Once the first tee shots are hit and the pre-tournament odds are ancient history, the world starts to move in real time. Over the first two days of competition, you see players competing in different waves of tee times. The field of 156 golfers meets on Friday evening at the cutline.
Some of the pre-tournament favorites didn’t get through. If you leaned toward the No. 1 player in the world, it’s time to pivot in the “live world” and plan for the closing 36-holes.
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Scottie Scheffler began the week as the tournament favorite. Prior to teeing off his odds were +1200. After firing an opening-round 71 in very challenging conditions, he closed Thursday at +2200. By 11:00 am Tulsa time, the wind inflated his odds to +6600. With a second-round 75 he missed the cut and was removed from the board.
Round 1 and 2 Odds Timeline
| Odds Time | Tiger Woods | Rory McIlroy | Justin Thomas | Jordan Spieth | Jon Rahm |
| Pre-tourney | +6600 | +1600 | +1600 | +2000 | +1200 |
| End of Rd 1 | +40000 | +300 | +700 | +5000 | +6600 |
| Friday PM | +40000 | +300 | +225 | +5000 | +6600 |
| End of Rd 2 | +40000 | +750 | +350 | +8000 | +15000 |
- Odds listed are from Bet MGM’s website as of evening Friday, May 20.
I like to look at several of the notable players and their movement. I believe it gives a great perspective on what’s happening with odds and how they match up to what I’m seeing on the course.
If your pre-tourney picks have survived, then congrats! If they haven’t, or you’re looking for a few other contenders to consider, here’s my take as a PGA Professional looking at the play through 36-holes and what the course requires.
We favored approach play at the beginning of the week and after 36-holes, the best ball strikers have risen to the top of the leaderboard.
- In the Top 10 range Matt Kuchar catches my eye. He was an early favorite in my pre-tourney research. He’s proven he can hang with these young guns at the top with excellent scoring with his wedges.
- A solid Top 20 prospect is Brooks Koepka. “Major Brooks” showed up today in brutal conditions. His odds are great at his current position (T41) and remember he has TWO rounds to get within that range.
- Looking for someone to finish top 40? Look at none other than 2019 Open Championship winner Shane Lowry. A pre-tournament favorite to win, he has the best approach talent of anyone near him on the leaderboard.
Of course, when it comes to watching the weekend at a major championship, a great part is drafting new players to follow.
Enjoy the weekend of golf with your original picks and maybe a couple of new ones as well!
PGA Professional Keith Stewart writes for Read The Line.
The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (“PGA”) is not an online gambling operator, and PGAChampionship.com is not a gambling site of any kind. Odds are provided for information and entertainment purposes only. Odds were sourced from BetMGM and last updated on: [datetime stamp]. PGA makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of information given.
