Scheffler favored at PGA again; Young's odds leap

Scottie Scheffler‘s status as the favorite in major championships will continue at the 2026 PGA Championship, but golf’s top rising star Cameron Young is quickly gaining ground, both in the odds and in action from the betting public.

Scheffler has leading +385 odds at DraftKings to win at Aronimink Golf Club as of Wednesday morning. It’s the 14th consecutive major in which he will be the favorite or co-favorite, and these are his shortest odds going into a PGA Championship in his career, according to SportsOddsHistory.

Rory McIlroy, coming off a second straight Masters win, is +900, with Jon Rahm (+1400) and Young (+1475) rounding out the top four.

Scheffler remains a popular straight bet to win the tournament across the sportsbook marketplace, racking up the most tickets and handle at BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook. However, his short odds dictate that he isn’t much of a liability for bookmakers, and Caesars lead golf trader Anthony Salleroli said Scheffler is not a popular selection to finish top-five or top-10 because his odds are remarkably short (-120 and -235, respectively, at DraftKings).

Many bettors are parlaying the 29-year-old with futures favorites across other sports, such as the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Finals and the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series.

“People that believe that Scottie can win this week. … We’re seeing him hooked up in some of those bets,” DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. “They like to take a short-price guy who they think has a chance of winning and boosting that price up.”

Meanwhile, Young’s rapid ascension — winning The Players Championship and Cadillac Championship and finishing tied for third at the Masters over the past two months — has seen him join the favorites conversation and made him a public darling. Young was around 80-1 for the PGA Championship when the market opened almost a year ago, was 30-1 before The Masters and was +1650 coming into the week, with action shortening those odds further.

He has a massive range of odds across the marketplace, with Caesars keeping Young a second-best +800 because of some big action backing him.

“We’re sitting on some liability with him. That’s why we’re lower in the market against everybody else,” Salleroli said. “I’d be surprised if we drifted anywhere lower. He may climb a little higher come Thursday, but yeah, we’re sitting on some liability for him because everybody’s bearing witness to his elite status. I mean, kid’s a monster.”

BetMGM reports the second-most bets and money backing Young, with Avello noting that patrons are “betting him really, really big” but that he feels his book’s price is fair.

Another golfer generating notable action is Jordan Spieth, who is 59-1 at DraftKings. Though he hasn’t won a major since 2017, many public bettors are investing with the goal of seeing him return to the pinnacle of golf.

Bookmakers noted that other liabilities include the red-hot Matt Fitzpatrick (23-1) and Rickie Fowler (65-1), a fan favorite who played well when Aronimink hosted the BMW Championship in 2018.

One golfer not seeing as much action is McIlroy, who has played in one tournament since his victory at Augusta and is dealing with a toe injury.