Dustin Johnson failed to make the weekend in his Masters defense and doesn’t have a top-25 finish in his past four events, but he’s still the early favorite to win the PGA Championship next month.
Fresh on the heels of Hideski Matsuyama’s historic victory at Augusta National, the focus of the major tournament calendar turns to the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.
Johnson remains the top-ranked player in the world despite his struggles over the past six weeks. However, that followed one of the most dominant stretches in recent memory, including his victory at last November’s Masters.
He would also be the defending PGA champion if not for an incredible Sunday charge by Collin Morikawa to win his first major at the coronavirus-postponed event at Harding Park last August.
Johnson has been installed as the +1100 favorite by FanDuel to win the 2021 PGA Championship, and he’s the co-+1000 favorite at DraftKings along with Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy would appear to be an odd choice to be the co-favorite at any event as he comes off his second missed cut in three events while also working with a new swing coach. The Northern Irishman hasn’t won a major in seven years, although the most impressive of his four career majors was a PGA Championship record-setting eight-shot victory at Kiawah Island in 2021.
FanDuel isn’t as bullish on McIlroy, who is +1600 at FanDuel along with Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and two-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka.
Second-ranked Jon Rahm rallied for a T5 at the Masters with a 66 on Sunday, the lowest score in the field by two shots. He’s the third PGA Championship betting favorite at +1100 by DraftKings and the co-second favorite at +1200 at FanDuel along with Justin Thomas, who is +1200 at DraftKings.
Morikawa will be defending his first career major title, albeit it at a different course on the opposite side of the country. However, he has added a WGC title in Florida earlier this year to his resume.
Morikawa is being offered at +2500 along with Matsuyama by DraftKings, while both are being offered at +2700 by FanDuel.
–Field Level Media