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2024 PGA Championship: Our expert picks, PGA Tour field rankings and fantasy golf tips

The 2024 PGA Championship is the PGA Tour event this week, and we're back with our PGA Tour field rankings and expert picks for the tournament at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

Every week, we share our PGA Tour player rankings, and they are agnostic of competition. Whether you're playing in a fantasy golf leagues, betting on golf, or competing in a DFS (DraftKings, FanDuel) event, our picks highlight the top PGA Tour golfers to watch this week from our 2024 PGA Championship rankings.

2024 Charles Schwab Challenge: Field | Rankings  | Betting Odds | One and Done | Past Results | Cheat Sheet | Recent Form | Finish Database

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2024 PGA Championship Tournament preview

The PGA Championship is this week, and the PGA of America takes center stage with their major championship being played for the fourth time at Valhalla. The Nicklaus design has produced two world No. 1 winners in the last two times hosting, but our world No. 1 is in a unique situation this week.

2024 PGA Championship Tournament rankings: Top 10 teams

1. Scottie Scheffler : Scheffler has this position by default, but I don't think anyone has a clear idea of how his game will look.

2. Rory McIlroy : Rory won here 10 years ago, has two wins on the year and is smashing the ball off the tee.

3. Brooks Koepka : Koepka is a three-time winner of this event, and he won for the fourth time on LIV in his last start.

4. Ludvig Aberg: Aberg could be as high as No. 1 on this list, truly. However, the knee injury that forced him out of the Wells Fargo is a concern.

5. Xander Schauffele : Schauffele has been tremendous throughout the year, but he's also never won a major and has trouble closing out tournaments.

6. Max Homa : Homa notched that first major top-10 finish at the Open, then did better at the Masters. Why not even better at Valhalla?

7. Collin Morikawa : Morikawa doesn't care about the length of the course, and he seems to have great comfort again in his ballstriking.

8. Jon Rahm : Rahm hasn't won on LIV, but he's also never really looking like he can't win there. It's a weird space for him.

9. Wyndham Clark : Clark has been a big-game hunter kind of guy, outside of the Masters, but his Wells Fargo defense is certainly a concern.

10. Sahith Theegala : There are a number of contenders for this spot, which kind of tells you where golf is right now. But Theegala continues to evolve as a player in great ways.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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2023 Tour Championship odds, predictions: Picks and best bets for this week's PGA Tour finale from a golf expert

The 2022-23 PGA Tour season concludes this week when the top 30 players compete in the 2023 Tour Championship beginning Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. For the fifth straight year, players will be sent off in a staggered start based on their rankings in the FedEx Cup standings. Scottie Scheffler, who finished last week's BMW Championship atop the standings, enters the Tour Championship at 10-under par and holding a two-shot lead over Viktor Hovland. Scheffler is the favorite in the latest Tour Championship odds, at +130. Rory McIlroy (+330), Hovland (+450), Jon Rahm (+850) and Patrick Cantlay (+1800) round out the top five choices in the Tour Championship field. 

Before locking in any Tour Championship picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad. Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He's had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets and in betting head-to-head matchups. He also has been on fire on head-to-head matchups since the Charles Schwab Challenge, going 24-15-1 and returning 6.59 units over that span . That's a $659 profit for $100 bettors in the past 13 weeks.

Nejad also nailed 75-1 longshot Wyndham Clark as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship. In 2023, SportsLine debuted "The Early Wedge," and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners. Nejad also had a winning head-to-head record in seven of nine weeks. He was up more than 70 units over that three-month span.

Now, Nejad has been digging into the 2023 Tour Championship field to find the best value and just locked in his best bets and favorites to avoid.

One surprise: Nejad is fading Scottie Scheffler, even though he is the +130 favorite and starts with a two-shot lead . However, Nejad is high on the chances of Sam Burns, who is +4500 to win without starting strokes.  "His game is trending in the right direction across a myriad of metrics, including greens in regulation and approach play, and we know he's the type of player who can get hot at any given moment," Nejad told SportsLine.

Moreover, Nejad is jumping on several underdogs, including one longshot who's priced at more than 50-1. This player "continues to play well" and is a longshot who could surprise. If he does, you could cash in HUGE. You need to see who it is before locking in any 2023 Tour Championship picks of your own.

So which 2023  Tour  Championship  players should you target or avoid? And which player could bring a big payday at more than 50-1? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Sia Nejad's top picks for the 2023 Tour Championship, all from the expert who returned more than 70 units on recent golf picks ! 

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Tour Championship Betting Picks and Predictions

The PGA Tour is in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Tour Championship. OddsChecker's golf handicapper and expert Andy Lack gives us his best picks for the 2023 Tour Championship.

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The remaining 30 players on the PGA Tour head to Atlanta, Georgia for the final event of the 2022-2023 season. This tournament has undergone a number of structural changes over the years. Starting in 2007, it was the final event of the four tournament FedEx Cup playoffs, with eligibility determined by FedEx Cup points accumulated throughout the season. From 2019 onward, the FedEx Cup was reduced to three events, and the Tour Championship moved from mid September to late August. What also changed in 2019 was the addition of a staggered start. The PGA Tour wanted to ensure that the winner of the tournament this week would also be the winner of the FedEx Cup. 

The player with the most FedEx Cup points leading into this week ( Scottie Scheffler ) will begin the tournament at 10-under par. The player with the second most points ( Viktor Hovland ) will begin at eight under par. The player with the third most points ( Rory McIlroy ) will begin at seven under par, and so on down to the fifth at five under par. Player ranked six through 10 will begin at four under, 11 through 15 will begin at three under, and so on, all the way down to numbers 26-30, who will begin at even par. East Lake Golf Club has been the Tour Championship’s home since 2004, and it is once again sure to provide a stern test for the game’s very best.

Before we get into our picks for the Tour Championship, make sure to take a moment to check out these awesome sports betting offers for this week. We have teamed up with OddsChecker to ensure that you claim $1000s in first-bet bonuses so that you can bet on these 2023 Tour Championship selections with more confidence this week.

Tour Championship: Course Preview

East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia was designed by Donald Ross in 1913, but it received a substantial renovation by Rees Jones over the last fifteen years. Rees enacted his usual method of pinching in the fairways, adding bunkers and adding length, and East Lake now features the most narrow fairways on the PGA Tour. Jones’ methods have not necessarily made the course more challenging however, as last year it ranked 24th out of 38 courses in scoring difficulty, and we saw 17 rounds of 65 or better. Of course, much of that has to do with the fact that much of the fat has been trimmed, and all 30 players that have made it to this week are here for a reason. 

East Lake still features some gnarly and unpredictable Bermuda rough, and it ranked ninth out of 38 courses in missed fairway penalty, and sixth out of 38 courses in rough penalty. Unlike other mid scoring to tougher courses Bermuda courses such as TPC Southwind, TPC Sawgrass, and PGA National, East Lake is not defined by its water hazards. Water only comes into play on four holes and East Lake ranked 32nd out of 38 courses last year in penalty strokes. East Lake is a death by 1,000 paper cuts course, far more in the same vein as Innisbrook than the aforementioned water intensive tracks. 

Outside of the Bermuda rough, East Lake’s greatest defense is its stout quartet of par threes, which all play over 200 yards. While playing from the fairway is certainly essential at the Donald Ross design, nearly 40% of strokes gained over the last two years have come via approach. We’ve even seen inaccurate drivers find some modicum of success here with elite approach play. The green complexes here, unlike other Ross courses, are actually incredibly benign and provide very little pushback. East Lake ranked amongst the easiest on the PGA Tour last year in strokes gained around the green and putting difficulty. The formula this week is accurate driving combined with a mix of precise short iron and long iron play. The starting strokes obviously throws an interesting wrench into the betting markets this week, but East Lake remains a proper ball-striker’s course where we can take our chances with the flat-stick.

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Tour Championship Key Stats

• Driving Accuracy Percentage
• Recent Approach Play
• Strokes Gained Tee to Green: Bermuda Courses

Predict the  top five finisher s at this week's Tour Championship for a chance to win this Golf Monthly x OddsChecker free-to-play golf contest.

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1.       Make your selections using the widget above - Ensure you have selected each player in your chosen finishing position e.g. Scottie Scheffler (1st), Rory McIlroy (2nd), Viktor Hovland (3rd), and so on.

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Tour Championship: Outright Winner

Scottie Scheffler (+162) (Bet $100 to collect $262) Bet365 has the best Scottie Scheffler odds

There is really only one fitting solution to this PGA Tour season, and that’s Scottie Scheffler running away with the FedEx Cup after his historic ball-striking run. With another top-five finish at the BMW, his 12th of the season, Scheffler was up to his old tricks once again. The former Masters Champion gained over 13 strokes ball-striking at Olympia Fields, which is the best that he’s hit the ball since the Memorial. Once again, his flat-stick prevented him from crossing the finish line. 

Fortunately for him, East Lake features some of the easiest and most straightforward greens on the PGA Tour, and it is a difficult golf course to chase on. Scheffler generally spots a stroke or two on the field every week with his putter while lapping the field in tee to green. Even if he gives back one or two on the greens, it’s hard to imagine that anyone catches him on this golf course. Scheffler remains the number one driver of the ball, and number one approach player in this entire field, and East Lake is the perfect golf course to accentuate his ball-striking prowess and mask his putting woes. We’re due for a runaway, and this is the week we’ll get it.

