A golfer’s legacy is ultimately defined by the number of Major championships they win, and Rory McIlroy has made no secret of his desire to focus on the 4 biggest events – a strategy that paid off handsomely when he successfully defended the Masters last month. The Northern Irishman, now a 6-time Major winner following his Augusta triumph, is the most decorated player in the field and the 2nd-favorite behind only Scottie Scheffler at the 108th PGA Championship, which starts at Aronimink Golf Club, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.
McIlroy raised a few eyebrows when declaring how much practice he’d had at Augusta in the wake of last month’s Green Jacket defense, and he has been similarly meticulous in his preparation for Aronimink, making his return to competitive action with a promising 19th-placed finish at the Truist Championship last week. Will his single-minded approach result in a 7th Major victory? It’s entirely possible, but only one player in the last 17 years – Jordan Spieth in 2015 – has won back-to-back Major crowns, and McIlroy’s tame effort in last year’s PGA should serve as a cautionary tale for his supporters this week. With that in mind, let’s break down my golf predictions for the 2026 PGA Championship, along with the latest odds and how the contenders stack up.
2026 PGA Championship odds
Odds courtesy of bet365 and available at time of publishing.
- Scottie Scheffler +525
- Rory McIlroy +900
- Cameron Young +1300
- Jon Rahm +1500
- Bryson DeChambeau +2100
- Xander Schauffele +2100
- Ludvig Aberg +2400
- Matt Fitzpatrick +2700
- Tommy Fleetwood +2700
- Collin Morikawa +3700
- Brooks Koepka +4500
- Tyrrell Hatton +4500
- Justin Rose +5000
- Justin Thomas +5000
Scheffler, the champion last year, is the +525 favorite as he bids to snap a run of 3 runner-up finishes, and he will again take plenty of beating, but he has cut a frustrated figure recently, and he will need to be at his best mentally if he is to master Aronimink and retain the famous Wanamaker Trophy.
Aronimink, a 7,394-yard par-70, is a Donald Ross-designed masterpiece that hosted this tournament, won by Gary Player, in 1962, but more recent and relevant form comes via the 2010 and 2011 AT&T Nationals played on the PGA Tour, as well as the rain-softened 2018 BMW Championship, won by Keegan Bradley. The course, which underwent a restoration prior to the BMW in a bid to move it closer to Ross’s original vision, is a typical PGA layout in that there is room for manoeuvre off the tee, with the main defenses coming in the form of extensive bunkering and large, undulating greens, where hitting the right spots will be key.
2026 PGA Championship golf picks and predictions
2026 PGA Championship best bet: Cameron Young (+1550)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
This is an all-round test, with the winning score likely to hover somewhere around -10, and it should prove ideal for arguably the most in-form golfer on the planet. Cameron Young’s PGA Tour breakthrough came at another Donald Ross course, Sedgefield Country Club, in last year’s Wyndham Championship. He then placed 4th on another Ross track, East Lake Golf Club, in the Tour Championship before starring as the USA’s best player in the Ryder Cup.
Since then, the New Yorker has gone from strength to strength, winning the Players Championship, finishing 3rd at the Masters – where he looked the most likely winner through 5 holes of Sunday’s final round – then waltzing to a 6-shot win in the Cadillac Championship on his penultimate start. Young was not at his best in the final round of the Truist, finishing 10th, but he has been striking the ball superbly for months now, and the next step for the 29-year-old will be to win a Major, having already served his apprenticeship at the top level with 7 top-10 finishes.
Sunday’s performance has helped keep him at a double-figure price and, on current form, it is difficult to see him failing to at least finish in the top 10.
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2026 PGA Championship prediction: Brooks Koepka (+4500)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and bet365 at time of publishing.
Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm lead the LIV Golf contingent, and DeChambeau is of particular interest given his 2 Donald Ross wins, including the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst No.2, but he struggled at Augusta and will be under media scrutiny, with rumors swirling about his future on the LIV Tour.
Former LIV man Brooks Koepka does not have that distraction, and Aronimink looks an ideal opportunity for him to draw level with McIlroy by winning a 6th Major and a fourth PGA Championship. Koepka’s most recent Major win came in the 2023 PGA at another Ross venue, Oak Hill, and recent signs have been positive, with the Floridian finishing 12th at the Masters and 11th at the Myrtle Beach Classic last week.
He will need to tidy things up on the greens, but his iron play has been magnificent since he returned to the PGA Tour – he leads the Tour in strokes-gained approach – and he has course experience to call upon, having finished 19th in the BMW at Aronimink.
2026 PGA Championship pick: Rickie Fowler (+7000)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Rickie Fowler has form figures of 8-9-2 from his last 3 appearances, all of them Signature Events, and he is also worth including in our PGA Championship predictions.
The Californian was a runner-up at Pinehurst No.2 in 2014, was 13th in the 2011 AT&T National and 8th in the 2018 BMW, and his last PGA Tour win came at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, another Ross venue, in 2023.
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