There’s More to Come
The big PGA Championship news is the story of Brooks Koepka, who secured his fifth major at Oak Hill on Sunday.
The American, who has battled back from a potentially career-ending injury, showed his toughness, and it won’t be his last major.
Bettors who took the value odds at the sportsbook are happy, and he’s a big shortener for the 2023 Open Championship later this year.
Overtaking McIlroy
The PGA Tour vs LIV rivalry continued at the PGA Championship, and although the media didn’t make a big deal out of it, the tension is there.
Koepka, who was a big signing for LIV, didn’t know if his knee injury would allow him to compete at the top level. However, with the win, he now overtakes Rory McIlroy with five majors.
It might not seem like a big deal, but McIlroy is the face of the PGA, and considered the moral high ground. But, with Koepka making a claim to be a better big-time golfer, McIlroy’s stocks have decreased.
We picked McIlroy to win in our 2023 PGA Championship picks, and he wasn’t far away. However, give Koepka’s form, he should have been one of the favorites to win.
Koepka had a great chance to win at The Masters in April when giving up a fourth-round lead to Jon Rahm. However, he’s a player who lives for the majors, so we weren’t surprised to see him bounce back.
It was his third PGA Championship victory, and sport betting odds have trimmed his odds for the next major. He is now a +1600 chance and we expect those odds to continue to firm over the coming weeks.
Brooks Koepka wins the PGA Championship for his fifth major title. pic.twitter.com/fG7YqHvWgn
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2023
Hovland Hovering
It wasn’t to be for Viktor Hovland, who has gone close in his last three majors.
A late double bogey was enough to seal his fate, but the 25-year-old Norwegian is closing in on his first major, and it could come later in the year.
He was well-fancied with PGA Championship predictions, and we expect more of the same for the Open Championship and the U.S. Open.
Despite the gutting defeat, Hovland remained positive following a -2 round at Oak Hill on Sunday.
“Felt like I played really solid golf,” Hovland said. “I gave myself a lot of looks. When I was out of position, I made some great short-game shots and got out of there with a par, but Brooks was hard to catch.
“It sucks right now, but it is really cool to see that things are going the right direction. If I just keep taking care of my business and just keep working on what I’ve been doing, I think we’re going to get one of these soon.”
Last three major starts for Viktor Hovland:
T4 at The Open
T7 at The Masters
2nd at PGA Championship (so far) 👀 pic.twitter.com/qmc7TNyCsK— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2023
Trust in McIlroy?
We want to trust that McIlroy will rediscover his major championship-winning form, and with Koepka winning, it might get him going.
Posting a top 10 finish is still a good result for the Northern Irishman, who was under the weather according to reports. We don’t see excuses, especially prior to the tournament, but that could explain where his mind is at.
Having not won a major since 2014 is concerning, but he used to be the best player in the world, so credit where credit is due.
“I’ll look back on this week as proud of how I hung in there, and I guess my attitude and sticking to it, not having my best stuff,” McIlroy said. “I feel like sometimes it was the worst I could have played, but then at the same time, it’s like the best I could have done.”
Online gambling markets have McIlroy at +800 to win the Open Championship. He’s always heavily backed to win in Europe, so the odds aren’t surprising.
If you’re a fan of Golf Betting, you simply cannot afford to overlook our available lines for the Qatar Open.