As you can see, it is imperative that you compare the  Tour Championship odds at OddsChecker.

Scottie Scheffler is now best-priced at +162 at Bet365, +150 at BetRivers, +140 at DraftKings, and +135 at FanDuel, a stark $27 to $12 difference in returns. Make sure to pick the best sportsbook for your Scottie Scheffler pick with OddsChecker.

Russell Henley (Without Starting Strokes) (+3300) (Bet $100 to collect $3,400) Go to Bet365 to get the best Russell Henley odds

Considering I feel strongly that Scottie Scheffler is going to run away with the actual FedEx Cup, let’s turn our attention to hunting for value in the “Without Starting Strokes” market. While it is to let fly under the radar, there are few players in the world playing better golf right now than Russell Henley. The Georgia alumni just put together his third top-10 finish in a row at the BMW Championship, where he finished second in an elite field to only Scottie Scheffler in tee to green. Henley now travels to a golf course in East Lake that should be far better suited for his game than Olympia Fields. 

The three-time PGA Tour winner is one of the biggest risers both from tee to green and with the flat stick when placed on Bermuda golf courses, and his four top-10 finishes in a row at the Donald Ross-designed Sedgefield Country Club should be translatable to success at East Lake as well. While Henley has not played the Atlanta staple since 2017, he has a 12th and a third in two starts at East Lake, gaining over four strokes to the field in both occurrences. This is unsurprising, considering that he is the only player to rank top-five in this field in both accuracy and overall approach play. I am completely enamored by Henley’s course fit, and I see a tremendous amount of value on him to shoot the lowest 72 hole score in his native state of Georgia.

A PGA Tour writer and podcaster from Manhattan, New York, Andy Lack has contributed to sites such as Golf Digest, GolfWRX, OddsChecker Rotoballer, the Score, and now Golf Monthly. Andy is also the host of a golf betting and daily fantasy podcast, Inside Golf Podcast, as well as "The Scramble” with Rick Gehman, and a recurring guest on the Pat Mayo Experience. When he’s not writing, Andy can likely be found somewhere on a golf course pursuing his lifelong dream of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is looking for his sixth win of the year in the PGA Tour's latest signature event at TPC River Highlands

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The prestigious tournament needed the playoff to decide who would progress to the match play section and a chance of Major exemptions

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This week, the PGA Tour heads to Saint Simons Island, Georgia, for the RSM Classic. OddsChecker's golf handicapper and expert Andy Lack gives us his best picks for the 2023 RSM Classic.

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Play the Golf Monthly x oddschecker game below for free and win $10,000 when you predict 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the RSM Classic.

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This week, the PGA Tour heads to Southampton Parish, Bermuda, for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. OddsChecker's golf handicapper and expert Andy Lack gives us his best picks for the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

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Predict the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, and win $10,000 thanks to the oddschecker x Golf Monthly predictor game.

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Play the Oddschecker x Golf Monthly game below and win $10,000 if you can predict 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at this year's World Wide Technology Championship, held on Tiger Woods' first design.

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Travelers championship 2024 odds, course history and picks to win, share this article.

As a proud New Englander — Go Celtics! — the Travelers Championship is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The fans are incredible — annually one of the top-attended PGA Tour stops all season — TPC River Highlands is gorgeous and for the last few years it’s been a signature event, meaning the best players in the world have made their way to Cromwell, Connecticut.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, however, withdrew from the field Monday afternoon after his devastating loss at the U.S. Open.

Scottie Scheffler, fresh off a disappointing T-41 finish at Pinehurst No. 2, is the betting favorite at +360. Xander Schauffele is behind the Texan at +750, while Collin Morikawa sits at 11/1. Scheffler tied for fourth at TPC River Highlands last season.

This is the final signature event on the Tour schedule and the last time we’ll see many of the biggest stars in the game until they travel across the pond for the Scottish Open and The Open (the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic fall in between).

Golf course

TPC River Highlands | Par 70 | 6,852 yards

Course history

TPC River Highlands – Course History for @TravelersChamp -Includes average finish position and Strokes Gained per round since 2015 -10th most predictive annual course -The course has been "toughened" with six holes undergoing some "competitive enhancements" including… pic.twitter.com/Rmp2yN4wFK — Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) June 17, 2024

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Picks to win

Patrick cantlay (20/1).

Patrick Cantlay on the fifth hole during the second round of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

This is the third week of a signature event-major championship-signature event stretch, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the world’s best players slow down a bit at the Travelers.

However, if you still want to bet on a big name, Patrick Cantlay missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament, so he could be a little more rested than everyone else.

Cantlay hasn’t finished outside the top 15 at the Travelers in his last six appearances and grabbed a share of fourth in 2023. At last week’s U.S. Open, the world No. 8 tied for third.

Russell Henley (25/1)

Russell Henley reacts after putting on the eleventh green during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Henley has finished T-27 or better in his last five Tour starts and grabbed a share of seventh at the U.S. Open thanks to a final-round 67.

The Georgia product tied for 11th at the 2016 Travelers and for sixth in 2018 earlier in his career. More recently, Henley tied for 19th in 2021 and 2023.

Sam Burns (28/1)

Sam Burns hits his tee shot at the fourth hole during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Burns has finished T-10 at the RBC Canadian Open, T-15 at the Memorial and T-9 at the U.S. Open.

Burns hasn’t played in the Travelers since 2022 (MC), but he did tie for 13th in 2021.

Corey Conners (35/1)

Corey Conners reacts after hitting from the second tee box during the third round of the 2024 U.S. Open. (Photo: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports)

The Travelers Championship can turn into a birdie fest and TPC River Highlands is a second-shot golf course. For those reasons, you have to love Corey Conners.

He’s ranked second in Strokes Gained: Approach and 19th in driving accuracy. If the putter can get hot, the Canadian will have a shot come Sunday.

Conners has played well over his last five starts: T-13 (Wells Fargo), T-26 (PGA), sixth (RBC Canadian Open), T-20 (Memorial) and T-9 (U.S. Open).

He tied for ninth at River Highlands last year.

Brian Harman (40/1)

Brian Harman plays his shot from the 11th tee during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Getting Harman at 40/1 for the Travelers Championship is almost an auto-bet.

In 13 appearances in Connecticut, Harman has made 11 cuts and finished T-8 or better in five of his last six starts. Pretty, pretty good.

The lefty played consistent golf at Pinehurst No. 2 and eventually tied for 21st.

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Betting Analysis

PGA Championship picks 2023: Fade our red-hot expert at your own risk

Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room now—we’re hotter than a two-dollar pistol. Let’s address the second elephant in the room—it’s mainly Brandon Gdula.

But hey, while golf might not be a team sport, we consider ourselves a squad here in this column. If one of us has success, we all do, and Gdula is having a ton of a success this season, having picked his fifth winner in Jason Day at 17-1 at the AT&T Byron Nelson . That was also his second straight win. And collectively, we've nailed the past four winners in a row in this column. Fade us at your own risk.

This week, Gdula likes an all-around player to win the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, which should be an all-around test. As for the rest of us, we’re all going in very different directions. Let’s enjoy this one, folks. Nothing like a major week.

RELATED: PGA Championship DFS picks 2023: The Brooks Koepka debate

Scroll down to see our picks and analysis for the 2023 PGA Championship.

PGA Championship picks 2023: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions

Anonymous Caddie Picker of the week : Patrick Cantlay (19-1, FanDuel) — I really think the change in caddie could be perfect for Patrick. LaCava is one of the nicest guys in golf, but he also knows how to win. His style should match Cantlay's perfectly. It's important to speak simpatico on these weeks, and LaCava will be that reassuring voice for Patrick. But more than that, this guy isn't getting the credit he deserves for how well he has played this year because of all the crying on social media about his pace of play. It'd be nice for Patrick to put that all behind him with the crowning victory of his career.

Pat Mayo, DraftKings/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst : Cameron Smith (35-1, DraftKings) — Priced down since the Masters, the reigning Open Champion may have the perfect game for the 2023 version of Oak Hill. He sprays it off the tee, this we know, and the course seems far more forgiving this time around. And once Smith is off the tee, he’s still one of the best players on the planet. Since his poor start to LIV 2023, he’s piled up three top-six finishes in the three events since Augusta and has the required touch green side and from the sand to avoid bleeding strokes to the field. If you believe he’s still a top-five talent in the world, this is a gift of a price point on DraftKings.

Brandon Gdula, FanDuel/numberFire managing editor : Xander Schauffele (17-1, FanDuel) — Schauffele enters with four straight top-15 finishes at majors, and while his game has never been made up of any singular elite element, he leads the field in SG/approach over the past 50 rounds right now. An all-around game is elite for this setup, and Xander has it.

Rick Gehman, data scientist and RickRunGood.com founder : Scottie Scheffler (+750, Bet365) — The key to unlocking Oak Hill will be with the driver—especially those capable of hitting it long and straight. That’s great news for Scheffler who is inside the top 25 on tour in both driving distance and accuracy. After that, he turns into a top-10 approach player who has every short-game shot in his bag. He’s the best player in the field from tee-to-green over the last 36 rounds, gaining 2.61 strokes per round, according to the RickRunGood.com golf database. He’s the only golfer gaining over two strokes per round in that span.

Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest dep. managing editor : Dustin Johnson (30-1, DraftKings) — I'm with Gdula on Xander, but the number's really dropping sharply—it's tough for me to recommend 17-1 on a guy who has trouble closing. DJ has two majors and so many final rounds in the thick of it. He just edged Cam Smith in a playoff on LIV last weekend. He has the overall game needed here at Oak Hill ... and this number is really inviting.

Christopher Powers, Golf Digest staff writer : Cameron Young (35-1, DraftKings) — I thought Michael Breed made some excellent points on this week’s episode of The Loop podcast about Cam being in a bit of a sophomore slump after his Rookie of the Year campaign. That said, this so-called slump has still included top 20s at Riviera and Bay Hill, a runner-up at the Match Play and a T-7 at the Masters. It’s the other weeks where the results have been meh. The big-boy weeks like this one he still rises to the occasion for, just like he did a year ago with a T-3 in the PGA at Southern Hills and a runner-up at St. Andrews. He’s a big-game hunter in every sense of the phrase and I don’t see that changing this week in his home state.

Andy Lack, RickRunGood.com and Inside Golf podcast : Rory McIlroy (14-1, DraftKings) — What better venue for Rory McIlroy to break his nine-year major drought than where he is an honorary member, in the city where his wife is from? While that would certainly be a nice story, it has nothing to do with the reason why I believe he’s going to win. McIlroy will win because Oak Hill was built for him, and my numbers suggest that there is not a player in this field that fits this course better. He’s still one of the most dominant drivers of the ball in the field, ranking first in distance, 10th in recent off-the-tee form, and first off-the-tee on long golf courses. He also ranks top 10 in long-iron play, top 25 in overall bunker and around the green play, top 10 in Bentgrass putting, second in difficult scoring conditions, and second ball-striking on long golf courses with narrow fairways. I love that the industry and betting markets are more down on him than usual this week, as it will make victory taste so much sweeter.

Past results: We’re officially on fire. Four straight winners and five of the last six for this panel with Brandon Gdula’s latest tout of Jason Day to win the AT&T Byron Nelson at 17-1. That’s five outright hits for Gdula on the year, and his second in a row (Wyndham Clark 75-1 at Wells Fargo). Hopefully, you’ve been tailing us, and by us we mean Brandon. Let’s keep it ROLLING at Oak Hill.

Listen to Golf Digest's weekly betting podcast, "The Loop," (above) where we interview the industry's leading experts (and sometimes tour pros) to help you make your bets and pick your fantasy lineups. And be sure to subscribe to "The Loop" wherever you get your podcasts!

PGA Championship picks 2023: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win

Caddie: Shane Lowry (90-1, BetMGM) — Another player with a new caddie who should reinvigorate Shane's game. He's a complete player who won a major not too long ago. He loves tough courses and grinding out pars. Just close your eyes on the four-to-eight footers and hope they drop.

Mayo: Sam Burns (55-1, DraftKings) — Burns is one of the few players in the field who doesn’t need a nuclear week with his irons to contend; the driving, chipping and putting can be so elite it more than makes up for lagging approaching numbers. He’s just one of three players in the field top 25 in driving distance and scrambling (Clark and Walker are the two others), and sits top five in the field in putting for the past 36 rounds. Since he has a tendency to look truly awful every few weeks, it’s never going to feel comfortable backing him, and that’s fine. Just remember, Burns has won five times in the past 24 months, and the PGA Championship is the only Major where he’s actually performed well in his career. Two appearances: two top-30 finishes.

Gdula: Rickie Fowler (55-1, FanDuel) — Fowler ranks 11th in iron play over his past 50 rounds and is a slight positive in both driving distance and accuracy in that span, too. The putter is good, and there’s nothing we can nitpick with Rickie at 55-1.

Gehman: Gary Woodland (90-1, DraftKings) — Woodland thrives on demanding ball-striking courses thanks to his consistent gains in those categories. He’s gained strokes off-the-tee in 13 straight events, per the RickRunGood.com golf database. He’s gained multiple strokes on approach in each of his last four starts and has a penchant for PGA Championship setups. He’s made the cut six straight years in this tournament with two top-eight finishes during that stretch.

More From Golf Digest

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Max Homa (45-1, PointsBet) — You'll be able to find a 50-1 on Homa before the action starts Thursday, which is absurd. We're talking about a winner at a plethora of comparable, hard golf courses—Torrey Pines, Riviera, Quail Hollow ... what more do you want him to do? His off-the-tee game returned at the Wells Fargo, gaining more than three strokes en route to a T-8. We know Homa hasn't sniffed the lead in a major before, but this setup should be conducive to putting him near the lead into the weekend.

Powers, Golf Digest: Sahith Theegala (110-1, PointsBet) — From everything you see and hear, players can be long and a little wild off the tee this week and make up for it around the greens with elite chipping and putting. Sounds like a Sahith Theegala track to me. Theegala is top 50 on tour in both SG/putting and SG/around-the-green, and he hits it plenty far off the tee. Is he ready to win a major already? Probably not, but his top-10 at the Masters this year, plus a fourth at Torrey Pines and top 10s at Riviera and Harbour Town tells me he thrives against the best at the most challenging courses. This week checks both those boxes.

Lack: Shane Lowry (90-1, DraftKings) — I always love Shane Lowry on long, difficult golf courses in cold conditions. Public sentiment on the 2019 Open Championship winner is low right now due to a faulty putter, but Oak Hill will be a complete tee-to-green test that should really accentuate Lowry’s premier ball-striking. The Irishman hits the ball far, is a top-seven long-iron player in this field, and has an impressive resume on long, tough, Bentgrass tracks such as Firestone, Oakmont and Bethpage. I expect him to surprise this week in Rochester.

RELATED: Starting times and pairings for the first and second round at Oak Hill

PGA Championship picks 2023: Players We’re Fading

Caddie: Rory McIlroy (14-1, DraftKings) — It does seem like Rory’s walking around this week with a more business-like approach. I like to see that after all the distractions he’s faced over the last year. I don’t quite know if the current state of his game allows him to separate himself from the field … I’d rather some of these other elites who have shown me more recently.

Mayo: Tony Finau (22-1, DraftKings) — Will he have a good week? Probably. Is he going to win? Doubtful. Maybe this is the week Finau levels up, but it’s somewhat telling, looking at his victories, the types of field he can dominate. This ain’t it.

Gdula: Dustin Johnson (24-1, FanDuel) — A win in Tulsa has played part in Johnson’s odds shortening, but his overall downward trend is continuing into 2023 even with that win. While he could contend if the game is on, the odds are just too short for the amount of unknowns.

Gehman: Cameron Smith (35-1, DraftKings) — Smith has found so much success in golf, doing it his own way. He won the Open Championship and Players Championship by having elite short-game weeks – something that is rare for most winners of big-time events. Oak Hill will be difficult to beat through this route and will cause Smith all types of headaches off-the-tee. The fairways are already narrow but the bunker trouble will come into play right around the distance Smith drives it. He’ll be at a disadvantage on nearly every tee shot on the property, which will add up quickly this week.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Scottie Scheffler (+650, Caesars Sportsbook) — It’s so tough for me to throw out any of the names near the top, but Scheffler at sub-7-1 is absurd to me. The ball-striking is ultra elite right now—but the putting is not. He really struggled at the Byron Nelson putting, which are also bentgrass greens, and I ultimately think that could be the reason he doesn’t win.

Powers, Golf Digest: Rory McIlroy (14-1, DraftKings) — McIlroy could very well add another yellow box to his Wikipedia page this week, but I cannot bet on him to add a green one at these odds given what we’ve seen over the last decade in the majors from him,

Lack: Brooks Koepka (21-1, FanDuel) — The pendulum has swung way too far in the other direction with Brooks Koepka. The odds adjustment from three good rounds at Augusta is incredibly irresponsible. At the end of the day, we are still talking about a player that has played three good rounds of relevant, competitive golf in the last two years, and has a final round scoring average of 74 the last four times he’s been in the hunt at the major. Since nearly giving the PGA at Bethpage away in 2019, he has been an abject disaster on Sunday at Harding Park, Kiawah Island, and Augusta this year. I’m not sure I understand the separation between Koepka and fellow LIV golfer Dustin Johnson on the odds board, who is a far better bet in my eyes.

RELATED: How Oak Hill will display the work of golf’s hottest new architect

PGA Championship picks 2023: Matchups

Caddie: Brendan Steele (+100) over J.J. Spaun (DraftKings) — The oddsmakers are wrong on this one. Steele’s off-the-tee game gives him a significant edge over Spaun, who isn’t short but is also pretty inaccurate. You’ll have to look away if Steele misses greens, but let’s hope those 7- and 8-irons over Spaun’s 5- and 6-irons are the difference in this one.

Mayo: Gary Woodland (+100) over Corey Conners (DraftKings) — Conners has the better track record over the past two years, but lead-in form (and distance) favors Woodland by a large margin. We know neither can chip or putt, so ride with the better driver and long-iron player.

