PGA Championship 2026 Betting Preview
Welcome to SpankTheBookies’ 2026 PGA Championship Betting Preview.
It’s the second major of the year and arrives just a month after Rory McIlroy completed back-to-back Masters victories.
This year’s PGA Championship heads to Aronimink Golf Club — a classic old-school venue that looks absolutely primed to reward elite ball strikers and big hitters off the tee.
Founded in 1896, Aronimink has hosted plenty of huge tournaments over the years, including:
The 1962 PGA Championship
The 1977 U.S. Amateur
The 2010 and 2011 AT&T National
The 2018 BMW Championship
It’s a proper championship golf course and one that should produce a brilliant test this week.
SHORT ON TIME?
If you want to skip the deep dive and just get the bets on, scroll straight to the summary section at the bottom and add the selections directly to your bet slip.
THE COURSE
Everything about this setup screams one thing:
Bomb it off the tee.
That’s going to be a huge advantage this week and it’s the angle I’ve mainly focused on with my selections.
McIlroy summed the course up perfectly recently when he said:
“Strategy off the tee is pretty non-existent. It’s pretty much bash driver down there and figure it out from there.”
That immediately brought comparisons to Oak Hill Country Club in 2023, where Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship at -9.
That leaderboard was full of powerful drivers:
Koepka
McIlroy
DeChambeau
Davis
Hovland
And I think we could see something very similar again this week.
The front nine here is relatively scoreable, but the course really starts to bare its teeth coming home.
The 10th is a 472-yard downhill par 4
The 11th is one of the standout holes — a 425-yard par 4 surrounded by bunkers, with around 20 bunkers on the hole alone
The 12th stretches to 466 yards
The 13th is a potentially drivable par 4 depending on tee placement
The 14th and 17th are brutal long par 3s
The 15th is a monstrous 546-yard par 4
The 16th is a reachable par 5 at 555 yards
And the 18th is a demanding 490-yard finisher that’s now even longer than it was in 2018
There are birdie opportunities out there, but there are also holes that can completely derail a round if you get out of position.
Distance plus elite iron play feels like the recipe this week.
MY PICKS
I’m mainly targeting players who:
Hit it miles off the tee
Excel in approach play
Can get hot with the putter for one week
Because ultimately, that’s usually what wins majors.
Cameron Young to Win — 11/1
This guy is an absolute monster tee-to-green.
It’s actually crazy to think he went off at triple-figure odds for this tournament last year, but that was purely because his form had completely fallen off a cliff.
This year is a totally different story.
2 wins
4 top 10s in his last 7 starts
He arrives here absolutely flying.
According to DataGolf, he ranks as the number one player in the world in strokes gained over the last three months — and when you watch him play, it’s not hard to see why.
This course setup looks ideal for him:
Massive off the tee
Elite long iron player
Aggressive style suits a PGA Championship setup
If the putter behaves even slightly this week, he’s got every chance of winning his first major.
Brooks Koepka Each-Way 8 Places — 35/1
When majors roll around, you simply cannot ignore Brooks Koepka.
Yes, he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2023, but there are signs the game is trending back in the right direction.
After firing a superb 64 on the Saturday at the Myrtle Beach Classic last week, he admitted:
“That’s the most excited I’ve been playing golf in a long, long time.”
That immediately caught my attention.
This is also a man who has won the PGA Championship three times:
2018
2019
2023
And he’s had multiple other top-five finishes in this tournament.
He still ranks strongly off the tee, but it’s his approach play that really stands out statistically right now.
If the putter heats up — which we know it can in majors — then he could easily contend again at a very juicy each-way price.
Gary Woodland Each-Way 10 Places — 80/1
Woodland feels like one of those players who could massively outrun his odds this week.
He absolutely smashes it off the tee and statistically rates very well in most key areas needed for this golf course.
The obvious concern is around the greens.
That’s generally the area where he loses strokes to the field, but interestingly, whenever he has a positive scrambling week, he suddenly becomes extremely dangerous.
We saw exactly that earlier this season when he won the Texas Children's Houston Open.
Since then:
2 top 20 finishes
2 top 40 finishes
No missed cuts
The consistency has quietly been very solid.
At 80/1, on a course that should massively suit his strengths, he’s the type of outsider I’m happy taking a chance on.
Adam Scott Each-Way 8 Places — 66/1
I went back and forth on whether to include Adam Scott.
In the end, I couldn’t leave him out.
His approach play is still elite and on a demanding championship golf course like this, that can take you a very long way.
There are definitely risks:
He can get loose off the tee
The putter can go completely cold
But there were encouraging signs last week at the Truist Championship.
After opening with a horrible 76, he battled back impressively to finish tied 24th.
More importantly:
The putting numbers improved
He gained confidence as the week went on
Saturday’s 67 showed there’s still plenty there
At 66/1, I think he’s worth chancing each-way in a field where elite iron play should matter massively.
FIRST ROUND LEADER BETS
Small stakes only, but these are the names I’ll be backing in the First Round Leader market:
Cameron Young
Brooks Koepka
Gary Woodland
Adam Scott
Rory McIlroy
Nicolai Højgaard
A few of these are naturally aggressive starters and if conditions are favourable early on Thursday, we could easily see one of them jump out quickly.
FINAL THOUGHT
I honestly think this setup suits the Americans perfectly.
American players have won the last 10 PGA Championships and this feels like a brilliant opportunity to make it 11 in a row.
The profile this week feels pretty clear:
Length off the tee
Elite approach play
Players capable of overpowering long par 4s
If one of these selections gets hot with the flat stick for four days, I think we’ll have a very good chance of being right in the mix on Sunday evening.
SUMMARY OF BETS
Outright Picks
Cameron Young — 11/1
Brooks Koepka EW (8 places) — 35/1
Gary Woodland EW (10 places) — 80/1
Adam Scott EW (8 places) — 66/1
First Round Leaders
Cameron Young — 22/1
Brooks Koepka — 40/1
Gary Woodland — 80/1
Adam Scott — 66/1
Rory McIlroy — 18/1
Nicolai Højgaard — 55/1
18+
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All prices correct at time of publishing
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