PGA Championship 2018: Odds for Sleepers and Favorites at Bellerive
The 2018 PGA Championship has the potential to be dominated by the top golfers in the world, with a showdown between the likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods expected for Sunday's final round.
While most of the favored golfers should feature on the front page of the leaderboard for 72 holes, there will be some unexpected players challenging for the final major of the season as well.
Unheralded players like Cameron Smith, Daniel Berger, Tyrrell Hatton and Eddie Pepperell worked their way into the top 10 at the first three majors alongside some of the game's best.
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Below is a look at some of the sleepers and favorites to watch during the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club.
Sleepers
Xander Schauffele (+5000)
Normally, a player with a pair of top-10 major finishes wouldn't qualify as a sleeper, but Xander Schauffele's name won't be on the tip of everyone's tongue entering St. Louis.
The 24-year-old, who is playing in his seventh major, earned a tie for second at The Open and a tie for sixth at the U.S. Open, but with so many big names in the field, Schauffele will get lost in the shuffle at the start of the tournament.
Although his two terrific major showings put him near the top of the sleeper picks, Schauffele isn't considered a favorite because of an up and down season.
In addition to placing 68th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Schauffele missed the cut at the Fort Worth Invitational, The Memorial and Travelers Championship.
Some of Schauffele's stats don't produce confidence in him either, as he's 145th in greens in regulation and 81st in scoring average.
Despite all the faults in his play this season, Schauffele's high finishes at the last two majors can't be ignored, and at +5,000, he's the perfect player to make a low risk, high reward wager on.
Kyle Stanley (+8000)
Kyle Stanley's popped up near the top of the leaderboard at a few tournaments this season, and he challenged for the title at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational before finishing second behind Justin Thomas.
Although his major record doesn't wow anyone, the 30-year-old American is coming off one of his best tournaments of the year.
Stanley has two second-place finishes on the PGA Tour this season, with the other occurring at The Memorial, which took place two weeks before the U.S. Open.
Taking second at The Memorial and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, two of the top competitions outside of the majors, deserves credit, but now Stanley must translate those results into a Grand Slam.
Stanley's best major finish is two ties for 39th place at The Open, one of which came in July, so if you want to stay away from picking him, it's understandable.
However, there's the potential for Stanley's impressive form from his second-place marks to show up at Bellerive and put him in contention over the weekend.
Favorites
Dustin Johnson (+800)
The No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking and FedEx Cup standings is looking to add another title to his remarkable season.
Dustin Johnson has three wins and 10 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, and he placed in the top 10 at The Masters and U.S. Open.
One of the few blemishes on Johnson's season resume came at The Open, as he missed the cut for the second time at golf's third major.
If you take out his missed cut at The Open, Johnson's placed in the top three in his last four tournaments, including a tie for third at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Since he's been in contention at almost every tournament he's participated in since the season began in October, Johnson leads the PGA Tour in scoring average and birdie average.
Picking Johnson isn't a risky selection, but given how well he's played, it would be foolish not to drop some money on him at +800.
Rory McIlroy (+1200)
It's hard to believe Rory McIlroy enters Bellerive with a four-year major drought given how well he's played in golf's biggest tournaments.
The four-time major champion has eight top-10 finishes in Grand Slam competitions since the start of the 2015 season, including a tie for second at The Open and a tie for fifth at The Masters in 2018.
However, McIlroy's struggled to reach the top of the leaderboard at the PGA Championship since his triumph at Valhalla Golf Club in 2014, with his best finish being 17th in 2015.
The 29-year-old, who has the second-lowest odds behind Dustin Johnson, enters Bellerive off three straight top-six finishes, and in the last seven tournaments he made the cut at, he finished inside the top 20.
Given his tendency to finish near the top, McIlroy must be considered as one of the players to lay money down on ahead of Thursday's first round.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Odds obtained from OddsShark.
Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.
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