2021 PGA Championship: How To Watch, Betting Odds And Picks

One of the Grand Slam events for the PGA Tour kicks off Thursday, May 20, with the PGA Championship taking place at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

The PGA Championship took place at this course in 2012 when it broke the record with a total distance of 7,876 yards.

How To Watch: The PGA Championship runs from May 20 to May 23. The event will be streamed and broadcast on several television networks in the United States.

The entire tournament will be streamed on ESPN+, the streaming app from Walt Disney Co DIS.

ESPN will air part of the tournament on Thursday from 1 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET, Friday from 1 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET, Saturday 10 a.m. ET to 1p.m. ET and Sunday 10 a.m. ET to 1p.m. ET.

CBS, a unit of ViacomCBS Inc VIAC, will air coverage of the PGA Championship on Saturday from 1 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET and Sunday from 1 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET.

Types Of Bets: Betting on golf includes several different options available from sports betting providers.

DraftKings Inc DKNG is offering PGA Championship bets on the outright winner, a top 5 finish, a top 10 finish, a top 20 finish, a top 30 finish, a top 40 finish and the leader after round 1 (Thursday).

Other bets on golf tournaments typically include head to head and nationality of the winner.

See Also: How To Read Spreads In Sports Bets

PGA Championship Odds: There are 156 golfers taking place in the 2021 PGA Championship beginning Thursday.

DraftKings lists the following golfers with the best odds to win the tournament:

• Rory McIlroy: +1100
• Jon Rahm: +1400
• Justin Thomas: +1400
• Jordan Spieth: +1400
• Bryson DeChambeau: +1600
• Dustin Johnson: +1600
• Xander Schauffele: +1600
• Viktor Hovland: +1800
• Daniel Berger: +2500
• Collin Morikawa: +2800

McIlroy enters the tournament as the favorite. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise since he won the PGA Championship at this very course in 2012 with a good size eight-stroke lead.

Jon Rahm hasn't won a PGA Tour event this year but comes into the PGA Championship with nine top-10 finishes in 15 events. Rahm finished in fifth place at the 2021 Masters and has six top-10 finishes in his past 12 PGA Grand Slam events.

Justin Thomas ranks second on the FedEx Cup leaderboard. Johnson has one win and five top-10 finishes in 14 events this season.

Jordan Spieth is trying to become the sixth player in PGA history with a career Grand Slam. Spieth has seven top-10 finishes and a win on the season.

Given the length of the course, DeChambeau could be a popular pick with his PGA Tour leading driving distance. The knock on DeChambeau this season has been his driving accuracy. He averages a driving distance of 322 yards, but ranks 172nd with an accuracy of 55%. He ranks first in the FedEx Cup standings with two wins and six top 10s in 12 events.

Dustin Johnson had a knee injury that could keep bettors from backing the well-known golfer. Johnson has four top 10s and a win in 11 events this season.

Xander Schauffele has eight top-10 finishes in 15 career Major events. On the season, Schauffele ranks fourth in points and has six top 10s in 14 events.

Daniel Berger has finished in the top 20 in four of his last five PGA Tour events. A look at Berger’s performance shows a well-rounded golf game. Berger ranks 46th in driving accuracy, 19th in putting, 25th in tee to green and third in birdie average.

Collin Morikawa has the tenth best odds at DraftKings. The golfer has one win and four top-10 finishes in 14 events this season. Morikawa’s last four events came with finishes of cut, seventh, 18th and 56th.

Picks: Betting on an outright winner in golf can be a high-risk high reward strategy. After all, you have a one in 156 chance of picking the winning golfer.

McIlroy is an interesting pick as the favorite with his recent success and past history at this course. DraftKings is offering McIlroy to finish in the top 10 at odds of +139, which could be a good pick.

Rahm’s experience in Majors and a strong number of top 10 finishes make him a good contender.

The well-rounded game of Berger could make him a good pick with odds of +2500 to win and +275 to finish in the top 10.

Outside of the top 10, a golfer that could be a value play is Sam Burns.

In his last three vents, Burns has finished in fourth, first and second, respectively. The results have moved Burns from 16th to 5th on the FedEx Cup standings. Burns has one win and six top-10 finishes in 17 starts this season. Burns ranks 25th in driving distance, 22nd in greens in regulation, 17th in eagles, sixth in birdies and 25th in scoring average.

Photo credit: Tour Pro Golf Clubs, Flickr