The first three majors of the 2014 season have been relative laughers, with Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, and Rory McIlroy cruising on Sunday to put their respective championships away early. Given the strength of the field and a setup that usually yields lots of birdies, the PGA Championship may finally deliver a bit of Sunday interest and drama. But despite that loaded field, the deepest of the year, we have an overwhelming favorite for the season’s final major.
PGA Championship odds 2014: Rory McIlroy heavy favorite, Tiger Woods still lingering
Rory McIlroy is the new No. 1 player in the world, and he’s going to be the favorite at all majors for a long time, but especially this week and at this course.
Mike Lawrie
Rory McIlroy, a comfortable winner of his last two events, is the oddsmakers’ man to win his fourth major and second PGA Championship by the age of 25. McIlroy is the new No. 1 player in the world, a title he earned as the clear class of the field. In addition to his current form, the course sets up well for the Ulsterman. It will play long and should yield lots of birdies, scoring conditions we know often allow Rory to run away from the rest.
Since his 2nd round 78 at the Scottish Open Rory McIlroy has shot 68, 67, 66, 66, 68, 71, 69, 64, 66, 66. That's 10 rounds and 39-under par
— Jamie Kennedy (@jamieonsport) August 3, 2014 The betting favorite is usually the biggest name, the guy who will draw the most interest from the public money. We’re used to seeing Tiger Woods in that top spot, but it’s going to be Rory for a while -- this week and almost certainly at Augusta in April. There has been turnover at the top for the first three pre-tournament favorites at this year’s majors, but there should be no question about this week. It would be a shock if McIlroy is not in the mix on Sunday, and even at 5/1 or 9/2, he seems like a good bet to win.
Trailing Rory is Adam Scott, the man he just overtook for No. 1 in the world. Scott has finished T14, T9, and T5 at the first three majors this year, so it’s hard to see him flaming out of the PGA early. The way he bombs the ball deep and straight off the tee should keep him in it at Valhalla. He and Rory have spent much of the year as favorites or co-favorites at the majors, but there’s definitely separation now.
At 16/1 is Sergio Garcia, perhaps the hottest golfer in the world aside from McIlroy. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, young Rory is also in the field this week. Garcia made McIlroy do a lot of work Sunday at the Open Championship, playing perfect golf from tee-to-green. It also looked like he’d get his first win at Firestone on Sunday, but Rory overwhelmed him in the final group, promptly erasing a three-shot deficit and taking multi-shot control over Sergio throughout the back nine.
Sergio's last 15 rounds: 65, 69, 65, 67, 71, 66, 70, 65, 68, 70, 69, 66, 68, 61, 67. Yup, 59-under par.
— Jamie Kennedy (@jamieonsport) August 3, 2014 Garcia is playing some of the best golf of his career and should be on the first page of the leaderboard all week. Whether you can trust him to play better than Rory, or keep it together for four full rounds is a different proposition. Sergio has also stated that he’s not in love with this course, which is not the best indicator of a successful week.
Tiger Woods, who is probably not going to play, is at 33/1 and ahead of world-class talents like U.S. Open winner Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell and Jason Day. Even if Tiger does play, he has no chance of winning. He’s not healthy and he hasn’t played good golf in a year. There are better ways to waste your money.