Gdula: Sungjae Im (-118) over Tyrrell Hatton (FanDuel) — While a tough setup could suit Hatton well, Im profiles to stay out of trouble more than most with accuracy off-the-tee and good iron play. He’s also got top-five around-the-green play over the past 50 rounds, which is sure to be important this week.

Gehman: Sungjae Im (+100) over Matt Fitzpatrick (Bet365) — Im is fresh off a win on the KPGA and has been piling up top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. He possesses the elite driving ability to battle Oak Hill and has one of the most well-rounded games on tour. His floor is higher than many of his peers, making him an excellent matchup option for this week.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Dustin Johnson (+110) over Collin Morikawa (Circa) — I just can’t emphasize enough how big of an advantage Dustin Johnson’s distance is here over Collin. These fairways are really narrow, and even accurate drivers like Collin will find the rough off the tee. He will find himself in trouble around the greens, and his short game is objectively not elite. Dustin Johnson has it all—the distance to take some of the trouble out of play, and a much better short game over Morikawa.

RELATED: Dustin Johnson's final PGA Championship prep included a late-night lesson with Paulina

Powers, Golf Digest: Keegan Bradley (+100) over Shane Lowry (DraftKings) — Lowry has become a legitimate threat every time he tees it up in a major, and it feels like he’s coming in quite under the radar which scares me. But Keegan at even money here is too good to pass up. He lives for an arena like this one and Oak Hill should suit his elite ball-striking ability. Any week where par is a good score is a week you want to be in Keegan’s corner.

Lack: Joaquin Niemann (-120) over Sahith Theegala (DraftKings) — I’m a huge fan of Joaquin Niemann as an under-the-radar pick this week. While I don’t really know what to do with middling-to-solid LIV results, he ranked top five in SG/off-the-tee at the Masters. The young Chilean’s elite driving ability will be accentuated even moreso at Oak Hill, and Bentgrass remains his preferred putting surface. On the contrary, Sahith Theegala’s squirminess off the tee and often erratic iron play has me feeling more bearish on his chances this week. While I am still very high on Theegala’s talent, Niemann remains a far more proven player, and this price is too cheap.

Matchup Results from the AT&T Byron Nelson: Gehman: 1 for 1 (Bezuidenhout (-110) over Stallings); Mayo: 1 for 1 (Jaeger (-110) over Montgomery); Powers: 1 for 1 (Kuchar (+100) over K.H. Lee); Caddie: PUSH (Hatton (+190) over Scheffler); Gdula: 0 for 1; Hennessey: 0 for 1; Lack: 0 for 1

Matchup Results from this season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Gehman: 18-8-2 (up 8.66 units); Hennessey: 17-10-1 (up 5.71 units); Lack: 11-7-0 (up 2.82 units); Caddie: 14-12-2 (up 1.27 units); Powers: 14-13-1 (up 0.58 units); Gdula: 12-15-1 (down 4.87 units); Mayo: 10-15-0 (down 5.55 units)

Watch our hole-by-hole analysis with drone footage of Oak Hill's renovated East Course:

PGA Championship picks 2023: Top 10s

Caddie: Wyndham Clark (+600, FanDuel) — His distance is elite, and so is his short game—so it shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Wells Fargo winner sneaks inside the top 10 at the end of the week.

Mayo: Justin Thomas (+260, DraftKings) — It's hard to overlook the two time and reigning PGA champion Justin Thomas, but he hasn't won in a year. So that's problematic. But when you take a scan through what he has done tee-to-green over the past four months has been out of this world. Good. What has been the problem? He just can't putt enough to win, but that can change on a dime when it comes to Justin Thomas. We know that he is not the world's greatest putter, however, when he gets it going, he can fill it up with the best of ‘em. You just have to hope it's that magic week and even if it's not that magic week and he's just around field average or slightly above, the rest of his game is so in tune at the moment that he could still potentially win, and he comes in at a very good discount price for a player of his caliber at the PGA championship this week.

Gdula: Collin Morikawa (+280, FanDuel) — Morikawa’s accuracy and irons could lead to a field-best number of greens in regulation at a course with small greens. The putting is still pretty rough, and the underlying numbers aren’t great there, but the ball-striking seems ripe for Morikawa to finish top 10.

Gehman: Tony Finau (+210, DraftKings) — When everything is clicking, no golfer has the upside of Tony Finau. Of the 10 best strokes-gained performances by any golfer since the start of the 2022 season, Finau owns five of them. He’s gained at least 17.48 strokes to the field five different times with no other golfer in the world doing it more than once. His skill-set should be rewarded around Oak Hill and he will enter with more confidence than ever thanks to his four wins since the last time he played a PGA Championship.

Hennessey, Golf Digest: Tommy Fleetwood (+500, FanDuel) — Fairway Jesus plays his best golf on tough golf courses like we’ll see at Oak Hill. I love the fact he was in the Northeast all last week (shout out Hudson National) to prep for Oak Hill. He can scramble with the best of them, and his form is very strong coming into this week.

Powers, Golf Digest: Bryson DeChambeau (+900, DraftKings) — I mean … why the hell not? All those Winged Foot comparisons are impossible to ignore, even if he is a slimmed-down version of his U.S. Open-winning self. He still hits it a mile and finally showed some life last week on LIV, which makes extra-surprising that he’s still in triple-digit territory outright odds wise and 9-1 just to top 10. I’m going to have plenty of action on this guy this week.

Lack: Harris English (+1200, DraftKings) — Harris English is one of my favorite longshots this week, and I’ll gladly take my chances that he finds his way onto the first page of the leaderboard by Sunday afternoon in Rochester. English has a sneaky strong resume on long, difficult, major championship style tests, with top-fives at both the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot and the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Top-fives at both Bay Hill and Quail Hollow this year are similarly encouraging, and the approach play came back for him in full force two weeks ago down in Charlotte. At one point one of the best ball-striker’s on tour, English is quietly trending back up in the right direction.

Top-10 results from the AT&T Byron Nelson: Hennessey: 1 for 1 (Vincent Norrman +1100); Everybody else: 0 for 1

Top-10 results from this season: Hennessey: 7 for 28 (up 14.95 units); Gdula: 9 for 28 (up 14.2 units); Gehman: 8 for 28 (up 8.6 units); Mayo: 6 for 25 (up 3.1 units); Lack: 6 for 18 (up 3.9 units); Caddie: 7 for 28 (up 1.4 units); Powers: 2 for 28 (down 19.9 units)

RELATED:  Michael Breed on bumping Jim Furyk from 'Billions,' beating Cam Young's dad and why Oak Hill is perfect for this LIV star

PGA Championship picks 2023: One and Done

Gehman: Xander Schauffele — Schauffele is a top-15 machine in major championships. That’s a feat that he has accomplished in four straight and in 12 of his 23 major starts. And it makes sense, he’s so well-rounded that his game is able to translate to nearly every golf course on the planet. And the more difficult the conditions become, the better he can separate himself from the field. He enters the week in ideal form, runner-up in Charlotte, T-4 in New Orleans, fourth in Hilton Head and T-10 at Augusta.

Previous weeks: Fortinet Championship: Emiliano Grillo. Sanderson Farms Championship: Sam Burns. Shriners: Taylor Montgomery. Zozo: Sungjae Im. CJ Cup: Matt Fitzpatrick. Bermuda: Denny McCarthy. Mayakoba: Viktor Hovland. Houston Open: Aaron Wise. RSM Classic: Brian Harman. Sentry TOC: Cameron Young. Sony Open: Hideki Matsuyama. American Express: Brian Harman. Farmers: Jason Day. AT&T Pebble Beach: Maverick McNealy. WMPO: Scottie Scheffler. Genesis: Justin Thomas. Honda: Sungjae Im. API: Rory McIlroy. Players: Jon Rahm. Valspar: Justin Rose. WGC-Match Play: Cameron Young. Valero: Rickie Fowler. Masters: Jordan Spieth. RBC Heritage: Collin Morikawa. Zurich: Kurt Kitayama. Mexico Open: Ben Martin. Wells Fargo: Viktor Hovland. Byron Nelson: K.H. Lee.

Hennessey: Jon Rahm — Most of your league-mates have probably used Rahm, and if you haven’t, I think it’s a good week to roll him out at lower ownership.

Previous weeks: Fortinet Championship: Cam Davis. Sanderson Farms Championship: Denny McCarthy. Shriners: Emiliano Grillo. Zozo: Hideki Matsuyama. CJ Cup: Sungjae Im. Bermuda: Mark Hubbard. Mayakoba: Viktor Hovland. Houston Open: Jason Day. RSM Classic: Brendon Todd. Sentry TOC: Patrick Cantlay. Sony Open: Matt Kuchar. American Express: Brian Harman. Farmers: Will Zalatoris. AT&T Pebble Beach: Seamus Power. WMPO: Collin Morikawa. Genesis: Justin Thomas. Honda: Chris Kirk. API: Keith Mitchell. Players: Rory McIlroy. Valspar: Adam Hadwin. WGC-Match Play: Tyrrell Hatton. Valero: Nick Taylor. Masters: Scottie Scheffler. RBC Heritage: Jordan Spieth. Zurich: Sahith Theegala. Mexico Open: Gary Woodland. Wells Fargo: Xander Schauffele. Byron Nelson: Tyrrell Hatton.

Powers: Brooks Koepka — It’s the perfect time to use him coming off the Masters run.

