Scottie Scheffler is once again a popular bet to win a golf Major.
That part is no surprise. The Masters champion has won four of the last five tournaments he’s played in and finished second in the other one.
However, Scheffler hasn’t participated in a golf tournament since winning the RBC Heritage on April 22.
He took time off for the birth of his first child.
That hasn’t stopped bettors from getting down on as sure a thing as the sport has seen since Tiger Woods blistered every field and every course in his heyday.
Scheffler is the favorite to win this week’s PGA Championship at around +400, and he has the highest percentage of handle and a large number of wagers to win outright at several online sportsbooks.
Scheffler, a +450 favorite at BetMGM, is the mobile operator’s biggest liability to win at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., where play begins Thursday.
He’s received 29.4% of the money wagered and 18.2% of the tickets, higher than any other golfer in the field, according to numbers provided to Covers.
The big two
If Scheffler is the most popular golfer to back, Koepka and McIlroy are close seconds.
FanDuel told Covers that Scheffler holds a tournament-high 18% of the handle, but Rory McIlroy, who is listed second at +700, is getting 11% of the tickets while Scheffler is claiming 10%.
Scheffler has accounted for a tournament-high 20% of the tickets at DraftKings, but defending PGA Championship champ Brooks Koepka (+1400) is getting 23% of handle to win outright, according to provided figures.
Koepka, who plays on LIV Golf, is second on the list of liabilities at BetMGM. He’s also second in handle, ahead of McIlroy, who is coming off a win last week at the Wells Fargo Championship and won the PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014.
A higher percentage of bettors are backing McIlroy to win at FanDuel than Koepka.
However, 97.2% of the tickets and 99% of the handle for a market on LIV golfer winning the PGA at BetMGM is on “yes” at +350.
McIlroy has the highest handle and is the biggest liability to lead after the first round at BetMGM.
Where’s Tiger?
No golf tournament Tiger Woods plays in goes without noting where the all-time legend stands. The active leader in Majors won is +140 to make the cut.
This was a popular market during the Masters, and Woods easily made it to the weekend to extend his streak of 23 consecutive cuts made at Augusta National.
Many of those bettors appear to be backing him again as “Big Cat” has the highest number of tickets to survive the cut.
However, he isn’t getting the same treatment to win outright. Woods’ health makes it difficult to trust him to compete at a high level for four consecutive days.
Getting exotic
Bettors are taking advantage of other attractive PGA Championship markets.
Bryson DeChambeau has the highest handle to finish the tournament in the top 20 at DraftKings, ranking ahead of Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Cameron Young, and Chris Kirk.
BetMGM has received the most action to finish in the top 10 from Xander Schauffele, who has 12 top-10 finishes in 27 Majors, but he has yet to win one.
Jordan Spieth is the most-bet golfer to miss the cut at BetMGM, and 64.1% of wagers and 83.1% of the handle are on “no” at -135 for a hole-in-one this week.
