USPGA Championship odds: Market moves and bookmaker offers
The first major of the golf season takes place this week in San Francisco, with the USPGA Championship welcoming the world's top golfers in what has been a disrupted season due to the worldwide COVID crisis.
Originally scheduled for May, the USPGA will be the first major played this season due to the Open Championship being postponed until 2021, whilst the US Open has been rearranged to the 17th September and this year's Masters will be played in November.
It's exciting to have a major week though and we're treated to have a quality field, with only the likes of Francesco Molinari, Lee Westwood, Eddie Pepperell, Thomas Pieters and Shugo Imahira missing from the world top 100.
We'll have detailed preview pieces throughout the week, but here's a look at the odds for this week's tournament at TPC Harding Park.
Market Leaders
Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka are battling for favouritism at the head of the market, fresh from the pair fighting out on the back nine of the WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational on Sunday, with Thomas coming out on top to win for the 13th time on the PGA Tour.
Koepka is looking to make it three straight wins of the USPGA Championship and the bookies have had him onside throughout the year, with the layers trimming the pair from 12/1 to 10/1 for this week's tournament.
Long time favourite Rory McIlroy has drifted out to 14/1 from 8/1 with him struggling to get anything significant going in his five tournaments played since lockdown.
The PGA Tour has been back eight weeks and we've seen a trend in the USPGA Championship Betting Odds with the winners being clipped in for the event, only to drift out again before this week.
John Rahm for example was clipped into 10/1 following his win at The Memorial but a 52nd place last week has seen the layers ease him out to 14/1 this week.
A similar pattern could be said of Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Travelers Championship respectively, saw their odds tumble to 10/1 and 12/1 for this week's major but have since been eased.
When DeChambeau crushed the field in Detroit, topping off a four week haul of top ten finishes with a win, he was considered one of the favourites here, but a missed cut at The Memorial and a red ant disturbed 30th last week has seen him eased out to 16/1.
Johnson had won a week earlier before also missing the cut at The Memorial before withdrawing at the 3M Open citing a back injury but not before shooting a first round 78. The American bounced back with a 12th last week at TPC Southwind but is as big as 20/1 this week, eight points bigger than he was three weeks ago.
Further down the betting we have the other three winners since the PGA Tour resumed.
Webb Simpson is a best price 28/1, winning the RBC Heritage which was the second tournament back, whilst the Workday Charity Open winner Collin Morikawa is a 35/1 chance. Daniel Berger, who gave a good run at the WGC FedEx on Sunday finishing second, is a best price 45/1 shot with 888Sport.
Berger was the first winner after lockdown beating a strong field to land the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial and has form figures of 1-3-MC-2 in the four tournaments he's played in and is sure to be popular with each-way backers.
Bookie each-way concessions
With the limited betting opportunities and just one major Tour for golf punters until the European Tour resumed a fortnight ago, the bookies have been pushing out their each-way terms anyway since lockdown, but this week being a major. some firms have pushed the boat out further than normal.
Bet365 would usually be paying a fifth of the odds five places for a regular tour event, but go EIGHT places this week, whilst William Hill have been paying out eight places on selected tournaments but go NINE this week.
Hills have also been holding the best price for a good portion of the early betting so one to keep an eye on.
Betfred are also going nine places this week, whilst Paddy Power and Betfair both go TEN for the first major of the season.
Tiger Woods a big price
At 33/1 Tiger Woods is sure to be a popular play this week. The 44-year-old is bidding for a fifth USPGA Championship and his first since 2007.
The American has only been seen out once since lockdown, (not including his charity win paired with Peyton Manning against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady), a modest 40th place finish at The Memorial.
If he can shake off the rust he could be a danger on a course that should suit.
Other notable market movers this week include Jason Day, who seems to have gone under the radar but is quietly finding some form.
Day's only major win was in the 2015 USPGA and despite ongoing health and injury concerns has carved out three top ten finishes in his last three tournaments and is now a 40/1 chance in from 50's earlier in the season.
At big prices there's been notable market moves for Shane Lowry (80/1) who finished in a tie for 6th on Sunday, whilst Matt Fitzpatrick's been in good form with successive top tens and is now 45/1 from 80's with BetVictor.
A major which has traditionally thrown up some bigger priced winners, none more so than when John Daly won as an alternate in 1991, the top players have dominated in recent years.
Jimmy Walker aside, who was a 125/1 shot when winning in 2016, the list of recent winners reads - 2019, Koepka (10/1), 2018, Koepka (20/1), 2017, Thomas (45/1), 2015, Day (14/1) and 2014, McIlroy (5/1).
It might pay to look towards the head of the market this week.
You can get all the outright odds and tipping advice for the week at our dedicated USPGA betting section.