Previous weeks: Fortinet Championship: Sahith Theegala. Sanderson Farms Championship: J.T. Poston. Shriners: Sungjae Im. Zozo: Hideki Matsuyama. CJ Cup: Tyrrell Hatton. Bermuda: Russell Knox. Mayakoba: Thomas Detry. Houston Open: Sepp Straka. RSM Classic: Davis Riley. Sentry TOC: Xander Schauffele. Sony Open: Gary Woodland. American Express: Cameron Young. Farmers: Taylor Montgomery. AT&T Pebble Beach: Maverick McNealy. WMPO: Sungjae Im. Genesis: Collin Morikawa. Honda: Chris Kirk. API: Will Zalatoris. Players: Patrick Cantlay. Valspar: Justin Suh. WGC-Match Play: Tom Kim. Valero: Matt Kuchar. Masters: Tony Finau. RBC Heritage: Rickie Fowler. Zurich: Robby Shelton. Mexico Open: Luke List. Wells Fargo: Viktor Hovland. Byron Nelson: Tom Hoge.

About our experts

Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME .

Brandon Gdula , managing editor and analyst for NumberFire, a FanDuel daily-fantasy analysis company, recently won the 2018 FSWA Golf Writer of the Year. Gdula also co-hosts the DFS Heat Check podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @gdula13 .

Rick Gehman is the founder of RickRunGood.com and the RickRunGood YouTube Channel, is one of the industry’s leading experts on golf DFS and gambling. Gehman is co-host of the First Cut Podcast and appears regularly on the Pat Mayo Experience golf podcasts. Follow him on Twitter: @RickRunGood .

Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. He hosts Inside Golf, a twice weekly podcast focused on the PGA Tour, betting, daily fantasy, golf course architecture, and interviews, as part of the BlueWire podcast network. As well as contributing to Golf Digest, Andy is also a data analyst and writer for RickRunGood.com, where he covers PGA Tour betting and daily fantasy. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Golf.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports

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2024 travelers championship odds, picks and pga tour predictions, share this article.

The 3rd men’s major championship of the year is in the rearview mirror and there is no break for the game’s top players after the year’s toughest test. Following the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst won by LIV member Bryson DeChambeau , the PGA Tour heads to Cromwell, Conn., for the 2024 Travelers Championship – the last designated event of the season with a limited, loaded field.

Seventeen of the top 20 players in the last Sagarin Golfweek rankings are set to tee it up starting Thursday, led by No.1  Scottie Scheffler . Below, we look at BetMGM Sportsbook’s 2024 Travelers Championship odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions .

Scheffler, despite coming off a disappointing U.S. Open as the favorite where he tied for 41st at 8-over-par, is the favorite again this week (+400), followed by Xander Schauffele (+750), Collin Morikawa (+1000), Ludvig Aberg (+1400) and Viktor Hovland (+1800). Defending champion Keegan Bradley , who won with a record 23-under-par 257, opens at +5000.

Rory McIlroy , fresh off a disappointing runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, announced on social media Monday that he withdrew from the Travelers. “I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland,” McIlroy posted on Instagram.

TPC River Highlands isn’t a very long course. Designed by Pete Dye, the par-70, 6,841-yard course features some iconic finishing holes – including the driveable par-4 15th and the par-4 17th hole that bends around a pond. The course reopened in 2016 after a renovation, including reworked bunkers, tees and greens around the venue, which is cut between homes and condos.

As for the final major of the season — The Open at Royal Troon next month — Scheffler is the favorite at +450 with McIlroy at +750 and DeChambeau at +1100.

WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+

2024 Travelers Championship – Expert pick

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook ; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 11:33 p.m. ET.

Patrick Cantlay (+2200)

The 2-time Memorial champion missed the cut in Ohio but rebounded last week in North Carolina to finish tied for 3rd place (-4) at the U.S. Open and if a few birdies had fallen we would be talking about him as a major champ. Now he comes to a course where he has enjoyed success. As a freshman at UCLA, he shot a then-course record 60 in the 2011 Travelers to finish tied for 24th. After 2 missed cuts as a pro, he has 6 top-15 finishes here, including 4th last year. He’s 68-under-par over his last 6 times at TPC River Highlands.

2024 Travelers Championship picks – Contenders

Xander schauffele (+750).

This year’s PGA Championship winner has 11 top-10 finishes in 15 starts, including a tie for 7th Sunday at Pinehurst at 1-under. He’s made the cut in 4 of his 5 Travelers, winning in 2022 (19-under) and finishing 19th last year, 20th in 2020 and 14th in 2017.

Brian Harman (+4000)

The 2023 Travelers runner-up is a horse for the course, having made the cut 11 of the 13 times he’s played here with 5 top-10 finishes in the last 6 years. He has fired 13 straight rounds in the 60s at TPC River Highlands and is a combined 41-under-par in the last 3 years. The 2023 Open champ finished T-21 Sunday at Pinehurst at 5-over.

Keegan Bradley (+5000)

The New England native has performed well in his home region. Especially last year when he won the event by 3 strokes with a record score of 23-under, firing rounds of 62-63-64-68. He’s made the cut in Cromwell in 11 of his 13 appearances and has 3 top 10s and 6 top-25 finishes. He tied for 32nd at the U.S. Open at 7-over.

2024 Travelers Championship picks – Long shots

Harris english (+8000).

The 34-year-old pro won here in 2021 and followed that up with a T-19 in 2022 and a T-6 last year. The 4-time tour winner was 8-over at the U.S. Open to tie for 41st.

J.T. Poston (+6600)

The 31-year-old pro has been having a very good season with 4 top 10s and 8 top 25s in 16 events. He’s made the cut in 4 of the 5 times he’s played the Travelers and finished 2nd in 2022. He tied for 32nd Sunday at Pinehurst at 7-over.

Adam Scott (+6600)

The 43-year-old Australian finished tied for 32nd at 7-over in the U.S. Open, and might have been in contention had he not shot a 6-over 76 in the 3rd-round. The 14-time tour winner has played just 3 Travelers – he missed the cut in 2010, then returned in 2021 to tie for 13th (-8) and had a T-19 in 2023 (-14). So why can he win? He shot 62 in the 1st round last year and is still capable of putting together 4 solid rounds.

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• Bryson DeChambeau cashes in with Open win
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Expert Picks: Travelers Championship

Expert Picks

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How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments.

Aside from the experts below, Golfbet Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at the Travelers Championship in this week's edition of Power Rankings .

Betting picks

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, June 18. For live odds, visit BetMGM .

WILL GRAY (Lead, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winner: Tony Finau (+3300) – Finau has really turned things around, with four straight finishes of T18 or better highlighted by a T3 result at Pinehurst. His price this week speaks to his relatively mediocre history at TPC River Highlands, but a handful of top-25s (including a T13 two years ago) show promise.
• Top 10: Brian Harman (+250) – Six top-10s in Connecticut since 2013 for the reigning Open champ? Sign me up.
• Longshot: Stephan Jaeger (+10000) – A winner in Houston, he has been steady since his big breakthrough including a top-25 last week. Anyone who can shoot 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour can get it around TPC River Highlands.
• Head-to-Head (H2H): Patrick Cantlay (+110) over Ludvig Åberg – I love the prospect of getting Cantlay at plus-money on a course where he has thrived before. The post-major hangover should be a wash between these two and I still have some questions about Åberg’s ability to avoid a weekend swoon.

BEN EVERILL (Senior writer, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winner: Xander Schauffele (+750) – I am not a fan of these odds but I cannot ignore Schauffele’s history and stat profile for TPC River Highlands. There is better value out there on players like, Åberg, Theegala and Harman but ultimately I think the PGA Champion has enough energy left in the tank to have some fun here.
• Top 10: Brian Harman (+250) – This guy is a perennial contender at TPC River Highlands so he should be on your radar across the board. Top 10 in four of his last five starts in this event.
• Longshot: Keegan Bradley (+5000) – The defending champion will have more internal energy than most this week because this is his home region event. It was no surprise last season that Bradley won after a major at a place he had an affinity with, as Matt Fitzpatrick did at the 2023 RBC Heritage after the Masters. As others tire, Bradley will lift.
• H2H: Patrick Cantlay (+110) over Ludvig Åberg – This is a numbers play. My instinct is Åberg has an awesome chance to win this week but without knowing how much gas came out of the tank of both U.S. Open contenders in this matchup, I see a chance to get plus money on a former course record holder at TPC River Highlands.

CHRIS BREECE (Senior content manager, Golfbet)

• Winner: Ludvig Aberg (+1400) – With how iconic the finish to the U.S. Open was, does anyone even remember who had the lead after 36 holes? The one thing that kept Ludvig from holding his lead into the weekend was the lack of experience and learning how to navigate a tough major track. That’s not a problem this week. Keep in mind, we’re on the tail end of a three-week stretch. These players are exhausted. The definition of exhausted is a little different for a 24-year-old.
• Top 10: Sahith Theegala (+240) – He’s quietly becoming one of the most consistent players on TOUR with five Top 10 finishes already this year. I loved his bounce back after an opening 77 last week. He played his final 54 holes in even par. I also like that he has good memories here with a T2 in 2022.
• Longshot: Kurt Kitayama (+15000) – I think people really need to factor in that exhaustion factor this week. Picking players who have missed recent cuts seems risky, but Kitayama is rested having missed the cut the last two weeks. The reason I like him here is because of our Golfbet key stat of approach shots from 125-150 yards and 150-175 yards. He ranks 19 th and 3 rd in those stats, respectively.
• H2H: Justin Thomas (-120) over Jordan Spieth – They will be two popular guys to watch this week. Spieth’s crazy win here in 2017 seems like a long time ago. He hasn’t performed well since.

