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PGA Championship 2020: Odds for Sleepers and Favorites at TPC Harding Park
August 3, 2020
The first major of the 2020 PGA Tour season kicks off a hectic few months in which a trio of majors will be played and a tour champion will be determined.
Brooks Koepka has proved over the last three years that he is one of the golfers best suited to deal with a stretch like the one that starts at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco Thursday.
The two-time defending champion enters the PGA Championship coming off of his most consistent rounds since play resumed in June, and he has a knack for showing up at the top of major leaderboards.
Koepka is listed as the favorite to hoist his third straight Wanamaker Trophy, but winning will not be easy with Justin Thomas in great form.
There are also a few golfers further down on the odds chart who could sneak up on Koepka and cash in on strong recent results to win their first major title.
Favorites
Brooks Koepka (+1000; bet $100 to win $1,000)
Koepka is more than deserving of the favorite tag.
He won the last two PGA Championships and comes into TPC Harding Park off his best four rounds of golf since the resumption of play.
Prior to his tie for second at the FedEx-St. Jude Invitational, Koepka missed two cuts and finished outside the top 30 in a pair of events.
The uptick in form comes at the perfect time for a golfer who has played his best at the four major competitions since 2017.
A year ago, Koepka finished in the top five at all four majors and shot 11 rounds in the 60s.
Given his consistency at high-profile events and his strong play at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, over the weekend, Koepka should be a favorite play of bettors at +1000.
Justin Thomas (+1100)
If Koepka did not thrive in the last tournament before the PGA Championship, a case could be made for Thomas to be the pre-tournament favorite.
The FedEx-St. Jude Invitational winner has been much more consistent since June than Koepka has.
Thomas has four top-10 finishes in his last six starts, and he also has a tie for 18th at the Memorial Tournament on his resume.
If he translates that form into a solid four rounds at TPC Harding Park, Thomas could end Koepka's PGA Championship reign.
Since winning the 2017 PGA Championship, Thomas has five top-20 major finishes, including a tie for 11th at the U.S. Open and a tie for 12th at The Masters in 2019.
At a minimum, Thomas should be withing striking distance of the lead by the time Sunday rolls around.
Sleepers
Daniel Berger (+4000)
Daniel Berger has been nothing but consistent this season, but he is buried further down the odds chart for the season's first major.
Berger is listed behind Koepka, Thomas, Tiger Woods, Jason Day and many others and could be lost in the conversation of potential winners.
The 27-year-old American does not have the best major history, as he has two top-20 finishes in 10 starts since the 2017 Masters.
Berger's form since the restart should convince you to take a flier on him at a price he typically is not listed at to win a tournament.
Berger won the Charles Schwab Challenge in June and carded 11 rounds in the 60s in the three tournaments in which he made the cut since the restart.
Matthew Fitzpatrick (+5000)
Matthew Fitzpatrick sits in a similar situation as Berger.
The Englishman has been a constant fixture at the top of the leaderboard in most PGA Tour events, but he has not found the top 10 of a major yet.
Fitzpatrick made the cut at each of the four majors in 2019, with his highest finish being a tie for 12th at the U.S. Open.
There is a small level of concern with Fitzpatrick coming into TPC Harding Park since the PGA Championship has been his worst major over the last three years.
Fitzpatrick missed the cut in 2017 and 2018 and finished in a tie for 41st in 2019, but his consistency on course could help erase those poor performances.
The 25-year-old took third at the Memorial Tournament and followed that up with a tie for sixth at the FedEx-St. Jude Invitational.
If that form holds this week, Fitzpatrick could cash as a winner with longer odds than a majority of top contenders.
Odds courtesy Caesars Palace. Statistics courtesy PGATour.com
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