a single shot out of a playoff involving Bubba Watson and eventual champion Martin Kaymer.

He's posted recent online photos and videos showing stages of recovery from his ankle injury, including a shot from inside a private plane bound for the United States. He'll spend the first two rounds grouped with Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson, who've combined to win the first three majors of 2015.

Rust will surely be a factor to begin with, but if he's within striking distance to begin the weekend, he surely knows a shortcut to the finish line.

Dustin Johnson (11-1)

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Another day, another storyline involving a Dustin Johnson flameout.

Lest anyone have a chance to forget his painfully near miss at the U.S. Open in June, there are sure to be many reminders of another difficult final round endured by the father of Wayne Gretzky's grandson.

Johnson had a one-shot lead heading to the final hole of the 2010 PGA Championship—also played at Whistling Straits—before what appeared to be a routine bogey that reduced him to inclusion in a championship playoff. He lost that opportunity, however, when an official ruled that he'd grounded his club in a bunker, meaning a two-stroke penalty that instead dropped him into a tie for fifth.

That bunker incidentally will be out of play in this year's event, covered by a viewing stand.

And as for the mental makeup, David Winkle, who has represented Johnson since he turned professional in 2007, insisted it's not an issue, per the State's Bob Gillespie (via PGATour.com). 

"He looks at all those collectively as, 'I'm good in majors, I know how to play them, I put myself in position to contend,'" Winkle said. "With every one of those, he's more confident he can contend, and win. It's a process, learning how to prepare and play majors golf, and he's getting better and better."

Jason Day (14-1)

John Locher/Associated Press

If momentum matters, then Jason Day's got it to spare.

The Australian is often included on short lists of the best players who've not yet won a major, and his performance in the last two spotlight events—a vertigo-laden tie for ninth at the U.S. Open and a frustrating tie for fourth at the British Open, where he missed a playoff by one shot—indicates the wait for a breakthrough may be growing shorter by the hour.

In fact, he shook off the St. Andrews disappointment in winning style by birdieing the final three holes at Glen Abbey to win the Canadian Open by one stroke over Bubba Watson.

Day finished tied for 10th when Whistling Straits last hosted the PGA. He was two shots off the pace and tied for sixth after 18 holes, then moved to a tie for fourth after 54 holes before winding up four shots off the playoff-qualified lead of Martin Kaymer and Watson after 72.

“To turn around so quick and hole the putt on the 72nd hole at the Canadian Open, I mean it was a good way to turn around,” Day told Golf Channel. “Know that I can do it and show people that I can do it, and stomp my foot on the ground and say, ‘No, that’s enough. I can get it done.’”

Adam Scott (16-1)

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Though four top-10 finishes in 14 career PGA Championship starts aren't exactly a recipe for instant optimism, Adam Scott is hoping to channel the same sort of positivity as countryman Jason Day.

Now 35 years old, Scott grabbed a share of the lead in the final round of the British Open for the third time in four years last month but again failed to add to his lone career major title—the 2013 Masters.

And like Day, who missed a St. Andrews playoff by a shot, he's hoping frustration becomes fuel.

Scott finished tied for 39th when the PGA was played at Whistling Straits in 2010 but was tied for ninth there in 2004, three shots out of a three-way playoff ultimately won by Vijay Singh.

"Motivation gets higher through the disappointment, that's how it works," Scott told AAP (via the Sydney Morning Herald). "I don't feel like I am winning enough for the amount of good play I have had over the last two seasons but that can change quickly, in a week or two.My game is great so I am looking forward to this week and next. I really need a big finish to the season and it is a great time to be playing well, which I feel I am so I just want to win more."

Justin Rose (20-1)

John Locher/Associated Press

Justin Rose reached the international stage with a tie for fourth as a precocious 17-year-old at the 1998 British Open, but his resume at the PGA Championship has taken awhile longer to fill out.

A tie for third in 2012 and a tie for ninth in 2008 have been his best PGA finishes in 12 outings, and he missed the cut in both 2004 and 2010 when the tournament was played at Whistling Straits.

He also missed the PGA cut in 2003, 2009 and 2011.

Rose did join the ranks of major winners at the 2013 U.S. Open and tied for second and sixth at this year's Masters and British Open, so his name will consistently be mentioned in the "he could win" chatter, whether deserved or not. A full four rounds of PGA contention this week, though, would be more exception than rule.

Bubba Watson (20-1)

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Bubba Watson is among the few active players who've won two major championships, a status that elevates him to favorite status in nearly every tournament he plays. But when the stage is set somewhere other than Augusta, Georgia, he's been consistently relegated to also-ran status.

The wild card in this PGA, however, is the Whistling Straits course on which it'll be played.

Now 36 years old, Watson wound up in second place the last time the event was held in Wisconsin, reaching a three-hole playoff with Martin Kaymer before ultimately losing by a single stroke in 2010.

In four PGA starts since, he's never bettered a tie for 11th and has also missed a cut, bringing the total to 24 major appearances (away from the Masters) he's made without a victory while missing 12 cuts.

He'll make his typical headlines for as long as he plays this week, but a four-day stay is a 50-50 proposition at best.