WGC, PGA Championship Odds Shorten on Dustin Johnson Following Canadian Open Win

Posted on: July 30, 2018, 03:00h. 

Last updated on: July 30, 2018, 02:26h.

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The PGA Championship heads to Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis next month, and Dustin Johnson, the world’s top-ranked golfer, will understandably be the favorite.

Dustin Johnson PGA Championship odds
After Dustin Johnson found the winner’s circle on Sunday for the third time in 2018, his PGA Championship odds shortened. (Image: Frank Gunn/AP)

Johnson won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday by three strokes over Whee Kim and Byeong Hun An. DJ made just seven bogeys all week at Glen Abbey Golf Club against 24 birdies and three eagles.

After opening at 12/1 for the PGA with Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, Johnson’s line has shortened to 10/1. That implies odds of 9.09 percent that Johnson will top all 156 players in the field.

Sunday’s win marked Johnson’s 19th PGA Tour victory since 2008, which tops Tiger Wood’s 18 for the most wins over the last decade.

“Obviously I’m doing something very well,” Johnson said of the accomplishment. “To even be mentioned in the same sentence as Tiger means a lot. What he’s done for the game, the things he’s done in the game. No one is ever really going to get to that level.”

Johnson heads to the PGA Championship in search of his first Wanamaker Trophy. His best finish came in 2010 at Whistling Straits where he finished T5 after unforgettably incurring a two-stroke penalty on the 72nd hole to miss out on a playoff.

Spieth Grand Slam Odds

Playing to 7,431 yards with a par of 70, distance will be a premium at the PGA, which the first round begins on August 9. Johnson is one of the longest in the game, as is McIlroy, who remains with Spieth at 12/1.

McIlroy ranks second in driving distance at 317.8 yards per drive. Johnson is seventh at 313.4 yards.

But accuracy, mental toughness, and of course putting are always critical keys in each of golf’s four majors. That’s why Spieth remains a frontrunner despite his dismal Open final round that saw him lose the lead by shooting a five-over 76.

A win at Bellerive would complete the career grand slam for Spieth. His best finish is a runner-up, which came at the 2015 PGA when it returned to Whistling Straits.

Following Johnson, McIlroy, and Spieth, Woods, Rickie Fowler, and defending champion Justin Thomas are next at 16/1. A $100 bet and one of those players winning nets the gambler $1,600.

WGC First

Unlike the other three majors where golf’s top players often take the week prior off, no such luxury is afforded for the PGA. That’s good news for bettors, who are able to see where players’ games are at in the days leading up to the final major of the year.

A total of 73 players, including all 50 of the top 50 players in the world, are headed this week to Akron for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Firestone South will play quite similarly to Bellerive at 7,400 yards, par 70.

Like the PGA, Johnson is the favorite, but even more so for the WGC at 7/1. McIlroy follows at 10/1, and then it’s Woods and Rose at 12/1. Defending champ Hideki Matsuyama is long at 40/1.