The PGA Championship: How to Bet, Tips, and Betting Markets

How Does The PGA Championship Work?

The PGA Championship (sometimes referred to outside the United States as the USPGA Championship) is one of the four tournaments in the golfing year that are known collectively as the major championships.

They are the four events that define a golfer’s career. Some very fine performers have failed to win a major and it is a gap in their CV that prevents them from being discussed among the elite in history.

The Masters is the first major to take place every year (in April), the British Open is the oldest major of them all (initiated in the 19th century), and both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship are over 100 years old.

The PGA Championship was originally a match play event but became a stroke play tournament in 1958. Once established in the new format it had a date in the schedule after the British Open, settling in the late 20th century early in August.

In 2019 it moved to a new slot on the calendar in May, allowing THE PLAYERS Championship to move to March.

The tournament is governed by the PGA of America and it is often said that, although it is the least prestigious of the majors, it has the strongest field.

The new date has helped the event’s stature. Previously it struggled with the knowledge that it is the fourth major (by reputation), using the tag-line ‘Glory’s Last Shot’ and then ‘The Season’s Final Major’.

The latter accidentally exaggerated the problem and was replaced with ‘This is Major.’

But with the date change, there is a sense that the tournament is a genuinely integral part of the major season, not the last in esteem as well as timeline.

PGA Championship History

The Professional Golfers Association of America was created in 1916 and the first PGA Championship was held later that year at Siwanoy Country Club in New York, won by the Englishman Jim Barnes, who also won the second edition.

Every year the champion lifts the Wanamaker Trophy, which was donated by the tournament’s early backer, the department store owner Rodman Wanamaker.

The recent date change is far from the first the event has experienced.

Only in 1965 was it moved from the week after the British Open, allowing more golfers to attend both tournaments.

Before then, American golfers often chose to play the PGA Championship over the British Open.

PGA Championship Past Winners

The first three tournaments were won by British golfers, as was the 1930 renewal, but only one other winner (Jim Ferrier of Australia in 1947) was not homegrown during the match-play era.

Moreover, until the 1990s, only two non-Americans were victorious in strokeplay – South Africa’s Gary Player won twice in 1962 and 1972, and Australia’s David Graham triumphed in 1979.

Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus hold the record for the most wins (five) and Tiger Woods is a four-time winner.

Hagen was dominant in the early years, being the first American champion in 1921 and winning four times in a row from 1924.

Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead were both three-time winners before the format change, while Ben Hogan claimed a pair of victories.

Arnold Palmer never won the championship, but he was second on three different occasions.

For a long while the event had a reputation for surprise winners. John Daly was definitely that in 1991, but he went on to prove his quality in subsequent years.

Between 1990 and 2015 nine different international golfers claimed the title (Nick Price, Vijay Singh and Rory McIlroy twice), but since 2016 Americans have dominated.

Woods’ first two victories were standout: in 1999 he withstood a charge from the then-teenage Sergio Garcia and a year later he went head-to-head with Bob May before prevailing in a play-off.

In 2009 Korea’s Y.E. Yang stunned the world, becoming the first male Asian winner of a major and he overcame Tiger Woods in the process.

In 2021, at Kiawah Island, playing on the longest major championship golf course in history Phil Mickelson became the oldest-ever winner of a major at the age of 50.

Where is the PGA Championship Played?

Unlike the Masters, but as with the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship travels around the United States of America.

That said, the tournament is most often held towards the east of the country.

How do Players Qualify for the PGA Championship?

The full field of 156 players includes every former tournament champion and the winners of the last five editions of the other majors, plus the last three winners of THE PLAYERS Championship.

In addition, the winner of the Senior PGA Championship and the top 15 finishers in the previous year’s event gain entry.

The top 70 earners on the PGA Tour, members of the most recent US and European Ryder Cup teams, and PGA Tour winners also qualify.

In addition, the top 20 finishers in the PGA Professional Championship gain entry.

The PGA of America has the right to invite additional players and commonly ensures that all of the world’s top 100 players are offered a start.

How to Bet on the PGA Championship

The obvious starting point is the tournament result: you can back a player to win, to place (top five, top ten, etc.) or each way (half the stake on the win, half on the place).

Beyond that, there are a number of other alternatives.

First Round Leader is a very popular market, as are group options: Top American or Top European, for example.

You can also back one player over another in 72-hole and 18-hole match bets which are mythical contests in the sense that the players don’t know they have been pitted against one another.

In each round, there will also be two or three ball contests relating to the official tee times groupings.

This is a tournament in which research will pay dividends, usually with regard to the course and conditions.

Ante-post Betting on the PGA Championship

You will be able to bet on the next PGA Championship within hours of the last one finishing and these ante-post markets will remain open all year.

Real value can be captured this way but also beware that the each-way terms tend to be more restrictive.

In the week of the tournament itself, books are hungry for golfing punters and also wider sports fans.

Big offers will be available, plus great place terms. Hunt around and get the best terms you can find.

Important Trends at the PGA Championship

A number of patterns have emerged down the years which have become vital reading for punters.

Overwhelmingly, winners tend to have already finished top 10 in the championship before their win.

They are also usually in very good form with both a win already that season and a top 20 finish in their previous three starts.

Mickelson’s victory was a rare recent example – golfers in their 20s had dominated in recent times.

Why Is the Host Course Important for Betting?

The course and the conditions have a huge impact on the outcome of every championship. A few recent examples explain this.

The 2021 tournament at Kiawah Island was by the coast and on a course designed by Pete Dye – both were crucial factors.

A year before the event ventured to California and TPC Harding Park, which had hosted the WGC – Dell Match Play in 2015, providing a small sample of course form.

The 2017 championship went to Quail Hollow in North Carolina, a course that regularly hosts the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship.

Smart punters would have researched those results, but also factored in the change in date and conditions.

Tip for the 2023 PGA Championship

Oak Hill Country Club in New York will host the championship for the fourth time. It has also hosted the US Open three times.

The last time it welcomed a major championship was when Jason Dufner won the 2013 edition of this event, beating Jim Furyk by two blows with Henrik Stenson in third.

That suggests quality ball-striking will be key, rather than short game.

Might it be the week when Viktor Hovland breaks through at the top level? He headed into the final round of the Open tied for the lead, the first time he had contended in a major. That provided him with vital lessons and he can be backed at +3200 with the FanDuel Sportsbook.