The second major of the golfing calendar, the PGA Championship, takes place this week at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, USA with Scottie Scheffler primed to maintain his stellar form.
The 27–year–old, who recently became a father for the first time, has won four of his last five tournaments – finishing second in the other – and leads the PGA Tour in several statistical categories.
He is the 4/1 favourite to claim victory in Kentucky on a 7,609-yard, par 71 course that has played host to the tournament three times in 1996, 2000 and 2014 – Mark Brooks, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy the three victors.
Scheffler has competed in 10 PGA Tour events this season, winning the aforementioned four and finishing in the top 10 on nine occasions. With a 90% strike rate on top 10 finishes a 5/8 price for a parlay addition is solid value.
He's 23/20 to finish top five, a feat he has achieved seven times this season. If you're eyeing up further reasoning for a punt on The Masters champion, he ranks first on the PGA Tour in shots gained (2.851), scoring average (67.46), par fours (3.86), birdie average (5.38), greens hit in regulation (74.76%) and putting average (1.669).
Simply put, Scheffler is in another realm to the rest of the field on current form, and 4/1 is probably a reasonable price but difficult to back.
His main adversary, according to the bookies, is McIlroy who won last week's Wells Fargo Championship by five shots. The Northern Irishman has two victories, three top 10 and eight top 25 finishes in 10 tournaments in 2024.
McIlroy has relied heavily on his off-tee performance this season ranking first in total driving (27), fourth in shots gained of the tee (0.886) and second in drive distance (316.8) which could be beneficial on a course that boasts 10 450+ yard holes. He's Evens to finish in the top 10.
As we look for outsiders who could compete in Kentucky, there are a pair of players who boast strong scoring averages on the PGA Tour this year – Alex Noren (69.977) and Si Woo Kim (70.367).
Noren, a 100/1 shot, boasts eight top 25 finishes in 11 tournaments this season with two top 10s and has made all 11 cuts. He's fifth on the PGA Tour in total shots gained (1.276), third in scoring average, fifth in par fours (3.94) and hits 71.37% of greens in regulation, ranking sixth.
Noren is 6/5 to finish in the top 40 and 9/5 to end up in the top 30 - both reasonable punts for the Swedish veteran.
Si Woo Him boasts nine top 25 performances in 13 events played, making the cut in all his outings – he ranks highly in par fours, birdie average and approach play. A solid putting performance would add credence to his 66/1 odds – a top 30 finish at 7/5 is a ballpark punt.
Best Bets
Scottie Scheffler to finish top five – 23/20
Alex Noren to finish top 30 – 9/5
Si Woo Kim to finish top 30 – 7/5