MATT DELVECCHIO (Social content manager, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winner: Collin Morikawa (+1000) – It’s no secret that Morikawa is on the cusp of victory. It will happen sooner than later and every golf bettor will be kicking themselves for not backing him that week because of how obvious it was that he’s ready to win. With how he’s been putting over the last couple weeks, Morikawa should fill the scorecard with plenty of birdies.
• Top 10: Brian Harman (+250) – There is just no reason not to back Brian Harman at the Travelers. Proven horse for the course and in some really good form (no worse than T33 in the last 4 starts which included both PGA Championship and U.S. Open).
• Longshot: Akshay Bhatia (+8000) – Tremendous value here for a guy who finished T22 at the Memorial and T16 at the US Open in his last two starts. Playing great golf and should be closer to the +4000 range.
• H2H: Brian Harman (-120) over Sepp Straka – The trust in Brian Harman this week is high.

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*Brett Jungles joined the Expert Picks league at the beginning of Segment 1 and did not accumulate any points from the FedExCup Fall.

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Players Championship betting guide: 8 picks our expert loves at TPC Sawgrass

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Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from G OLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. You can follow Kannon on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer and you can read below to see his favorite plays for the Players Championship, which kicks off Thursday at TPC Sawgrass , in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Keep scrolling past Kannon’s picks, and you’ll also see data from Chirp, a free-to-play mobile platform — and GOLF.com affiliate — that features a range of games with enticing prizes, giving fans all kinds of ways to engage in the action without risking any money.

This has been the year of “the elevated event.” In just three months, we’ve already had four such tournaments and each has been a treat. The Players Championship has always been elevated, if you will. It carries the largest purse on Tour and arguably assembles the game’s most competitive field. Kurt Kitayama earned $3.6 million at Bay Hill last week , holding off Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth for his first PGA Tour victory. This week we head north to Ponte Vedra Beach, where a $4.5-million winner’s check awaits.

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass , a Pete Dye design, has been hosting The Players Championship since 1982. It is commonly referred to as “the 5th major.” The governing body at Augusta National Golf Club puts on the Masters . The PGA of America conducts the PGA Championship. The USGA plays host to the U.S. Open and the R&A runs the Open Championship. The Players Championship is the Tour’s baby and its crown jewel event. The 17th hole, a par 3 with an island green, is part of a three-hole finish that ranks among the most dramatic closing stretches in the world.

At less than 7,200 yards, the course is short by Tour standards, but we have seen both bombers and short knockers win here in the past. Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Davis Love III fit the bomber mold, but they’re offset by former champions, Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Fred Funk. I favor Driving Accuracy over Driving Distance this week. But at Sawgrass, it is really about positioning. Many players will play 3-woods and long irons off the tee to avoid water hazards and other trouble. The rough is not as brutal as what we saw last week at Bay Hill, and the greens, which are also Bermuda grass, are smaller than Tour average. Ball Striking will be paramount this week. The forecast calls for 10-15 mph winds. Nothing fierce. But given that no two holes run in the same direction, players will be tested from all possible angles and will have to be able to work some shots.

That said, the most important statistics this week are Good Drives Gained and/or Fairways Gained (Total Driving is not a bad place to look either), Strokes Gained: Approach, Par 4 Scoring (or SG: Par 4’s) and Scrambling. Work around the greens has proven crucial at the Players, with the top tier of past leaderboards loaded with players who scrambled best. It makes sense with the undulations on and around the greens, the quirky bunkering, and the small putting surfaces. Other areas I looked at this week were Bogey Avoidance, Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermuda Grass), and how these players have fared on other Pete Dye courses and/or the comp courses. For comps, I considered Sedgefield (Wyndam), Innisbrook (Valspar), The Concession (WGC-Workday), Muirfield Village (The Memorial), and Sea Island (RSM Classic). The Pete Dye designs I used were Harbour Town (RBC Heritage), TPC RIver Highlands (Travelers), TPC Louisiana (Zurich Classic) and the Stadium Course at PGA West (American Express).

Picks to win the Players Championship (and finish Top 20)

Patrick Cantlay (16-1)

Cantlay is getting a lot of betting attention this week. I could have taken 18-1 but got greedy and waited, thinking I might get something a tad higher. Ultimately, I had to settle for 16-1 but I’ve seen as low as 13-1. This is our third time in four weeks backing the UCLA Bruin and while we have cashed Top 20 finishes, the outright win still eludes us. He was 3rd at the Genesis and 4th last week in his first ever trip to Bay Hill. Cantlay fits our criteria this week. He’s 4th in Total Driving, 19th in Scrambling, 2nd in Bogey Avoidance, and 1st in Par 4 Scoring. He is also 22nd in this field over the last 36 rounds in SG Approach. He’s been tremendous on some of the comp courses with 2nd, 7th, and two 3rd place finishes at Harbour Town, a win at TPC Louisiana, and three Top 10 finishes, including a runner-up at the American Express. In his last five trips to TPC River Highlands, Cantlay hasn’t finished worse than 15th and shot a 60 on that course back in 2011. I feel like he’s primed and ready to put it all together this week at TPC Sawgrass.

Collin Morikawa (27-1)

I like it when it seems like one of the best players is being ignored or there isn’t much buzz in the betting world about that player. That feels like the case this week with Morikawa, the 10th ranked player in the world. He stumbled mightily in the final round at Kapalua to kick off 2023 (I remember it well as I was on him that week) and his stock has drifted downward ever since. He missed the cut last week at Bay Hill and did so in Phoenix, too — but he also recorded a 3rd at Torrey Pines and finished 6th at the Genesis. He is a Top 5 player in the field for Good Drives Gained, Fairways Gained, and SG Approach over the last 36 rounds. He also won the WGC-Workday at The Concession in 2021. The problem is the short game as it has been off recently. Over the course of the 2022-23 season, his Scrambling is solid, but it will need to return to form if he’s going to win here this week. With everything else he does so well, I believe he has a real shot and at close to 30-1, he’s almost an auto-play in my opinion.

Jason Day (32-1)

As with Cantlay, we took a shot with Jason Day to both win and finish in the Top 20. He delivered for us by recording his 4th straight Top 10 finish on Tour. I wrote about how he has sneaked up on us in the last five months. It has been an incredible return to form for the Australian and I’m going to back him again this week, on another course, like Bay Hill, where he has won. Day ranks No.1 in this field for Bogey Avoidance over the last 36 rounds, 2nd for Scrambling, and 1st in SG Par 4’s. In addition to his win here, Day has also finished 8th, 5th, 19th, and 6th. He has a Top 10 in his career at Harbour Town, a 20th at the Valspar, and was 18th in 2021 at The Concession. Though Whistling Straits is a far cry from a clone of Sawgrass, it’s also worth nothing that Day one the 2015 PGA Championship on that Dye design. As we noted last week, we’ve always known about his short game – but now the driver and the irons are working too. I have to take another shot with him as it appears he is destined to win again soon.

Tyrrell Hatton (35-1)

The Englishman has really been playing great golf with two Top 10 finishes and a Top 15 in his last four starts. He is 2nd on Tour in Total Driving, 40th in Scrambling, and 4th in this field over the last 36 rounds for SG Putting on Bermuda. He has Top 10 finishes at Harbour Town and Sedgefield and Top 25 finishes at Innisbrook and The Concession. He was 13th here at The Players last year. His iron play can sometimes get away from him despite ranking 28th on Tour in SG Approach. With his work off the tee and around the greens however – combined with his comp course history and current form, I think he’s in the mix again here roughly 140 miles from his Florida home.

This Canadian long shot could help you win BIG at TPC Sawgrass: 2023 Players Championship odds

Sungjae Im (40-1)

As is the case with Cantlay, we are backing Im for the third time in four weeks. Unfortunately, he missed a Top 20 finish for us last week by one shot. But we can’t ignore his consistency in all areas of the game while still getting juicy prices on him to win. Im ranks Top 21 in this field over the last 36 rounds in SG Off the Tee, Bogey Avoidance, Scrambling, and Fairways Gained. He hasfinished as high as 13th at the RBC Heritage and 17th here at Sawgrass. He has a 4th place finish at the Valspar, a runner-up, a 6th, and a 9th place finish at the Wyndham, and has never finished worse than 18th in five trips to the American Express. If you also look at what Im has done on courses that measure less than 7200 yards, he ranks 10th in this field over the last 36 rounds on such courses for SG Ball Striking. I believe he’s worth another shot at 40-1 or better.

