The first Major of the 2020 PGA Tour restart takes place this week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. SI Gambling insider Frankie Taddeo takes an initial look at the PGA Championship field along with the opening odds.
After witnessing a “moonshot” underdog payout last week when Michael Thompson won the 3M Open at odds of 133/1, PGA bettors saw an elite golfer find redemption at much shorter odds this past weekend.
Justin Thomas (-13), earned his 13th win on the PGA Tour in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, en route to reclaiming World No. 1 status. Thomas, the No. 1 player as well in the 2020 FedEx Cup standings, was listed at odds of +1241 (just over 12/1) at Circa Sports in Las Vegas in pre-tournament wagering. The win provided sweet redemption for Thomas, who surrendered a three-stroke lead three weeks ago in the Workday Charity Open, finishing runner up to Colin Morikawa. It also lined the pockets of two members of our SI Gambling PGA team, Roy Larking and Alex White, who both nailed the winner in our predictions and best bets feature last week.
Thomas, who trailed by as many as four strokes Sunday, was able to overtake Brooks Koepka to emerge victorious, earning him his third win of the 2020 season.
““It was a hard-fought day, but it meant a lot … how we did it, being four behind to start the day.” Thomas told PGATour.com. “I haven't exactly played well coming from behind in the past and I feel like I learned a lot from that.”
Koepka (-10), the defending champion, as well as two-time winner Daniel Berger (-10) once again performed admirably at TPC Southwind finishing in a four-way tie for second with Tom Lewis and Phil Mickelson. Koepka, who won last year's event, was finally able to get his game back on track. One of the game’s top talents, Koepka set the 72-hole course record (264) in last year’s event. This year, however, he had struggled since the PGA’s restart, missing the cut in two of his last three tournaments prior to the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He had an opportunity for the win heading into the 18th hole, but his double-bogey on the Par 4 sealed the deal for Thomas.
Jon Rahm, who entered the week as the No. 1 player in the world, struggled in his first event since earning the top spot in the rankings. The star Spaniard shot 4-under par, earning a T52 finish.
Thomas showed tremendous poise the entire weekend, eventually making up the huge deficit on Sunday shooting a 65 en route to victory.
With eight events in the books since the COVID-19 shutdown, the PGA now heads to San Francisco for the PGA Championship.
Dates and Venue
Thursday, August 6-9. TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California
PGA Championship Betting Odds
Get ready golf fans because 95 of the top 100 players in the World Golf Rankings will be in action: Thomas, Rahm, Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau will headline this week’s PGA Championship.
Koepka could be worth a strong look at odds of 10/1 as he looks to become the first golfer to win the PGA Championship three consecutive times (Walter Hagen: won the event four consecutive times from 1924-1927). Coming off his strong performance in the FedEx St. Jude last week he sits atop the FanDuel Sportsbook odds board this week. Following the No.6 ranked player in the world are Justin Thomas (11/1), Jon Rahm (14/1), Rory McIIroy (14/1) and Bryson DeChambeau (16/1).
Thomas, who won the event in 2017, Jason Day (40/1) in 2015, as well as McIIroy in 2014 and 2012, spotlight an illustrious field of previous winners.
Many sports fans and bettors were ecstatic when Tiger Woods made his return to the PGA Tour in the Memorial, only to be disappointed with a T40 finish. Woods admitted to experiencing difficulties in his return to the PGA restart, including back problems.
The former No.1 player in the world, who has won the event four times (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007) and just missed with a runner-up finish in 2018, arrived early to TPC Harding Park and appears determined to win it for the fifth time in his career. Woods arrives at sure to be very attractive odds of 35/1 among public bettors.
Be sure to check back here at Sports Illustrated later this week with the SI Gambling team’s predictions, best bets, values, longshots, and daily fantasy plays for the PGA Championship as well as where the sharps are investing their money.