Quail Hollow is the setting of the 2017 PGA Championship, the third major of the year. This is the first time that a major has been held at the popular course and the event goes from August 10th through the 13th. The course, located in Charlotte, North Carolina is the host of the Wells Fargo Championship, so it is a course that is familiar to a lot of the players who will be turning up and having a crack at the Major. The 156 man field is set and the course is playing at par 71 over 7,600 yards.
Much of the course remains the same but there have been some slight changes with some new hold, such as the first and second being combined for one hole and the old fifth hole being split into two. New turf on the greens has been added too.
This is the 99th edition of the PGA Championship and returning as champion is Jimmy Walker after his celebrated success last year. The tournament was actually first a match play event, but in 1958 turned to a stroke play contest. It is a tournament which has been totally dominated by US winners. Since the very first PGA Championships, the USA has produced 56 different winners for a total of 78 wins. The next most successful nation is Australia with five different players having won the event.
Not too surprising then you will find a heavy clutch of American players at the head of the betting market for the tournament, and their charge is being led by Jordan Spieth, who stormed his way recently to The Open title at Royal Birkdale. Along with the formidable Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler right up there in the market at under-twenties, you are looking at a price of even money at Sky bet on an American being the Winning Nationality at the PGA Championship 2017.
PGA Championship Golf Winner Odds
| Player | Betting Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | 13/2 |
| Jordan Spieth | 9/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 11/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 12/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 16/1 |
| Jon Rahm | 22/1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 22/1 |
| Jason Day | 28/1 |
| Justin Rose | 35/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 40/1 |
| Adam Scott | 40/1 |
| Paul Casey | 40/1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 40/1 |
| Justin Thomas | 40/1 |
| bar | 50/1 |
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Rory McIlroy
Despite the heavy American presence in the field, it is Rory McIlroy who is running as the favourite. He is a firm favourite of the course because he has won the Wells Fargo Championship twice and two years ago fired off a course record 61 around Quail Hollow. The fairways are a bit narrower than this year’s US Open and drivers didn’t really get a chance to unleash their weapons at Royal Birkdale. But McIlroy is such a good fit here with long accurate drives the order of the day and he has proven time and again he can handle the pressure of the Green Mile. McIlroy carries good form in with a top five at the Open and at the WGC Bridgestone. He is a strong contender for a third success at the USPGA.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth will have plenty of backers after that victory at Royal Birkdale to lift the Claret Jug. The American now has the chance to become the youngest player ever to complete the career grand slam. You would imagine that he will be in contention out in Charlotte. This is such a big moment for him and you would imagine that it would be the kind of extra pressure that could make a man buckle. But Spieth is so focused and driven that it’s hard to see him not at least going close to getting his hands on the title. Cool under pressure and in form. Top ten banker surely.
Dustin Johnson
DJ just hasn’t quite been his best since the Masters really and after his immense dominance over the first part of the year, he is just struggling to get back there. However, he is a brilliant driver of the ball with distance and accuracy and that should get him in the picture here. There really aren’t many better drivers around than him, so maybe the course will help him discover a bit of form in this one. Can’t be counted out and if his driver is true to form then he could easily pull himself into the picture.
Hideki Matsuyama
With a cruise of a victory at the Bridgestone, Matsuyama fired his way to the top of the FedExCup Standings. The Japanese star has had a fantastic season with three victories on the Tour so far this year, having claimed the West Management Phoenix Open along with the HSBC Champions and that Bridgestone Invitational. He has remained under the radar pretty much though. On top of his wins, he has also landed three second place finishes this season and six other top tens. After a T2 at the US Open and a T14 at The Open, he is primed.
Rickie Fowler
Will he get there? Will he be able to land that elusive Major? Eight of the last nine PGA Championships have gone to a first-time winner and that puts Fowler in the frame. He has been in the hunt for so many titles this season and goes to Quail Hollow on the back of a top ten finish at the Bridgestone Invitational and that T5 back at the US Open in mid-June will keep his beliefs high that he can finally make a breakthrough. He can’t be far away.
Jon Rahm
He is another one looking to snap a major duck in gold. What the Spaniard has done this season is phenomenal. From a low ranked amateur, the 22 year old broke through with that win at the Farmers Insurance this year and he has carded seven top ten finishes this season. He has just slipped back in terms of results though and his missed cut at the US Open will have potentially hurt. Needs to come out swinging for some confidence, but if he finds it, he could a good top ten finish player.
Brooks Koepka
This year’s US Open winner has had a good season with six other top ten finishes. He followed up that win at the US Open with a top six at The Open and then went out last week for a T17 at the Bridgestone Invitations. That’s some strong form trending from him and he can quietly go about his business and make an impression as well.
PGA Championships 2017 Prediction
Anyone who has won the PGA Championships since 2009 aside from McIlroy has done so by one stroke only or in a play off. So if it’s not him then you can expect a title battle with that trend going on. There is a temptation to avoid McIlroy as strong as he is supposed to go here. That whole McIlroy/Spieth dynamic is huge heading into Quail Hollow but there is some appeal down the field in Charley Hoffman at a big 55/1 each way punt with Coral. He’s carrying some form with a second at the RBC Canadian Open and a third at the Bridgestone Invitational in his last two outings and he went well at the US Open too. He will be our each way shot and the as a winner, Matsuyama or Fowler has to have big appeal right now. Over the past 40 years, the PGA has produced more first time major winners than the other three.
