PGA Championship Odds Analysis and Betting Preview: Bryson on Bentgrass in the Big League! (Archive)
Top PGA Championship Picks
Golf Pick: Bryson DeChambeau To Win Outright (+8000) Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
Golf Pick: Bryson DeChambeau To Finish Top 10 (+800) BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
If the doctor ordered perfect conditions for Bryson DeChambeau, this week’s course playing long and wet with pure Bentgrass greens would be it. Let’s not forget Bryson DeChambeau has been under an injury cloud for some time now and I cannot help feeling like that was behind him joining LIV Golf.
I remember watching the sadness in his eyes when he walked off the 18th at St. Andrews last year after a top-10 finish. I cannot help but feel that was because he felt like he left the big league behind.
After a slow start to 2023, the twenty-nine-year-old Californian has been trending back to his best game in recent weeks.
With last week’s 5th place in Tulsa followed by a test like the one he won at in the US Open of 2020, and his beloved bentgrass greens, take Bryson DeChambeau in your best bets at this week’s PGA Championship, who represents value at the top U.S. betting sites.
Course Notes
- Oak Hill Country Club (East Course)
- Rochester, New York
- Par 70, 7394 yards
- Original Donald Ross design in 1926 and recent restoration by Andrew Green in 2019
- Pure Bentgrass greens with sub-air units under the surface
- Key Metrics – SG off the tee, SG Bentgrass
The renovation in 2019 took away over 600 trees and added yardage from the version used for the 2013 renewal when the course was described as claustrophobic by many. Jason Dufner won that event which was dominated by shorter players more than many of the recent modern major championships have been.
Weather Forecast
The West of America course is still warming up and only a couple of months ago there was snow on the ground in the area. This week there’s precipitation forecast for Friday and Saturday while the temperatures will be colder in the mornings. Rain is forecast over the weekend with the coldest day being Sunday.
Previous Winners
Leading Betting Contenders
Jon Rahm (+750)
Player of the year so far with his Masters victory. Rahm looked in fine nick recently down in Mexico and is a deserving favorite. Can the Spaniard win back-to-back majors?
Scottie Scheffler (+750)
Tuned up nicely last week at the Byron Nelson and with Rahm, they are head and shoulders above the rest on 2023 stats.
Rory McIlroy (+1200)
Oak Hill member, who practiced at the track a fair bit during the Covid lockdown. Huge questions to answer after Masters missed the cut and poor showing at Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo. He has answered those questions before!
Value Betting Contenders
Patrick Cantlay (+2000)
Patrick Cantlay is a real Bentgrass expert and sneaky long off the tee, in fact, his driving stats have been fantastic recently which is usually a good sign for the Californian.
Xander Schauffele (+2200)
Xander Schauffele took a fair bit of flak for an average final round at the Wells Fargo Championship, but Wyndham Clark poleaxed the field and possibly intimidated Xander a little as the week became a duel. Another Donald Ross design, East Lake which hosts the Tour Championship is made for Xander and these new alterations could play perfectly into the Olympic Champion’s hands.
Tony Finau (+2600)
A recent win over Jon Rahm at the Mexico Open was just what the doctor ordered for Tony Finau has been ultra-consistent in 2023 without sparkling. With the removal of so many trees at Oak Hill, it will play into Finau’s strengths nicely.
Jason Day (+3300)
Last week’s win at the Byron Nelson was encouraging that he was over his injury woes that plagued the Aussie around the Masters. Played well at Oak Hill in 2013 and was a previous PGA Champion. A solid chance!
Sleepers
Rickie Fowler (+8000)
Rickie Fowler has been a model of consistency all season long with his revamped swing and is close to his best. Fowler also played well here in 2013 when 19th and often performs well when the climate is cold and wet. A top 20 prop bet looks like the market for him.
Tom Kim (+8000)
I still believe this twenty-year-old Korean has the star quality to shine and a Donald Ross design is just his thing as his Wyndham Championship illustrated. Don’t forget he won at the Shriners win was on Bentgrass Pure also.
Keegan Bradley (+10000)
With the prospect of Oak Hill playing longer than before and the threat of rain, Keegan Bradley is a player who excels in those conditions and a previous winner of the PGA Championship in 2011. Bradley was 19th here in 2013 and like Fowler is a bad weather expert, and hugely respected in the props markets.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.