PGA Championship 2021: Betting Odds, Favorites and Tournament Preview
Rory McIlroy will be one of the first names mentioned in the discussion of which golfers can win the 2021 PGA Championship.
DraftKings Sportsbook has McIlroy as the favorite to win at Kiawah Island, where he captured the 2012 PGA Championship. The Northern Irishman is coming off his first win in 18 months at the Wells Fargo Championship.
The regular top faces in the pre-major buildup will be mentioned in the same breath as McIlroy, including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
DeChambeau may be best suited to win the title because Kiawah Island is playing at 7,876 yards, which is the longest distance for a course in major history.
The long-bomb style of DeChambeau could be perfect for the course and may put him in contention for his second major title.
PGA Championship Odds
Rory McIlroy: +1100 (bet $100 to win $1100)
Jon Rahm: +1200
Bryson DeChambeau: +1400
Justin Thomas: +1400
Jordan Spieth: +1400
Dustin Johnson: +1600
Xander Schauffele: +2000
Viktor Hovland: +2200
Collin Morikawa: +2800
Daniel Berger: +3300
Tony Finau: +3300
Hideki Matsuyama: +3300
Patrick Reed: +3300
Patrick Cantlay: +3500
Brooks Koepka: +4000
Webb Simpson: +4000
Cameron Smith: +4000
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Rory McIlroy Enters at Betting Favorite
Nine years ago, McIlroy breezed to his PGA Championship win at Kiawah Island with eight strokes between himself and second-place finisher David Lynn.
McIlroy was tied for fifth after the first round and then held the lead following the other three rounds in South Carolina.
His dominance in that victory, combined with the recent win at the Wells Fargo Championship, make him an intriguing favorite to bet on.
In 2012, Kiawah Island played at 7,676 yards, so McIlroy should be used to playing the course at a long distance. None of the other pre-tournament favorites finished in the top 10 in 2012.
Since 2015, the PGA Championship has been McIlroy's worst major, as he has only a single top-10 finish in that span.
However, McIlroy has been right around the lead in other major events. He owns 10 top-10 placings in the past five years.
McIlroy may not have been the favorite to win at Kiawah Island had he not triumphed at the Wells Fargo since he missed the cut at The Masters.
But McIlroy appears to have fixed whatever was wrong in his game and looks to be on track for a high finish at a course that has treated him well before.
Could Course Length Favor Bryson DeChambeau?
For the past year, all of the talk around DeChambeau has been about how far he can hit the golf ball.
DeChambeau leads the PGA Tour in driving distance at 322 yards, which is a little more than three yards better than McIlroy in second place.
With the length of Kiawah Island being a talking point, DeChambeau could be in line to benefit from that and rebound from a poor showing at The Masters.
DeChambeau's 2020 U.S. Open win came in a different setting, but a familiar concept prevailed. He drove the ball past and through the difficult rough at Winged Foot Golf Club to gain an advantage over the rest of the field.
The American does not have to deal with treacherous rough at Kiawah Island, but if he keeps the ball on the fairway, he may set himself up for eagle and birdie opportunities that others can't create.
One of the arguments against betting on DeChambeau is he ranks 172nd in driving accuracy percentage. And if struggles off the tee, like he did at The Masters, he may not have enough chances to gain strokes on the longer holes.
The counter to that is DeChambeau can bomb the ball out of the rough and make up for any distance lost, similar to how he navigated trouble at Winged Foot.
No matter where he is on the leaderboard, DeChambeau will be under a tight focus at Kiawah Island because the perception is the long course suits the golfer who can hit the ball the furthest.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.