Here are field’s odds, via Bovada:
| Player | Odds to Win |
| Rory McIlroy | 9/2 |
| Adam Scott | 12/1 |
| Justin Rose | 16/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 16/1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 20/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 20/1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 25/1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 28/1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 28/1 |
| Bubba Watson | 33/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 33/1 |
| Tiger Woods | 33/1 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 35/1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 35/1 |
| Graeme McDowell | 40/1 |
| Martin Kaymer | 40/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 50/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 50/1 |
| Jason Day | 50/1 |
| Jimmy Walker | 50/1 |
| Marc Leishman | 50/1 |
| Hunter Mahan | 66/1 |
| Jason Dufner | 66/1 |
| Lee Westwood | 66/1 |
| Ryan Moore | 66/1 |
| Zach Johnson | 66/1 |
| Angel Cabrera | 80/1 |
| Luke Donald | 80/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 80/1 |
| Steve Stricker | 80/1 |
| Victor Dubuisson | 80/1 |
| Webb Simpson | 80/1 |
| Bill Haas | 100/1 |
| Brendon Todd | 100/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 100/1 |
| Graham Delaet | 100/1 |
| Harris English | 100/1 |
| Ian Poulter | 100/1 |
| J.B. Holmes | 100/1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 100/1 |
| Nick Watney | 100/1 |
| Paul Casey | 100/1 |
| Robert Karlsson | 100/1 |
| Francesco Molinari | 125/1 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | 125/1 |
| Kevin Na | 125/1 |
| Shane Lowry | 125/1 |
| Thomas Bjorn | 125/1 |
| Billy Horschel | 150/1 |
| Brendan Steele | 150/1 |
| Brendon De Jonge | 150/1 |
| Brian Harman | 150/1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 150/1 |
| Chris Kirk | 150/1 |
| Ernie Els | 150/1 |
| Jamie Donaldson | 150/1 |
| John Senden | 150/1 |
| Matteo Manassero | 150/1 |
| Miguel Angel Jimenez | 150/1 |
| Russell Knox | 150/1 |
| Stephen Gallacher | 150/1 |
| Tim Clark | 150/1 |
| Charles Howell III | 200/1 |
| Charley Hoffman | 200/1 |
| Chris Wood | 200/1 |
| Edoardo Molinari | 200/1 |
| Fredrik Jacobson | 200/1 |
| George Coetzee | 200/1 |
| Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano | 200/1 |
| Jason Kokrak | 200/1 |
| Jonas Blixt | 200/1 |
| Joost Luiten | 200/1 |
| K.J. Choi | 200/1 |
| Kevin Chappell | 200/1 |
| Kevin Stadler | 200/1 |
| Matt Jones | 200/1 |
| Rafael Cabrera -Bello | 200/1 |
| Ryan Palmer | 200/1 |
| Scott Brown | 200/1 |
| Scott Piercy | 200/1 |
| Seung-yul Noh | 200/1 |
| Stewart Cink | 200/1 |
| Thongchai Jaidee | 200/1 |
| Thorbjorn Olesen | 200/1 |
| Bernd Wiesberger | 250/1 |
| Boo Weekley | 250/1 |
| Branden Grace | 250/1 |
| Cameron Tringale | 250/1 |
| Chris Stroud | 250/1 |
| Daniel Summerhays | 250/1 |
| Danny Willett | 250/1 |
| David Hearn | 250/1 |
| David Toms | 250/1 |
| Erik Compton | 250/1 |
| George Mcneill | 250/1 |
| Jerry Kelly | 250/1 |
| Kenny Perry | 250/1 |
| Marc Warren | 250/1 |
| Matt Every | 250/1 |
| Pablo Larrazabal | 250/1 |
| Padraig Harrington | 250/1 |
| Pat Perez | 250/1 |
| Rory Sabbatini | 250/1 |
| Ross Fisher | 250/1 |
| Russell Henley | 250/1 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | 250/1 |
| Ben Crane | 300/1 |
| Brian Stuard | 300/1 |
| Colin Montgomerie | 300/1 |
| Darren Clarke | 300/1 |
| Davis Love III | 300/1 |
| Fabrizio Zanotti | 300/1 |
| Jason Bohn | 300/1 |
| Kevin Streelman | 300/1 |
| Mikko Ilonen | 300/1 |
| Richard Sterne | 300/1 |
| Roberto Castro | 300/1 |
| Scott Stallings | 300/1 |
| Steven Bowditch | 300/1 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 300/1 |
| Vijay Singh | 300/1 |
| Will Mackenzie | 300/1 |
| Chesson Hadley | 400/1 |
| Koumei Oda | 400/1 |
| Alexander Levy | 500/1 |
| Anirban Lahiri | 500/1 |
| Hideto Tanihara | 500/1 |
| John Daly | 500/1 |
| Kim Hyung-Sung | 500/1 |
| Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 500/1 |
| Tom Watson | 500/1 |
| Yong-Eun Yang | 500/1 |
| Aaron Krueger | 1000/1 |
| Mark Brooks | 1000/1 |
| Rich Beem | 1000/1 |
| Shaun Micheel | 1000/1 |
| Brian Norman | 1500/1 |
| David Tentis | 1500/1 |
| Frank Esposito | 1500/1 |
| Jamie Broce | 1500/1 |
| Jim McGovern | 1500/1 |
| Johan Kok | 1500/1 |
| Steve Schneiter | 1500/1 |
| Stuart Deane | 1500/1 |
| David Hronek | 2000/1 |
| David McNabb | 2000/1 |
| Dustin Volk | 2000/1 |
| Eric Williamson | 2000/1 |
| Matt Pesta | 2000/1 |
| Michael Block | 2000/1 |
| Rob Corcoran | 2000/1 |
| Rod Perry | 2000/1 |
| Ryan Helminen | 2000/1 |
See More:
