It feels surreal, but there is an actual golf major coming up this weekend.
And that means we get to make our picks.
The 2020 PGA Championship is here at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, with a field full of big-name contenders. Of course, it’s not usually the first major of the year, but in 2020, everything’s different and tournaments have been moved around due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a reminder: We pick one player with short odds (up to 20/1), medium odds (21/1 to 99/1) and we dive deep to take one longshot (100/1 and above) who could come out of relative obscurity to win it all.
All odds courtesy of BetMGM.
Short odds
Brooks Koepka, 10/1
Yes, that would mean he would win this event for the third straight time. And yes, he missed the cut at the 3M Open and finished 62nd at the Memorial. But he also nearly won the St. Jude, which means his game is finally coming together at the exact right time. How can you pick against him? — Charles Curtis
Bryson DeChambeau (18/1)
Brawny Bryson was the hottest player in the world when the PGA Tour season resumed, up until a shocking quintuple-bogey at the Memorial spoiled his weekend and led to a missed cut. Prior to that disaster, DeChambeau had reeled off six consecutive top-10 finishes, including two top-3s and a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July. After a bit of a layoff, DeChambeau returned and finished T30 last weekend, and I fully expect him to be back at his best at the PGA, mashing 420-yard drives and taking forever to hit approach shots. — Nick Schwartz
Medium odds
Tony Finau (50/1)
Finau’s been hit-or-miss since the restart, with two top-10 finishes and a missed cut, but he’s typically solid at big events, with five top-10 finishes in the last eight major championships. Finau lands near the top of the tour in most of the important statistical categories, but isn’t an elite putter, ranking 95th in strokes gained putting. He’s going to give himself chances to score, though, so if he can get hot on the green for a couple days, you can expect him to be on the first page of the leaderboard with a chance to win. — NS
Collin Morikowa, 33/1
He’s missed the cut ONCE as a pro. ONCE! And he’s only 23! Who cares if he has little experience? In a year when he’s won once and finished in the top 10 five times, and coupled with those odds, I love this pick — CC
Long odds
Chez Reavie, 110/1
This one even sneaked up on me but his last three tournament finishes were 17th at Murfield, 22nd at the Memorial and 6th last week at the St. Jude. Don’t forget he won the Travelers last year and follow that up by finishing third in the 2019 U.S. Open. There’s a lot of value here — CC
Cameron Champ (150/1)
Champ, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who already has one victory this season, is an elite player off the tee (second on tour in strokes gained off the tee), and an average player everywhere else. He’s going to hit bombs, though, and getting a relatively in-form player who averages 321 off the tee at 150/1 feels like value. — NS
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