The 2017 US PGA Championship tees off on Thursday. This year it will be held for the first time at Quail Hollow, in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s a par 71 course, measuring an imposing 7,600 yards.
Quail Hollow usually hosts a PGA Tour event each year (The Wells Fargo Championship) but there have been a few layout changes from that event. The course should favour long hitters, especially if predicted rain arrives on the weekend.
Rory McIlroy has a great record on the course with two run-away victories and 1 narrow loss (in a play-off) there in the past 8 years, including a 7 stroke victory in 2015 when he finished 21 under par. He has been more consistent in the last couple of events, but with a questionable caddie I think he's far too short at the current odds on offer of 7/1.
Form from last week’s Bridgestone Invitational should hold up okay here and Matsuyama was outstanding in winning that event and has been really consistent in the Majors this year finishing in the Top 20 in all three. He seems to be around the right price at 13/1 and if he can strike the ball as well as he did last week, he should be right in the mix on Sunday.
Daniel Berger is another player I’m keen on this week. He has played three events at Quail Hollow for three solid finishes without anything spectacular. His recent form is excellent with a win and two top 5 finishes from his last 6 events. Berger seems decent each way value at 70/1.
The final player I’m interested in this week is Ian Poulter. I was keen on him in The Open a couple of weeks back and he was solid there finishing in T14. He played very well again last week at the Canadian Open, shooting an excellent final round to finish 3rd. He can be backed at 9/1 to finish in the top 10 which I think is a great price.
So in summary my bets for PGA Championship are:
Poulter 1 unit Top 10 @ 9/1
Matsuyama 1 unit to win @ 13/1
Berger 0.5 units each-way @ 70/1
Good luck if you’re having a bet…