From 1916 to 1957, the PGA Championship was a grueling match-play event that saw finalists sometimes play over 200 holes over seven days. Beginning in 1958 and continuing this year at the 2021 PGA Championship, 72 holes will determine who takes home the two-and-a-half-foot tall, 27-pound Wanamaker Trophy. Collin Morikawa became the third-youngest golfer to win the PGA Championship after his final-round 64 last year at TPC Harding Park, but can you trust him in a highly competitive 2021 PGA Championship field?
Can Morikawa, at 22-1 in the latest 2021 PGA Championship odds from William Hill Sportsbook, go back-to-back just like Brooks Koepka did in 2018 and 2019? Will Rory McIlroy prevail as the 10-1 PGA Championship 2021 favorite? Before locking in your 2021 PGA Championship picks, be sure to see the 2021 PGA Championship predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been on fire since the return of the PGA Tour in June. In fact, it's up over $10,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
At the 2021 Masters, McClure nailed Jon Rahm's (+250) top-five finish, as well as Corey Conners' (+550) top-10 showing. All told, McClure's best bets netted over $450 at the Masters.
In addition, McClure was all over Daniel Berger's win at +1400 in his best bets at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. McClure also nailed Viktor Hovland's (+2500) victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he's made in the past few months.
After nailing Sergio Garcia (+5500) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the Sanderson Farms Championship, McClure finished up over $6,200 yet again on his best bets in that tournament. The model had him in the top five from the start and McClure's best bets included Garcia winning outright. He also finished profitable at the U.S. Open, nailing two of his best bets, including a +1100 top-five bet on Matthew Wolff.
This same model has also nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed its golf picks has seen massive returns.
Now that the 2021 PGA Championship field is taking shape, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2021 PGA Championship leaderboard.
One major surprise the model is calling for at the PGA Championship 2021: Bryson DeChambeau, the defending U.S. Open champion and one of the top favorites, struggles and barely cracks the top 10. DeChambeau has been one of the hottest players on tour this season, finishing on top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The eight-time PGA Tour champion has been sensational off the tee this season, ranking first in driving distance, strokes gained tee to green and strokes gained off the tee. DeChambeau's length off the tee also has him ranked inside the top 12 in both scoring average and birdie average.
However, DeChambeau is hitting fewer than 60 percent of fairways off the tee, which can cause plenty of trouble at Kiawah Island. His inability to find the fairway off the tee has resulted in DeChambeau finishing outside the top 40 in his last two starts on the PGA Tour, which includes a 46th finish at the Masters. He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the PGA Championship 2021 field.
Another surprise: Daniel Berger, a 33-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Berger has over $2.7 million in earnings this season on the strength of his victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Berger fired a final-round 65 on the Monterey Peninsula to beat Maverick McNealy by two strokes and Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth by three.
Berger has competed in six previous PGA Championships, with a 12th in 2018 and a 13th last year. Berger ranks inside the PGA Tour's top 20 in greens in regulation and strokes gained putting, both valuable assets that makes Berger a player to watch for your 2021 PGA Championship bets, according to the model.
The model is targeting four other golfers with PGA Championship odds 2021 higher than 20-1 to make a strong run at the Wanamaker Trophy, including an epic underdog. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big. You can only see them here.
So who will win the 2021 PGA Championship? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 PGA Championship leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed six golf majors and is up over $10,000 since the restart.
Rory McIlroy 10-1 Dustin Johnson 12-1 Jon Rahm 12-1 Justin Thomas 14-1 Bryson DeChambeau 14-1 Jordan Spieth 16-1 Xander Schaufele 16-1 Brooks Koepka 20-1 Collin Morikawa 22-1 Viktor Hovland 25-1 Hideki Matsuyama 25-1 Patrick Cantlay 28-1 Daniel Berger 33-1 Tyrrell Hatton 33-1 Webb Simpson 33-1 Patrick Reed 33-1 Tony Finau 33-1 Will Zalatoris 40-1 Justin Rose 40-1 Tommy Fleetwood 40-1 Cameron Smith 40-1 Scottie Scheffler 45-1 Louis Oosthuizen 50-1 Matthew Fitzpatrick 50-1 Jason Day 50-1 Paul Casey 50-1 Abraham Ancer 50-1 Sung-Jae Im 60-1 Joaquin Niemann 60-1 Adam Scott 60-1 Gary Woodland 66-1 Matthew Wolff 66-1 Shane Lowry 66-1 Sergio Garcia 66-1 Marc Leishman 66-1 Harris English 66-1 Corey Conners 66-1 Sam Burns 66-1 Brian Harman 80-1 Max Homa 80-1 Garrick Higgo 80-1 Lee Westwood 80-1 Bubba Watson 80-1 Si-Woo Kim 80-1 Francesco Molinari 90-1 Billy Horschel 100-1 Matt Wallace 100-1 Rickie Fowler 100-1 Matt Kuchar 100-1 Keegan Bradley 100-1 Cameron Champ 100-1 Robert Macintyre 125-1 Kevin Kisner 125-1 Branden Grace 125-1 Jason Kokrak 125-1 Martin Kaymer 125-1 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 125-1 Kevin Na 125-1 Matt Jones 125-1 Henrik Stenson 125-1 Ian Poulter 125-1 Brendon Todd 125-1 Phil Mickelson 125-1 Sebastian Munoz 150-1 Brandt Snedeker 150-1 Alex Noren 150-1 Bernd Wiesberger 150-1 Thomas Pieters 150-1 Stewart Cink 150-1 Victor Perez 150-1 Zach Johnson 150-1 John Catlin 150-1 Mackenzie Hughes 150-1 Danny Willett 150-1 Byeong Hun An 150-1 Rasmus Hojgaard 150-1 Dylan Frittelii 175-1 Rafa Cabrera Bello 175-1 Matthias Schwab 200-1 Thomas Detry 200-1 Ryan Palmer 200-1 Joel Dahmen 200-1 Hudson Swafford 200-1 Thorbjorn Olesen 200-1 Kevin Streelman 200-1 Padraig Harrington 200-1 Tom Lewis 200-1 Adam Hadwin 200-1 Erik van Rooyen 200-1 Chez Reavie 200-1 Carlos Ortiz 200-1 Lanto Griffin 200-1 Charles Howell 250-1 Jimmy Walker 250-1 Martin Laird 250-1 Andy Sullivan 250-1 Sam Horsfield 250-1 Jason Dufner 250-1 Graeme McDowell 250-1 Omar Uresti 300-1 Jim Herman 400-1 Brian Gay 400-1 Vijay Singh 500-1 Davis Love 500-1 Y.E. Yang 500-1 Rich Been 1000-1 Shaun Micheel 1000-1 John Daly 1000-1