Si Woo Kim (90-1)

Yes, 90-1 appears to be an outlier that I came across, but I am okay with anything at 65-1 or better. Si Woo is a former Players champ and along with Webb Simpson, he is probably the “co-owner” of the Wyndham Championship with finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 1st in his career. He checks in with a runner-up finish at the RBC Heritage as well. To illustrate his prowess on these types of courses, Kim ranks 12th in this field over the last 36 rounds for SG Tee to Green on Pete Dye designed courses. He is also 5th for Bogey Avoidance and 12th in Fairways Gained. He’s extremely accurate off the tee and ranks 15th on Tour in Scrambling. I did not use Wailae Country Club as a correlated course this week but there are some ties – narrow fairways, Bermuda grass, wind – and Si Woo won the Sony Open there just three months ago.

Full tournament head-to-head matchups

Tyrrell Hatton (-135) over Jordan Spieth

Jason Day (-120) over Matt Fitzpatrick

Kannon’s season-long head-to-head picks record: 11-7-1

Who Chirp users think will win

Jon Rahm – 22.86%

Rory McIlroy – 21.65%

Scottie Scheffler – 20.30%

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Travelers Championship odds, predictions, best prop bets for this week's PGA Tour signature event

For the third straight week on the PGA Tour, it’s going to be a star-studded field.

Starting with The Memorial two weeks ago and then following that up with last week’s U.S. Open, it’s been top-ranked players vying for the winner’s share of huge paydays.

Now it’s three straight tournaments as this week’s Travelers Championship has been elevated to a Signature Event. With the purse of $20 million and a $3.6 million winner’s share, it’s a can’t-miss event. And, with a field of 72 players, it’s a no-cut event meaning everyone gets paid.

Forty-four of the world’s top-ranked players are in the field at the tournament, which will be held at TPC River Highlands in Hartford, Connecticut.

Some will be looking to keep their hot play going while others will be looking to rebound from a troubled U.S. Open (hello, Scottie Scheffler.) Two middle-of-the-road events—the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the John Deere Classic -- are coming up next. Both feature purses under $10 million and come right before the year’s final major, the Open Championship.

For many of the top-ranked players, this will be their final test on U.S. soil before the year’s final major. A good number of them will play in the Genesis Scottish Open, which is held the week prior to the Open Championship.

So let’s take a look at the regular season’s final Signature Event before the Tour gets to the three playoff round tournaments in August. Do yourself a favor and cash in on these generous welcome offers from top-rated US sportsbooks first.

Odds to win the 2024 Travelers Championship

Check out live odds to win the Travelers Championship on the best sports betting apps:

Scottie Scheffler is once again the betting favorite at incredibly low odds.

More: Best online sportsbooks for betting on golf | Latest sports betting promos and bonuses

The Scottie Scheffler dilemma

It’s easy to look at last week’s four days at the U.S. Open by Scheffler as an aberration. After all, he hadn’t had a finish out of the top-10 since late January when he was T-17 at The American Express.

Since that tournament, he’s played 12 events and posted five victories, two T-2s, a T-3, a T-6, a T-8 and a T-10. As impressive a run as we’ve seen since Tiger Woods in his heyday.

Then came last week. It was a week that proved he’s human. And the sportsbooks are taking that exact look as he’s still the favorite this week at +400. We’re not going to bet him this week for the simple fact that we’re not sure if he bounces back that quickly.

After all, we haven’t faced this dilemma from Scheffler. He may bounce back and run away with the event as he was T-4 here last year. The bottom line is we’re just not sure.

We were also going to stay away from Rory McIlroy this week. He was the second favorite at +750 but he withdrew on Monday and will take some time off after missing a couple of short putts that cost him the chance to win another major.

His next outing is now scheduled to be the Genesis Scottish Open, where he is the defending champion.

Collin Morikawa just keeps lurking

Morikawa, at +1200, is just down the betting list far enough to pique our interest. Morikawa is just close enough to finding his game to give us hope that he’s about to get back in the winner’s circle.

He won the ZOZO Championship in 2023 to bring his total to six PGA Tour titles. He’s also won two majors, the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship.

This year he’s been close to winning again and more than once. He went into the U.S. Open as one of the hottest golfers without a win. He was T-4 at the PGA Championship and followed that up with a solo fourth at the Charles Schwab Challenge. The next week he was T-4 at The Memorial.

That set him up for a great chance at the U.S. Open. But, he stumbled in the second round with a four-over-par 74 and he lingered on the first page of the leaderboard but never got close enough to challenge.

He missed the cut here last year so he’s going to be looking to not only rebound from a bad U.S. Open round last week but a bad two rounds in last year’s Travelers.

Live longshot 

Tony Finau, at +3300 this week, was a factor all week at the U.S. Open. He just got limited air time because of the DeChambeau-McIlroy battle and Scheffler's struggles. He settled for an impressive T-3, as he still searches for that first major win.

We’re thinking his effort last week, including overcoming a third-round score of two-over-par 72, showed his game is right up there with the world’s best. He closed with a three-under-par 67 Sunday, which was tied for the best of the day.

In 2024, he’s got a runnerup finish at the Texas Houston Children’s Open and four top-10s in 15 events. Finau was T-45 here last year, but in 2024 he’s showing his game and his confidence are heading in the right direction.

Around the prop scene

We’re going to look at DraftKings and a couple of props bets. We hit a couple last week (DeChambeau to be in the final group at +1000 and the champion to win by exactly one stroke at +240), so we’re going to dive into the prop scene again.

Let’s see if we can keep it going. We’re going to check out the defending champion, Keegan Bradley, to finish in the top 20 at +165. We usually like to back the defending champ to win but this isn’t one of those weeks. He’s coming off a T-32 finish at the U.S. Open.

Overall, he’s got just six top-25 finishes in 12 events when he’s made the cut. His best finish came recently with a T-2 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, so he’s finding his way. Add in the fact he won here last year and the stars may align for our bet.

And finally, look at the bet of the winner not being in the final group at +175. Last week, McIlroy wasn’t in the last group and probably should have won. We’re looking at the same scenario this week as we’re thinking a player in an earlier group may just put a number up and come from behind to pick up the victory.

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2023 PGA Championship picks, odds: Expert predictions, favorites to win major from betting field at Oak Hill

Who will win the 105th pga championship our experts dive into all the twists and turns of the year's second major.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- With the 105th PGA Championship fast approaching, the key question everyone's asking is the same across the golf world: Who are you picking to win this year at Oak Hill Country Club? With a tremendous field featuring the best professionals in the world, the second major of 2023 should be a thrill ride from Thursday's first round onward.

This year's PGA Championship feels wide open -- well, almost. The last two Masters champions -- Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler -- open as the clear top dogs in the field sitting at 7-1 on the odds board as co-favorites, according to Caesars Sportsbook. It's to the point that anyone other than Rahm or Scheffler emerging with the Wanamaker Trophy might actually be a surprise given the way the duo have been playing throughout the season.

Elsewhere, Tiger Woods (ankle) is out and Phil Mickelson is in after eschewing his opportunity to defend the Wanamaker last year. Rory McIlroy (12-1) sits third on the board, though Patrick Cantlay (16-1) and Brooks Koepka (18-1) seem to have much more momentum as action gets underway in Rochester.

Add it all up, and it would appear that we're in for a wild PGA Championship week full of unexpected twists and turns but also a lot of familiar names atop the leaderboard.

So what is going to happen in Rochester? Let's take a look at a full set of predictions and picks from our CBS Sports experts as we attempt to project who will win -- and what will happen -- at the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. Join us for PGA Championship coverage in the lead up to Thursday's first round as well as a ranking of the PGA Championship field  and a look at the nine golfers most likely to win the PGA Championship . Plus, check out a full set of 2023 PGA Championship odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook.

2023 PGA Championship expert picks, predictions

Kyle Porter, senior golf writer

Winner -- Jon Rahm (7-1): A boring pick? Sure, but it's also the right one. Rahm is going to sweep Augusta National and Oak Hill taking his grand slam attempt to Los Angeles this summer for what is sure to be a show. After a bumpy March, Rahm lost to just 15 golfers in April (more than he lost to in January and February combined), and this course fits his game (big bomber, great hands, loads of touch) perfectly. For the first time since 2015, the same golfer will win the first two majors of the year. 

Sleeper -- Cameron Young (30-1): This is stretching the idea of a "sleeper," but Young is the guy  to watch outside the significant set of favorites. Possibly the best driver in the world, he has three top 10 finishes at majors in his last four starts. After walking the golf course for a few hours, it reminds me a lot of Southern Hills where Young finished just outside a playoff this time last year. 

Top 10 lock -- Jason Day: I'm surprised more people aren't on Day this week. He's been playing brilliantly all year, enters coming off a win last week at the AT&T Byrons Nelson, and he is historically a tremendous major championship player. Sitting at 5/2 for a top-10 finish is simply too long for one of the five best players in the world so far in 2023.

Star who definitely won't win -- Cameron Smith: It's not that he's necessarily playing poorly, but the No. 8 golfer in the world right now is not a great fit for a golf course that's going to be incredibly demanding off the tee. Smith is a much better fit for the U.S. Open or Open Championship.

Jon Rahm vs. Scottie Scheffler: Rahm ... and let's be clear: the winner of this matchup wins the tournament.

Surprise prediction -- Jordan Spieth plays and plays well: After gathering a bit of intel on Spieth, I'm sure he's going to give it a go. It sounds like this injury has been lingering for a bit, although perhaps not as severe as it is now, and he nearly won the RBC Heritage a month ago with some version of it. He won't complete the career slam, but I believe he'll tee it up on Thursday.

