Experts' picks and betting tips

The 2nd large of the twelvemonth begins with the 2025 PGA Championship from Thursday done Sunday astatine Quail Hollow Club.

Which players bash our play experts deliberation volition win? Where bash our betting experts judge determination is value? We interruption down the favorites and overmuch much up of the 2025 PGA Championship.

Jump to a section:
Experts' picks to win | Betting roundtable

Experts' picks

Matt Barrie
Jon Rahm. Why: Because it's excessively casual to prime Scheffler, and Rahm is rounding backmost into large title form. He tied for 14th astatine the Masters and eighth astatine the PGA Championship. He's starting to look and punctual america that helium was the champion subordinate connected the satellite earlier his LIV defection.

Tory Barron
Scottie Scheffler. By each accounts, Oakmont is simply a monster primed to chew up immoderate golfer successful its way. Thus, it stands to crushed the eventual champion volition request to beryllium an arsenic formidable foe. I'm going with the feline who won successful 3 of his past 4 starts by a combined 17 strokes -- due to the fact that there's nary 1 scarier than Scheffler connected a heater.

Michael Collins
Scheffler. Putting this successful Marvel presumption -- Scheffler has the Infinity Gauntlet (glove) and each the Infinity Stones. Scottie is inevitable. There are lone astir 8 guys who could perchance triumph connected this play people erstwhile the USGA sets it up. Scottie is inevitable.

Jeff Darlington
Scheffler. We've reached the constituent with Scheffler that's reminiscent of Tiger Woods -- wherever the cliché of picking him to triumph outweighs the tendency to deliberation extracurricular the box. Even though Bryson DeChambeau matches up nicely with Oakmont, Scheffler is conscionable excessively bully and excessively accordant close now.

Michael Eaves
Sepp Straka. The existent Oakmont setup seems to beryllium a throwback to erstwhile the U.S. Open perennially played brutally hard, putting a immense accent connected fairways and greens. So acold this season, Straka has been 1 of the champion players connected circuit erstwhile it comes to those aspects of the game. Dude is close and confident, having already won doubly this year. Plus, 5 of the past six U.S. Open winners were first-time large winners. Look for Straka to adhd to that trend.

Peter Lawrence-Riddell
Scheffler. If it was Scottie vs. the field, I'd prime the tract -- but that's not however this workout works. The portion of maine that thinks thing this obvious ever happens wants to prime idiosyncratic other -- the portion of maine that watches play is picking Scottie.

Andy North
Scheffler. Won 3 of past four. At Oakmont you person to deed your irons well, and who's amended than Scottie.

Mark Schlabach
Scheffler. Yeah, I know, it isn't precisely going retired connected a limb, but if the task is to prime the golfer who is going to assistance the U.S. Open trophy connected Sunday, however could you spell with anyone else? I picked Rory McIlroy to triumph the PGA Championship due to the fact that of his occurrence astatine Quail Hollow, and Scheffler erstwhile again proved he's the antheral to beat. The satellite No. 1 golfer is playing unbelievably good again, starring the PGA Tour successful conscionable astir each stroke-gained statistic from tee to green. He's besides 25th successful strokes gained: putting, which was expected to beryllium his weakness. If he's anyplace adjacent the apical of the leaderboard connected Sunday, nary 1 puts their ft connected the state similar Scottie.

Marty Smith
Scheffler. Oakmont is arguably the hardest play people successful the world. It requires uncanny precision and accuracy. Scottie is playing truthful freely and truthful precisely, and I deliberation that volition proceed astatine Oakmont.

Curtis Strange
Scheffler. No. 1 successful world, victor 3 of his past 4 events, connected 1 of the strategically toughest courses successful satellite -- Oakmont!

Paolo Uggetti
Jon Rahm. I truly liked what I saw retired of Rahm astatine the PGA Championship. It wasn't conscionable that helium enactment himself backmost successful contention for a large for the archetypal clip since the 2023 Masters, but it was that his crippled and competitory juices were erstwhile again moving unneurotic to nutrient immoderate truly compelling golf. His crippled should acceptable up good for Oakmont, and I similar his chances of being 1 of the fewer players who tin situation Scheffler this week.

Scott Van Pelt
Rahm. Because idiosyncratic has to prime a antithetic subordinate than Scottie.

Betting roundtable

Odds by ESPN BET

Who is your prime to win?

David Gordon, ESPN Research
Rory McIlroy (+1200). McIlroy was conscionable the co-favorite astatine +450 astatine past month's PGA Championship. Now he's astir triple the terms acknowledgment successful portion to immoderate instrumentality issues. I spot Rory to robust retired the issues and get backmost to signifier astatine a tourney he's finished runner-up astatine successful each of the past 2 years.

Pamela Maldonado, betting analyst
Collin Morikawa (+2200). Morikawa has the affectional power and analytical mindset that suits Oakmont. He started the twelvemonth blistery with 2 runner-up finishes successful his archetypal 4 stats, the Sentry and Arnold Palmer, and has since cooled with lone 1 Top-10 decorativeness since March. He has the physique to tackle this people -- 4th successful accuracy and 5th successful approach. If helium stays calm and plays his game, Morikawa is softly successful the premix Sunday, and nary 1 would beryllium surprised.

