US PGA Championship 2026: Betting preview and free tips
Welcome to our betting preview for the 2026 US PGA Championsship, the second major of the year, at the Donald Ross-designed masterpiece Aronimink Golf Club, in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
The PGA Championship is the second golf major of the year and tees off on Thursday (US time), with Scottie Scheffler the defending champion after he blitzed the field to win by five shots at Quail Hollow in 2025.
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Many pundits see this tournament as a showdown for the Wanamaker Trophy between two modern-day greats in Scheffler and Rory McIlory, who have won four of the past five majors between them and finished in the quinella at the Masters last month.
But we think the course and weather will have a large say in the outcome. The par-70 demands accurate driving and precise approach shots to huge, tricky greens which will likely ensure the best putters will have their chance and the lesser putters will fall away with a string of three-putts.
The only other time Aronimink GC hosted the PGA Championships was in 1962, and the legendary South African Gary Player won.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is at a skinny $5.75 favourite to win the 108th PGA Championship, ahead of the likes of McIlroy ($11), Cam Young ($14) and Jon Rahm ($17) at betting sites.
Read on for our summary on the chances of the leading players in the betting markets for this event, and also for our tips, including a couple of value players we think can surprise.
What sort of player can win at Aronimink?
Aronimink, a parkland course, has no water but a staggering 180 bunkers, so accuracy off the tee is critical. It helps to be a long hitter as well, but this should not really be a deciding factor as par 70, 7394-yard layout has only two par fives, with the 555-yard 16th reachable for most of the field. The 605-yard 9th hole will be reachable for only the longest and straightest of hitters.
After a cold Pennsylvania winter, the turf is firm and fast and the terrain is quite variable, making for blind tee shots and second shots from uphill and downhill and sidehill lies, adding a layer of of complexity. The massive, sloping and undulating ”volcano” greens are the real test, as any wayward approach shots will roll off into deep bunkers or tightly mown collection areas. And even if you hit the green their testing nature makes lag putting a crucial skill, especially as they speed up.
Many believe the scoring will be red-hot with recent rain softening up the course, but if the wind blows and it dries out, things will become a lot more difficult on the weekend. From the view of a weekend hacker who has suffered with the putter, we are hoping for some carnage on the greens.
US PGA Championship details & betting
Dates, venue and tournament info
- Start: Thursday, May 14
- Venue: Aronimink Golf Club, Newton Square, Pennsylvania
- Sport: Golf
- Favourite: Scottie Scheffler ($5)
- Last year: Scottie Scheffler
Masters outright winner odds
- Scottie Scheffler $5.75
- Rory McIlroy $11
- Cameron Young $14
- Jon Rahm $17
- Ludvig Aberg $19
- Xander Schauffele $19
- Bryson DeChambeau $23
- Matt Fitzpatrick $23
- Tommy Fleetwood $26
- Brooks Koepka $34
The US PGA Championship leading contenders
- Scottie Scheffler | Best finish: winner (2025): The defending champion and World No.1. Has been slightly below his peak lately, but still enters with three consecutive runner-up finishes (including the Masters). He is the man to beat.
- Rory McIlroy | Best finish: winner (2012, 2014): Arrives with historic momentum after successfully defending his Masters title last month. A win here would be his third Wanamaker Trophy. He is dreaming of a calendar Grand Slam.
- Xander Schauffele | Best finish: winner (2024): The 2024 champion at Valhalla. He has been a model of consistency in 2026and his well-rounded game is a good fit for the difficult Donald Ross layout.
- Cameron Young | Best finish: T3 (2022): Many experts’ tip this week. He is fresh off an all-the-way win win at the 2026 Cadillac Championship and a win earlier this year at the unofficial fifth major, the Players’ Championship. Needs his putter to hold up.
- Jon Rahm | Best finish: T4 (2018): Dominating the lesser LIV Golf circuit and is desperate to get back into the major spotlight after a T38 at the Masters.
- Bryson DeChambeau | Best finish: 2nd (2024, 2025): The ultimate bridesmaid of the PGA Championship recently. Despite a wrist injury scare, his solo third in Virginia last week proves he’s healthy and ready to launch a long-driving blitz.
- Ludvig Åberg | Best finish: T33 (2024): The young Swede has five top-5 finishes in his past six starts. He recently fired an opening 63 at the RBC Heritage, showing he can go as low as anyone. He is also a wonderful and effortless putter.
The US PGA Championship betting tips
Our golf betting expert has assessed the markets and found some value betting tips for the second major of the year:
Best bet: Robert MacIntyre
The Scottish left-hander has been bobbing up in the majors more and more regularly, and he looks to have a game perfectly suited to the conditions this week. As with many left-handers, his swing looks all class and he can really roll his rock when he gets going. We also love MacIntyre’s temperament on the big stage. Also, it would not be a major shock if he won as he is 12th on the most recent world golf rankings; he has been as high as fifth. And even more importantly he ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained for putting this season. He is $67 to win, or at $12 to finish top five.
Best Masters roughie: Corey Conners at $126
Yes, we will admit we have been to the well quite a few time with Conners and it is yet to pay off, but we think his day will come. The Canadian is a model of consistency and one of the purest ball strikers to have played the game. His game is tailor-made for a par-70 layout where par is a great score. If he can avoid his occasional struggles with the short-range putts, he is a safe bet for a top-20 finish. Aronimink is a course that rewards elite iron play and finding narrow fairways; these are areas where Conners historically leads the PGA Tour.
Best value bet: Ludvig Aberg each-way at around $20
The Swede is just a joy to watch play golf, especially around the greens. He fired a warning shot when we just missed with him at the Players’ Championship. All things being equal he will get his major soon. Aberg is paying around $20 to win the tournament, while he’s paying $5 to finish in the top five.
Past 10 US PGA Championship winners and runners-up
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner(s)-up | World Ranking* |
| 2025 | Scottie Scheffler | 273 (-11) | Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Davis Riley | No. 1 |
| 2024 | Xander Schauffele | 263 (-21) | Bryson DeChambeau | No. 3 |
| 2023 | Brooks Koepka | 271 (-9) | Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland | No. 44 |
| 2022 | Justin Thomas | 275 (-5)** | Will Zalatoris | No. 9 |
| 2021 | Phil Mickelson | 282 (-6) | Brooks Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen | No. 115 |
| 2020 | Collin Morikawa | 267 (-13) | Paul Casey, Dustin Johnson | No. 12 |
| 2019 | Brooks Koepka | 272 (-8) | Dustin Johnson | No. 3 |
| 2018 | Brooks Koepka | 264 (-16) | Tiger Woods | No. 4 |
| 2017 | Justin Thomas | 276 (-8) | Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed | No. 14 |
| 2016 | Jimmy Walker | 266 (-14) | Jason Day | No. 48 |
* Ranking: The ranking listed is the player’s Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) heading into the tournament week.
** Play-offs: Justin Thomas won the 2022 championship in a three-hole aggregate playoff after finishing tied with Will Zalatoris.
