At Today’s Lines, we bring the Rookie Guide into the PGA Championship.
What Is the PGA Championship?
The PGA Championship is the second major championship of the calendar golf season on the PGA Tour. The four events, a month apart each, begin in April with the iconic Masters Tournament, then the PGA, followed by the US Open in June and the Open Championship in July over in the United Kingdom.
For this PGA Championship Rookie Guide, we’ll look at all the aspects to consider when betting on the event at top-rated sportsbooks. We’ll also consider many of the factors that are pertinent to the other four major championships.
What Betting Markets To Use
Pre-event, the main betting market is for the outright winner of the PGA Championship. There are also place markets for the top 5, top 10 and top 20. For rookies, it is best to start with these markets and keep things simple while you familiarize yourself with golf betting.
Place market betting is great fun, and the entertainment can last all four days, so make sure you balance your bankroll by staking in these markets as well as the outright winner of the event.
Specialty Bets
Once familiar with these markets, it is possible to break the event down further with bets on markets such as:
- First round leader
- Three balls and two balls
- Match bets over 72 and 18 holes
- To make the cut
- To miss the cut
Factors To Consider When Betting the PGA Championship
When betting on the PGA Championship, the first thing to consider is the chosen course, and in 2024, that is the Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky.
The track has been used for three recent PGA Championships, 1996, 2000 and 2014, while also being on the Ryder Cup rota and used for that bi-annual team event in 2008.
Since the last time the Valhalla track was used for the PGA a decade ago, they have added over 150 yards to the course with the additional yardage being spread around six holes using new tee boxes.
Recent PGA Championships illustrate the need for length off the tee. Brooks Koepka, a winner in three of the last six seasons, can hit the ball long and straight off the tee, as does other recent champions Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas.
The course set up by the USPGA is hugely important and they try to control the conditions of their major championships with their preferred winning score, 10-under par at best. From this, as bettors, we realize it brings a sense of strategy to the golfers with an understanding that patience will be needed combined with an ability to grind out a competitive score. This inevitably means they need to take a more strategic and cautious approach than many normal PGA events.
For these reasons, major championship winners in recent years have come from a smaller pool of players who can hit the ball the longest while having maximum control of the other facets of their game.
A good stat to use to start this process is the Total Driving stat on the PGA Tour site and strokes gained off the tee. These narrow down the players who may thrive in the PGA Championship conditions.
Understand the Green Surfaces
The 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla is to be played on the Bentgrass green variant and it is important to understand the differences in putting surfaces for golf betting.
Over the course of a player’s career, it is likely they will have a preferred putting surface and their best results correlate with that surface.
PGA events using correlating putting surfaces are the recent Byron Nelson and the Masters Tournament played last month. Several other established tournaments, such as the Memorial at Muirfield Village, the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial and the Zoso Championship, will also help pinpoint players in comfortable conditions.
Appreciate the Weather Conditions
The weather conditions can play a part in this week’s PGA Championship result. The forecast for Louisville is rather unsettled with the only dry day being Thursday.
PGA Championship Rookie Guide Cliff Notes
In conclusion, for betting on the PGA Championship, we suggest that if you’re a rookie, keep things simple and bet the outright and place markets (top 5, top 10 and top 20) for four days of entertainment. There are specialty bets and we listed them for your convenience to perhaps bet or at least follow for future reference.
Valhalla Golf Club is the chosen course for the second major championship of the year and has been extended by 151 yards since the last renewal in 2014. That immediately informs bettors that the players who drive it the furthest off the tee with a high level of accuracy will have an advantage.
Bentgrass greens will be used, and it is important to have a player on your side who is extremely proficient on the surfaces. It is also worth considering the weather forecast, which looks wet on three of the four days.
The perfect mix of golfers for the 2024 PGA Championship will hit the ball long and straight off the tee with a red-hot short game proven on Bentgrass greens.