Anita Marks, betting analyst
Jon Rahm (+1200). Rahm has the cleanable agelong crippled to win astatine Oakmont. He comes into the week successful large form, and that feisty mojo is back! His T-14th astatine the Masters and T-8th astatine the PGA Championship tells maine helium tin propulsion this off. Rahm leads LIV successful greens successful regularisation percentage, which is simply a precise important metric connected this track.

Who is your favourite stake to marque the apical 10?

Gordon: Xander Schauffele (+210).

I'm leaning with spectacular tourney past implicit mediocre play signifier with Schauffele astatine a terms I don't deliberation we'll spot for him excessively often successful the future. He has 7 Top-10 finishes successful 8 vocation appearances astatine the U.S. Open, portion T-14th is his worst vocation decorativeness (2022).

Maldonado: Keegan Bradley (+475)

The crippled of play is astir trusting your swing. With back-to-back Top-10 finishes and affirmative putting, Bradley has the trust. Bradley is simply a high-quality shot striker crossed the committee and amazingly beardown astir the green. The putter is the astir volatile facet of his game, but Bradley has the ballstriking ceiling that is perfectly precocious capable to win.

What is your favourite Scottie Scheffler bet?

Gordon: To decorativeness Round 1 successful Top 10 (+150)).

Scheffler has been wrong the Top 10 aft 10 of his past 11 large rounds (91%) dating backmost to past year. Each of the past 4 U.S. Open winners, and 9 of the past 11, were wrong the Top 10 aft 18 holes.

Maldonado: To decorativeness Round 1 successful the Top 10 (+150))

Third connected circuit successful Round 1 scoring average, Scheffler is beyond elite from the jump. Separating his strokes gained numbers by round, Scottie is astatine his champion disconnected the tee, with his irons, and from tee-to-green successful the opening circular of tournaments, gaining an mean of 3.98 strokes total, astatine slightest a afloat 1.5 strokes amended compared to the remainder of the 3 rounds to close. He starts hot, past stays coagulated the remainder of the way.

Who are your favourite agelong shots/value bets?

Gordon: Cameron Young: (+10000)

After a brutal commencement to the play with 4 missed cuts successful a five-start span, Young is coming disconnected a T-4th decorativeness astatine the RBC Canadian Open and finished tied for seventh successful Pennsylvania astatine the Truist Championship 3 starts prior. He has plentifulness of large title acquisition and success, with 5 Top 10s betwixt the 2022 PGA and 2024 Masters.

Maldonado: Keegan Bradley to triumph (+7500)

Putting and scrambling are the reddish flags, but his attack and ballstriking level is massive. With 2 Top 10s successful his past 2 starts, his signifier is peaking. He's a full-on tee-to-green monster close now, 2nd successful the tract successful the past 32 rounds. If you privation a feline with winning-level ballstriking astatine longer odds, helium belongs connected your card.

Any different bets basal retired to you?

Gordon: Make the chopped parlay: Tommy Fleetwood and Harris English (-104)

English is successful the mediate of a vocation twelvemonth and has ne'er missed the chopped astatine the U.S. Open successful 9 vocation appearances. Fleetwood hasn't missed a chopped this play and hasn't adjacent been extracurricular the Top 40 done 36 holes successful his past 11 starts. I consciousness alternatively comfy putting the 2 unneurotic for this one!

Maldonado: Scottie Scheffler Top 5 (-140)

The foodstuff is steep but whitethorn adjacent inactive beryllium undervalued. In 31 starts since January 2024, Scheffler has finished apical 5 successful 19 of those, including 10 wins. Unlike astir juice-heavy markets, this 1 has the information to backmost it. Scheffler isn't volatile, seldom posts a atrocious round, and adjacent with a acold putter, his ballstriking unsocial tin support him adjacent the top

Tyler Fulghum: Dustin Johnson to miss the chopped (-120)

DJ won the U.S. Open astatine Oakmont successful 2016, and that truly does consciousness similar a beingness ago. Since his determination to LIV successful 2022, Johnson hasn't adjacent travel adjacent to contention successful large competition. His champion decorativeness successful 10 large starts since 2023 is simply a T-31st astatine past year's Open Championship. He's missed the chopped 5 times, including some the Masters and the PGA Championship this year.

Marks: McIlroy to miss the chopped (+290)

McIlroy has not been the aforesaid golfer since winning the Masters. He changeable a 78 successful the 2nd circular of the Canadian Open, and helium did not play good astatine Quail Hollow. His operator contented is simply a existent thing, and his robust play has not been stellar. Did helium suffer his hunger aft winning the expansive slam? Possibly.

Marks: Ludvig Aberg apical 20 (+155) and apical Nordic golfer (+190)

Aberg came adjacent to winning the Canadian Open, and I judge we get bully worth present for him to decorativeness successful the Top 20 astatine positive money. He drives the shot conscionable arsenic good arsenic anyone connected tour, and his past 5 rounds person been successful the 60s.

Marks: Sepp Straka apical 20 (+170)

Straka is having a vocation twelvemonth -- helium finished 3rd astatine the Memorial Tournament and has won doubly connected circuit this season. He has the imaginable to predominate this people with his ballstriking strengths. Straka ranks archetypal greens successful regulation, 4th tee-to-green, 2nd strokes gained: approach, and apical 10 successful driving accuracy