Lowest round: 64 (-6) Winning score: 273 (-7) Winner's Sunday score: 70 (E)

Patrick McDonald, golf writer

Winner -- Patrick Cantlay (18-1): I'm not buying into the Joe LaCava hype, but I will buy into Cantlay's current form and emergence in majors. Cantlay ranks third in strokes gained total over the last three months and stands as the third-best driver of the golf ball on the PGA Tour behind only Scheffler and Viktor Hovland. He has rattled off three straight top-15 finishes in major championships and was a member of the penultimate group at the Masters. The putter has been uncharacteristically cool, but a return to bent grass and New York (where he finished T3 at the 2019 PGA Championship) may allow it to reach a boiling point.

Sleeper -- Rickie Fowler (65-1): Fowler sits 11th in total strokes gained over the last three months ahead of big names like Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick. It has been courtesy of a well-rounded effort with the byproduct being 10 top-20 finishes in 14 starts. He will need a massive performance with the driver if he is to contend, but if that club cooperates, Fowler has major championship history and form in his corner.

Top 10 lock -- Scottie Scheffler: The world No. 2 has gained more than two strokes per round on the field in every tournament since the CJ Cup in South Carolina seven months ago. During this stretch, he has finished no worse than T12 with two handfuls of top-10 finishes in 13 starts. He ranks first in total strokes gained, first in strokes gained tee to green, second in strokes gained ball striking and second in strokes gained off the tee over the last three months. If the putter comes to his aid, he probably raises the Wanamaker Trophy. If it doesn't, he is still a sure thing to finish inside the top 10.

Star who definitely won't win -- Rory McIlroy: I actually love the optics for McIlroy this week -- honorary member at Oak Hill, his wife is from the area, the vibes around the property should be immaculate. However, there's a big mental block upstairs for the four-time major champion, and it has been present for the last nine years. Despite flying in under the radar and without the expectations of the Masters, McIlroy can't be trusted on the major stage at this point in his career.

Jon Rahm vs. Scottie Scheffler: Scheffler is less prone to throw a dud out there as outlined above. Don't get me wrong, Rahm has been fantastic this season -- he has four wins to prove it --  but his floor is slightly lower than that of the world No. 2. Before his victory at the Masters, the Spaniard went through an inauspicious stretch that included a number of poor performances, and I'm not totally convinced those are completely in the past. Give me the Texan. 

Surprise prediction -- Someone over age 30 wins: It may not sound too spicy at first glance, but the last seven major champions have been under the age of 30 at the time of their victory, a record dating back to 1934. Three of the top four betting favorites have yet to turn 30 with the outlier being McIlroy. I'm willing to cross them all off the list for an old guard that includes my pick to win Cantlay among others.

Lowest round: 65 (-5) Winning score: 274 (-6) Winner's Sunday score: 68 (-2)

Who will win the PGA Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world?  Visit SportsLine to see the projected PGA Championship leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed nine golf majors ,  including this year's Masters.

Dean Straka, golf writer

Winner -- Brooks Koepka (18-1): Four years removed from a 2019 PGA Championship victory that marked his fourth major title in a span 23 months, it's clear for all to see that Koepka is healthy and confident once again after flirting with the green jacket in April. And that makes the big-hitting Koepka incredibly dangerous entering an event he's twice won. The Empire State has been quite friendly to Koepka, too. The last two times he played in a major held in New York, he won it.

Sleeper -- Wyndham Clark (70-1): The past two PGA Championships held at Oak Hill produced some rather unexpected winners, first Shaun Micheel in 2003 and then Jason Dufner in 2013. That could bode well for Clark, who is far from a household name but one who enters the PGA Championship with plenty of momentum. Clark has posted a top 10 finish in four of his last six starts, the latest a victory at the Wells Fargo Championship for his first win on the PGA Tour. He did it in style, as his winning score of 19 under at Quail Hollow Club was the second-lowest in the event's 20-year history. With the clip Clark has played at over the past two months, it could carry over into a strong showing this week.

Top 10 lock -- Xander Schauffele: Still seeking his first major title, Schauffele heads to the PGA Championship posting top 10 finishes in each of his past three starts, most recently finishing as the runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship. Of his last 16 majors entered, Schauffele has seven top 10 finishes to show. Since missing the cut at the 2022 Masters, Schauffele has posted a top 15 finish in each of the past four majors held, including a tie for 10th this year at Augusta National. Combine that trend with his play in 2023 alone, and Schauffele looks certain to be in the mix at Oak Hill. 

Star who definitely won't win -- Jordan Spieth: A recent wrist injury makes it feel unlikely that Spieth will be completing the career grand slam this weekend. The ailment was enough to force Spieth out of his hometown event last week and cast doubt about his status for the PGA Championship before the world No. 10 ranked golfer was officially listed in the field. Spieth missed the cut during his most recent start at the Wells Fargo Championship, and it's unclear if his wrist impacted that performance. If Spieth proves me wrong and finds a way to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday at less than full strength, all the more credit to him. 

Jon Rahm vs. Scottie Scheffler: Rahm is playing at a clip where he'll secure a top-15 finish, but he won't be joining the exclusive list of names to win consecutive majors -- at least not just yet. The PGA Championship hasn't been the friendliest to Rahm. A tie for 48th last year at Southern Hills marked the third time in six total appearances that Rahm placed outside the top 45, and he missed the cut in 2019 at Bethpage Black. As for Scheffler, he'll finish in the top 25, but inconsistent play with his putter at the AT&T Byron Nelson doesn't bode well for his chances of a second major title. 

Surprise prediction -- Jason Day contends on Sunday: Day hasn't finished better than tied for 38th at major since a top-five finish at the 2020 PGA Championship. But after following him for four straight days at the AT&T Byron Nelson, it's clear his first professional win since 2018 was no fluke. Sure, TPC Craig Ranch is an infinitely more forgiving course than Oak Hill, but Day's newfound confidence and patience cannot be overlooked. Day's lone major title to date came at the 2015 PGA Championship, and he owns six top 10 finishes at the event. One of those came the last time it was held in Rochester a decade ago.

Lowest round: 64 (-6) Winning score: 269 (-11) Winner's Sunday score: 68 (-2)

Adam Silverstein, director of editorial

Winner -- Scottie Scheffler (7-1): Not normally a fan of taking favorites entering a major, it's extremely tough to get away from Scheffler and Rahm given their extremely high levels of play entering the year's second behemoth event. But how's this for a stat: Scheffler has played 13 golf events since October and finished among the top 12 in all of them. Let me repeat that: He has 13 straight top-12 finishes over the last seven months. I feel like I should say it a third time, but you probably get the point. Scheffler, No. 2 in the world, has been playing insane golf for the last two years, and I see 2023 unfolding with he and Rahm jockeying for position from one major to the next. The idea of Rahm actually making a run at a legitimate grand slam is enticing, but there's a reason it's extremely rare for golfers to win the first two majors in a season: It's extremely difficult.

Sleeper -- Jordan Spieth (40-1): Spieth's odds continue to get longer and longer as the week progresses; this despite him clearly taking last week off to rehab a nagging wrist injury that he's been trying to overcome across multiple tournaments. But if I told you there was a golfer entering a major complaining about a nagging injury who nevertheless had a legitimate chance to win, I bet only two names would pop into your head: Spieth and Day. The latter, this time around, is healthy and sitting 28-1. Spieth enters with longer odds than he faced even when playing in majors during his extreme rough patch a couple years ago. I have no problem throwing some beer-and-pizza money on Jordan as a flier. It's extremely rare to get a golfer this talented at a price like this.

Top 10 lock -- Jon Rahm: Well, if I'm not taking the Spaniard to win, I'm sure as hell leaning toward him as a top-10 lock. In the same span that Scheffler has yet to finish outside the top 12, Rahm has four victories and a pair of top-three finishes. He's absolutely smashing the ball, and getting to watch him up close at Augusta National made it clear that the game feels second nature to him right now.

Star who definitely won't win -- Xander Schauffele: This tournament is not in Missouri, but the game is nevertheless a show-me sport. And the only thing Schauffele has shown is that he does not win majors. Yes, he has four straight top-15 finishes at majors and 10 career top 10s at these events since 2017 ... but he just cannot convert. And I don't mind being proven wrong either because that will mean Schauffele will have reached his potential. It's just, at this point, I'm in believe-it-when-I-see-it mode.

Jon Rahm vs. Scottie Scheffler:  Here's where I agree with Kyle: The winner of this matchup is going to win the Wanamaker Trophy. Scheffler is far from the most exciting golfer in the field, but his consistency this year is unmatched on the PGA Tour, and it will give him the edge over Rahm in the head-to-head battle.

Surprise prediction -- Rickie Fowler at least enters Sunday in the top 10:  It's one thing for Fowler to be playing well on regular Tour stops and quite another to put together four strong rounds against a field like the one ready to compete at Oak Hill. It's in Rochester that I believe Fowler will put a stamp on his comeback run by making a statement against the game's best all in one tournament. He will need to be proficient with the driver across all 72 holes, but if he is able to keep his head about him, he may finish in the same spot once the tournament concludes.

Lowest round:  63 (-7) Winning score:  268 (-12) Winner's Sunday score:  69 (-1)

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