Sports betting: McIlroy and Scheffler head into PGA Championship as co-favorites

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Scottie Scheffler warms up on the driving range before a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Keegan Bradley hits from the bunker on the 13th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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Nick Taylor, of Canada, hits from the bunker on the 14th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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Jordan Spieth speaks during a news conference at the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt York)

By RYAN HANNABLE of BetMGM Sportsbook

The last two Masters champions are the co-favorites for this week’s PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are tied for the shortest odds at the BetMGM Sportsbook, both listed at +500 for the season’s second major. The tournament starts Thursday at Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

McIlroy, who won the Masters last month, has won four times at Quail Hollow, including last year’s Wells Fargo Championship.

Unlike most PGA Championship venues, this is a familiar one because it is a regular stop on the PGA Tour. The course also hosted the 2017 PGA Championship and the 2022 Presidents Cup.

Quail Hollow is a long course, playing over 7,600 yards, and it will play even longer this week following heavy rain.

PGA Championship favorites

There are three players with odds shorter than +1000 to win this week – Scheffler (+500), McIlroy (+500), and Bryson DeChambeau (+800).

As of Tuesday morning at the BetMGM Sportsbook, Scheffler is taking in the most number of bets in the outright winner market (14.9%) and the most money (20.7%).

McIlroy is next, taking in the second-most bets (13%) and second-most money (17.6%). DeChambeau has the third-most bets (12.6%) and third-most money (15.4%).

These three players are combining for more than half of the money (53.7%) in the outright winner market.

PGA Championship long shots

While these players aren’t necessarily long shots, they are the next tier behind the big three for the event.

Jordan Spieth, who is going for the career Grand Slam this week, is +5500 to win. He’s bringing in the sixth-most bets (4.1%) and sixth-most money (5.3%).

Another player with longer odds generating some action is Viktor Hovland at +5000. He’s drawing the ninth-most bets and seventh-most money.

At +9000, Justin Rose is taking in the 14th-most bets, while at +10000, Max Homa is taking in the 16th-most bets.

PGA Championship prop bets

In addition to outright winner and top 5/10/20 finish bets, there are other markets available.

There’s the winning margin, where one stroke has the lowest odds at +240, followed by a playoff, two strokes, and four strokes or more (+350). Three strokes is +650.

Will there be a hole-in-one? Yes is +140, while no is -175.

Other notable prop bets include: any player to set a course record by shooting 60 or lower (+650), albatross in the tournament (+1200), and Scheffler/McIlroy to win (+200) or the field (-285).

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf