PGA Championship

Odds to Win Tournament

The world’s best golfers will be teeing off in the PGA Championship in New Jersey on Thursday. This is the final major of the year, so everybody is going to be looking to bring it this weekend. This field is set to include guys like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and all of the other top-10 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Phil Mickelson will also be on the course this weekend and he won this event the last time Springfield hosted the tournament. That was back in 2005 and Mickelson shot a four-under to defeat Thomas Bjorn and Steve Elkington by one stroke apiece. The winner of the last four of these tournaments has, however, shot at least a 10-under. With Tiger Woods not playing on Thursday, Rory McIlroy’s two PGA Championship victories are the most of any player in the field. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at some of the best plays to make for the final major of the year:

Dustin Johnson (15-to-2) - Johnson is currently enjoying the best season of his career and he has showed no signs of slowing down. Since Feb. 18, Johnson has finished inside the top-10 in 10 of the 13 tournaments he has played in. That span includes a victory at the U.S. Open and a tie for fourth at The Masters. Johnson also happens to have finished tied for second at last week’s RBC Canadian Open. While other top golfers took that week off, Johnson stayed in rhythm and continued to make putts. That has been his weakness in the past, but he has shown some nice touch on the greens this year. If he can continue to own the short game then he should be able to win this thing on Sunday. Either way he’s a very likely pick to be in contention and is worth putting a few units on at 15-to-2.

Phil Mickelson (18-to-1) - As previously mentioned, Mickelson won the PGA Championship the last time Baltusrol Golf Club hosted the tournament. While that was back in 2005, Mickelson should still be feeling confident as he takes the course on Thursday. Not only has Mickelson won on this course, but he is also coming into this tournament in tremendous form. He was on fire at The Open Championship two weeks ago, shooting a 17-under and ultimately coming in second place. Had it not been for Henrik Stenson playing some flawless golf, Mickelson would have won yet another major. Mickelson may not have finished in first, but he surely showed that he has what it takes to keep winning at this level. He’s worth a few units at 18-to-1, as he should be able to carry over his play into this one.

Bubba Watson (35-to-1) - Bubba Watson has not performed well at majors this year, but he is still a very talented golfer and is more than capable of putting it together this weekend. The year hasn’t been all bad for Watson, as he actually has two victories on the season. Watson won the World Challenge back on Dec. 3 and he also won the Northern Trust Open on Feb. 18. One thing that Watson will need to get working this weekend is his iron play. Watson is good once he gets on the green, but he must find a way to give himself a chance to putt for some birdies this weekend. Still, he’s an incredible value at 35-to-1 and is worth putting a unit or two on due to his impressive resume.

Jhonattan Vegas (150-to-1) - When looking for a dark horse that could pay off huge this weekend, one way to go is putting a unit or half-unit on Vegas. Vegas has not yet played in a major this season, but he is coming into this tournament in a bit of a groove. He won last week’s RBC Canadian Open and he also happened to have played well the week before, finishing tied for fourth with a 15-under at the Barbasol Championship. It’s obviously not a certainty that he’ll be around on Sunday, but Vegas is one of the hotter golfers on the TOUR and is a worth a shot coming into this one.