Three weeks after Rory McIlroy rolled into the Open Championship as a ridiculous 2/13 favorite, the Ulsterman will start the PGA Championship back on the 54-hole lead and an 8/13 favorite. McIlroy is playing a different level of golf than anyone else on the planet right now, but Sunday’s path to victory should be more difficult than the two-shot cruise at Hoylake, and certainly his first two 8-shot runaway majors.
PGA Championship odds 2014: Rory McIlroy still heavy favorite at Valhalla
It might be closer than the Open, but Rory McIlroy is still a significant favorite to finish it off in Louisville on Sunday.
Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, and Jason Day are just three of the bigger names expected to push Rory over the final 18 holes. He leads Mickelson by three shots, by the 5-time major winner is now 10/1 to get a second PGA Championship. It’s been an awful season for Mickelson, who doesn’t have a top 10 finish on the PGA Tour. But he said something clicked last Sunday in Akron, where he shot his lowest round of the year and posted a 62. The biggest change seems to be in his short game, and he’s been putting beautifully all week at Valhalla. Phil’s chances can end at any moment, especially when he’s three shots in the hole, but he’s going to make a charge at some point on Sunday.
Fowler is the man with the second-lowest odds, currently at 5/1. He’s trying to become the third player ever, joining Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, to finish inside the top 5 at all four majors in one season. That seems like a lock given the way he’s playing right now, but a win and not another strong result is obviously what he wants at this stage of the season. McIlroy was able to keep Fowler at arm’s length playing in the final pairing on Sunday at the Open. Playing with good friend and fellow Butch Harmon pupil Mickelson might be a better set of circumstances to get out in front a hole ahead of Rory and put together a run.
McIlroy, of course, is still the heavy favorite and the way he’s playing, it’s hard to see him relinquishing his lead. But this should be his most challenging final round. Here are your final round odds heading into Sunday morning:
| Player | Odds to Win |
| Rory McIlroy | 8/13 |
| Rickie Fowler | 5/1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 10/1 |
| Jason Day | 12/1 |
| Bernd Wiesberger | 14/1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 20/1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 33/1 |
| Ryan Palmer | 66/1 |
| Mikko Ilonen | 66/1 |
| Adam Scott | 66/1 |
| Graham Delaet | 100/1 |
| Jamie Donaldson | 125/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 100/1 |
| Steve Stricker | 100/1 |
| Lee Westwood | 125/1 |
| Hunter Mahan | 150/1 |
| Kevin Chappell | 250/1 |
| Joost Luiten | 300/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 300/1 |
| Bill Haas | 400/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 400/1 |
| Victor Dubuisson | 400/1 |
| Danny Willett | 500/1 |
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