A distinctive characteristic of the PGA Championship compared to the other golf majors is that it invites all winners of PGA Tour events in the preceding year. It also invites select club professionals. Golfers who meet either criteria will be part of the 156-player 2021 PGA Championship field, which tees off Thursday. Outside of the recognition of being a major champion, there's also plenty at stake, including $1.98 million to the winner, 100 Official World Golf Ranking points, and lifetime eligibility to the PGA Championship.
Returning to the site of the 2012 tournament, Kiawah Island Golf Resort's Ocean Course will host the PGA Championship 2021. Rory McIlroy won the event here nine years ago and is the 11-1 favorite at William Hill Sportsbook. The 2021 PGA Championship odds for other former winners include Justin Thomas at 14-1, Collin Morikawa at 30-1, and Brooks Koepka at 33-1. Before locking in your 2021 PGA Championship picks, be sure to see the 2021 PGA Championship predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been on fire since the return of the PGA Tour in June. In fact, it's up over $10,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
At the 2021 Masters, McClure nailed Jon Rahm's (+250) top-five finish, as well as Corey Conners' (+550) top-10 showing. All told, McClure's best bets netted over $450 at the Masters.
In addition, McClure was all over Daniel Berger's win at +1400 in his best bets at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. McClure also nailed Viktor Hovland's (+2500) victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he's made in the past few months.
After nailing Sergio Garcia (+5500) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the Sanderson Farms Championship, McClure finished up over $6,200 yet again on his best bets in that tournament. The model had him in the top five from the start and McClure's best bets included Garcia winning outright. He also finished profitable at the U.S. Open, nailing two of his best bets, including a +1100 top-five bet on Matthew Wolff.
This same model has also nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed its golf picks has seen massive returns.
Now that the 2021 PGA Championship field is taking shape, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2021 PGA Championship leaderboard.
Watch the 2021 PGA Championship beginning Thursday with Rounds 3-4 streaming live over the weekend on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App and Paramount+. Check out the updated PGA Championship schedule for how to watch the year's second major all week long.
The model's top 2021 PGA Championship predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the PGA Championship 2021: Bryson DeChambeau, the defending U.S. Open champion and one of the top favorites, struggles and barely cracks the top 10. The 27-year-old has revolutionized the game of golf, using his swing speed to create distance off the tee that we've never seen before.
DeChambeau enters the second major of the year ranked first in driving distance (322.0), strokes gained tee-to-green (1.788) and strokes gained off-the-tee (1.184). The eight-time PGA Tour champion also ranks in the top 10 in a number of important statistical categories, including birdie average (4.45), scoring average (69.882) and going for the green percentage (82.58).
However, DeChambeau enters the PGA Championship 2021 ranked 172nd in driving accuracy percentage, hitting just 55.24 percent of fairways off the tee. His inability to hit the fairway off the tee has caused DeChambeau to struggle in his most recent outings. In fact, DeChambeau has finished 42nd or worse in three of his last four starts on the PGA Tour. He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the PGA Championship 2021 field.
Another surprise: Patrick Cantlay, a massive long shot at 35-1, makes a strong run at the PGA Championship 2021 title. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Cantlay already has a win this tour season and was third at the 2019 PGA Championship.
Cantlay's ability to make the most out of challening situations will come in handy at the treacherous Ocean Course. He ranks second in scrambling percentage (67.34), so even if a tee shot or second shot goes wayward, he has the ability to recover. That strength has enabled Cantlay to gain 0.451 strokes around the green, which ranks eighth on tour. The model says he's a target for your 2021 PGA Championship bets.
How to make 2021 PGA Championship picks
The model is targeting four other golfers with PGA Championship odds 2021 higher than 20-1 to make a strong run at the Wanamaker Trophy, including an epic underdog. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big. You can only see them here.
So who will win the 2021 PGA Championship? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 PGA Championship leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed six golf majors and is up over $10,000 since the restart.
2021 PGA Championship odds
Rory McIlroy 11-1
Justin Thomas 14-1
Jon Rahm 14-1
Jordan Spieth 16-1
Bryson DeChambeau 16-1
Dustin Johnson 18-1
Xander Schauffele 22-1
Viktor Hovland 25-1
Daniel Berger 30-1
Collin Morikawa 30-1
Brooks Koepka 33-1
Hideki Matsuyama 33-1
Patrick Cantlay 35-1
Webb Simpson 35-1
Cameron Smith 35-1
Patrick Reed 35-1
Tony Finau 35-1
Scottie Scheffler 40-1
Sam Burns 40-1
Tyrrell Hatton 45-1
Will Zalatoris 50-1
Tommy Fleetwood 50-1
Paul Casey 50-1
Abraham Ancer 50-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 55-1
Sung-Jae Im 60-1
Joaquin Niemann 60-1
Louis Oosthuizen 60-1
Marc Leishman 60-1
Justin Rose 66-1
Shane Lowry 66-1
Sergio Garcia 66-1
Corey Conners 66-1
Adam Scott 70-1
Keegan Bradley 70-1
Brian Harman 80-1
Gary Woodland 80-1
Max Homa 80-1
Matt Wallace 80-1
Garrick Higgo 80-1
Jason Day 80-1
Si-Woo Kim 80-1
Charl Schwarzel 90-1
Bubba Watson 90-1
Robert Macintyre 100-1
Jason Kokrak 100-1
Lee Westwood 100-1
Harris English 100-1
Matt Kuchar 100-1
Billy Horschel 125-1
Rickie Fowler 125-1
Cameron Tringale 125-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 125-1
Cameron Champ 125-1
Charley Hoffman 150-1
Branden Grace 150-1
Russell Henley 150-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 150-1
Kevin Na 150-1
Alex Noren 150-1
Matt Jones 150-1
Stewart Cink 150-1
Ian Poulter 150-1
Emiliano Grillo 150-1
Aaron Wise 150-1
Ryan Palmer 175-1
Chris Kirk 175-1
Francesco Molinari 200-1
Kevin Kisner 200-1
Cameron Davis 200-1
Martin Kaymer 200-1
Sebastian Munoz 200-1
Thomas Pieters 200-1
Harold Varner 200-1
Kevin Streelman 200-1
Victor Perez 200-1
Zach Johnson 200-1
Brendon Todd 200-1
Phil Mickelson 200-1
Carlos Ortiz 200-1
Joel Dahmen 250-1
Dylan Frittelli 250-1
Bernd Wiesberger 250-1
Brendan Steele 250-1
Henrik Stenson 250-1
John Catlin 250-1
Danny Willett 250-1
Talor Gooch 250-1
Sam Horsfield 250-1
Dean Burmester 250-1
Erik Van Rooyen 250-1
Lanto Griffin 250-1
Denny McCarthy 300-1
Harry Higgs 300-1
Thomas Detry 300-1
Antoine Rozner 300-1
Maverick McNealy 300-1
Martin Laird 300-1
Steve Stricker 300-1
Andy Sullivan 300-1
Tom Lewis 300-1
Tom Hoge 300-1
Mackenzie Hughes 300-1
Byeong Hun An 300-1
Adam Hadwin 300-1
Rasmus Hojgaard 300-1
Jazz Janewattananond 350-1
Jim Herman 400-1
Kalle Samooja 400-1
J.T. Poston 400-1
Brandon Stone 400-1
Padraig Harrington 400-1
George Coetzee 400-1
Sami Valimaki 400-1
Kurt Kitayama 400-1
Aaron Rai 400-1
Jimmy Walker 500-1
Rikuya Hoshino 500-1
Peter Malnati 500-1
Robert Streb 500-1
Brian Gay 500-1
Adam Long 500-1
Chan Kim 500-1
Hudson Swafford 500-1
Daniel Van Tonder 500-1
Richy Werenski 500-1
Takumi Kanaya 500-1
Jason Scrivener 500-1
Chez Reavie 500-1
Lucas Herbert 500-1
Brett Walker 500-1
Jason Dufner 500-1
Vijay Singh 1000-1
Y.E. Yang 1000-1
John Daly 1000-1
Brad Marek 2000-1
Sonny Skinner 2000-1
Peter Ballo 2000-1
Patrick Rada 2000-1
Greg Koch 2000-1
Alex Beach 2000-1
Stuart Smith 2000-1
Danny Balin 2000-1
Rich Beem 2000-1
Mark Geddes 2000-1
Rob Labritz 2000-1
Frank Bensel 2000-1
Omar Uresti 2000-1
Ben Polland 2000-1
Larkin Gross 2000-1
Derek Holmes 2000-1
Ben Cook 2000-1
Tim Pearce 2000-1
Joe Summerhays 2000-1
Shaun Micheel 2000-1
Tyler Collet 2000-1
