Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: PGA Championship

PGA Championship

Aronimink Golf Club
Newtown Square, Pa.

The PGA Tour heads to Pennsylvania for season's second major.

Time for another major, so I'll congratulate Kristoffer Reitan and Brandt Snedeker on a huge wins and look ahead to the storylines of this week.

Let's start where I usually start, Scottie Scheffler. He's had a really good season, it just hasn't been up to his standards. Up to every other player on the PGA Tour's standards, yes, but not his, or quite frankly, our standards for him. There's a good chance that changes this week, but I'll get into that later.

As for number two in the world, we were fairly sure entering this past week that Rory McIlroy wouldn't have another Masters hangover, but he didn't exactly put that idea to bed this past week when he played pretty poorly in a spot where he'd had a lot of success previously. Was he looking ahead to the PGA Championship? Will he add yet another major win this week?

Cameron Young has been the best golfer this season and even though he's less than a year removed from his first PGA Tour victory, the expectations have gone through the roof and now we're expecting big things from him at the majors. He's handled success really well over the past 10 months, will that trend continue? Will he start to make his mark at the majors?

This one isn't getting a ton of attention, only because it seems a little far-fetched, but Jordan Spieth needs a win this week to complete the career grand slam. Of all the storylines this week, this would seem to be the best story if it were to happen.

Will the LIV golfers get it done before their league folds? They might have only three more chances to get it done. Jon Rahm or Bryson DeChambeau seem like the only possibilities, but they'll have to play much better this week than they did at the Masters.

A lot of attention is pointed towards Cameron Young as a first-time major winner, but Ludvig Aberg has quietly put in from good rounds over the past couple months. Will he get a major before Young?

As always, there are many more storylines than I can get into here, and once again, we'll see some of those develop as the week goes on.

I should also point out that this is not the Masters, there are no usual suspects at a PGA Championship, so get ready for some surprises on the leaderboard as the week unfolds.

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FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 6:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Scottie Scheffler (+440) 

These are the longest odds we've seen on Scheffler in a while and I think it has more to do with the odds makers and the public realizing that it's hard to win a golf tournament, no matter how good you are. Scheffler has proved that time and again this season as he's played great almost every week, yet he has just one win so far. I shouldn't say he's played great, he's played lights-out in three of four rounds at almost every stop this season, but it's usually been that one poor round that's been too much to overcome. One of these weeks he's going to get off to a good start and it will be lights out for the field. I could see this week as the week he starts and finishes well. At this price, it might be time to buy.

Rory McIlroy (+950)

McIlroy was poised for a good showing this past week in Charlotte, but it didn't happen. Is it the hangover from the Masters, or was he looking ahead? I don't want to consider the third option, which is he's simply off his game right now. It would make sense that McIlroy is hyper focused on the majors now that he's climbing the all-time charts and if that is the case, then last week's performance is not an issue. If you're in that camp, then McIlroy is definitely in play this week. He's been on the course and he knows how it's playing (he mentioned that Aronimink is playing much different than it did for the 2018 BMW Championship because it was wet that week) so he's one step ahead of most of the players in the field. I think he's been locked in on the 2nd major since he won at Augusta, so I'm expecting a good showing this week.  

Cameron Young (12-1)

There's no doubt that Young deserves to be the third-favorite this week, but as someone who has yet to win a major, I'm not sure there's enough value here. It's a tough spot because if his odds were any higher, they'd get bet down, so his number is always going to settle here, but I just wonder if this is all happening too fast. It's one thing to win a signature event and even The PLAYERS feels bigger than a signature event, but a major is yet another step up. Young has the talent, no doubt, but there's also a mentality to winning a major and while I know he'll get there at some point, I don't think it will be this week.  

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Jon Rahm (15-1)

Even though the LIV golfers were a no-show at the Masters and their league is crumbling, I do think that they'll have a better showing this week. Part of that is getting back up to speed. These guys are playing on their fake tour all year, so it must be tough to get back into a real event, but with one already under their belt this season, I think the second one is going to be easier to get used to. Rahm had high expectations going into the Masters as he was seemingly in good form, but a poor start doomed his chances. I think he gets off to a better start this week and makes himself a contender by Sunday.  

Bryson DeChambeau (22-1)

I realize that I'm probably going against the grain here, but there's good reason to think that Bryson, like Rahm, also bounces back at the season's second major. For DeChambeau it has more to do with his success on PGA Championship tracks. Yes, they're playing at a different course each year, but PGA Championship courses generally have similar traits and set ups, so if a golfer has played well on several PGA Championship courses, then I believe that does carry over to the current venue. DeChambeau has been runner-up at the two most recent PGA Championships, and he finished T4 the year prior.

Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1)

Fitzpatrick has had so much success lately that perhaps his awful showing at the Truist Championship, like McIlroy, can be blamed on looking ahead to the next major. Fitzpatrick has been stuck on one major for a while now and though that might have had an effect on his overall performance in recent years, it's obviously not affecting his game any longer as proof by his two wins in the past month. It makes perfect sense that the week prior to a major is a tough spot to focus, if you're putting everything into the majors. I'm not sure that's the case for Fitzpatrick, but now that he's fully out of his slump, he might just start hyper-focusing on getting his second major. Every professional wants to get at least one major, but once you get that first one, you want number two to prove you weren't a one-hit-wonder.

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LONG SHOTS

Viktor Hovland (55-1)   

Another guy looking for his first major this week. By the way, is this one of the best crops of guys without majors than we've had in a long time? Now that Young is a force, the group of Aberg, Young and Hovland is pretty strong, but I digress. As for Hovland, he's not a popular play this week and there's good reason for that as he hasn't been great this season, but we all know how much talent this guy has, so I don't think we should ever fully write him off. His form doesn't lead me to think he'll win this week, but his talent can show up at any moment and when are we ever going to get 55-1 on this guy again?

Rickie Fowler (60-1)     

Wouldn't this be a story. Right up there with Spieth completing the Grand Slam, this would be an epic result. Fowler had a chance to win this past week at the Truist, that's how good his form is right now and while it's hard to think he can break a three-year winless streak at a major, if he plays like he did this past week, he's got a chance. Fowler's recent results at the PGA Championship have not been great, but he does have a handful of top-10s at this event over the years. This pick is based on form however, that a pedigree of winning.  

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Scottie Scheffler – I have to assume that Scheffler has been used by a large percentage of OAD players already this season, but there is still probably a big chunk of players out there holding out for his best form. If that's the case, then I think this might be a popular play this week as I think everything is lining up for another major win for Scheffler. He has played the PGA Championship six times and he's finished outside the top-10 just once. He's the defending champ, which usually isn't a good thing, but I don't think that will negatively affect Scheffler this week.

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Bryson DeChambeau – A popular play for the Masters earlier this season, that didn't pan out, DeChambeau will again be on many teams this week because of his track record at this event. It won't necessarily translate to every PGA Championship course, but again, he's got a feel for the layout, so he'll likely be in the mix. The problem as always when picking a LIV golfer in a major is that you'll probably have a lot of company.

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Rickie Fowler – It's going to be hard for many OAD players to get away from the favorites this week or even the LIV guys, but if you're in a spot where you need to gain a lot of ground, then Fowler might be the play. I actually don't see this as a risky play this week because his form should get him to the weekend with ease, it's just a matter of what he can do on the weekend. If he's at all locked-in, like he was this past weekend, then we might be in for a treat this week.       

Buyer Beware: Cameron Young – I hate to do this because I've always liked Young's game and his potential, but I think this is all happening a bit too fast. There's just too much steam on Young right now. It's one thing to get rolling outside a major, but major pressure is so much different than the normal week-to-week pressure. I don't think Young will suddenly forget how to play golf this week, he'll play well, but I don't think he'll be a factor on Sunday. He did play well at the 2022 PGA Championship, but that's been his only good finish in four tries at this event. That's not what this is about though, this is about the huge step up from even The PLAYERS to a major event and the fact that this has all happened so fast for Young.

My Pick: Bryson DeChambeau – This pick checks all the boxes this week. First, I lean towards LIV players at the majors (well, just the good ones) because I can only use them in four spots, so if there's a good reason to use one at a major, then I'll do it. Second, DeChambeau's track record at this event is very strong. No, he hasn't won a PGA Championship, but he's finished in the top-4 four times. That includes finishing runner-up in each of the last two PGA Championships. Yes, different courses, but similar set-ups and often similar style courses.  Third, he's finally under the radar entering a major. I can't remember the last time that he was among the favorites at a major and while that might not always matter, I dare say that it's always better to have less attention on you than more attention, even if said golfer loves attention. Attention equals pressure at a major, and pressure is rarely a good thing in golf.

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Bryson DeChambeau ($11,400)
Middle Range: Tyrrell Hatton ($10,000)
Lower Range: Nicolai Hojgaard ($8,900)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

This Week: Scottie Scheffler – I've yet to use my free pass for this format, so I'll use it here. There aren't many players that you can rely on to make a cut at a major, but Scheffler is surely one of them. Tough course, easy course, it doesn't matter, Scheffler is making the cut. Even with a poor start, you know he's never going to throw in the towel, and that's key at a major because even some of the best golfers in the world have a hard time staying on track after a rough start to a major. 

Previous Results