Golf’s second major tees off at Quail Hollow this week, as the best golfers in the world compete for the PGA Championship.
This is a look at the best first-round leader bets to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
PGA Championship: First Round Leader Picks
The PGA Championship is being played at the Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The PGA Championship is the second major of the year, with Rory McIlroy winning The Masters a few weeks ago. Quail Hollow is a Par-71 golf course and ranges 7,626 yards. The greens are bermudagrass, and while there are plenty of trees lining the course, it is one of the easier major venues. Leading up to this week, many players have expressed that Quail Hollow doesn’t require much strategy or planning. It is a “bomber’s course” where most players will almost always pull driver and the longer hitters will get a big advantage.
After winning The Masters, Rory McIlroy has great odds to win the PGA Championship, but he is still behind Scottie Scheffler as the favorite to win. However, some of the world’s best players from both the PGA Tour and LIV, including Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm, will also be ready to compete. The last time a major was played at Quail Hollow was the 2017 PGA Championship, which was won by Justin Thomas. Rory McIlroy won the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow and has won there a total of four times throughout his career.
Bryson DeChambeau FRL (+2200)
Bryson DeChambeau has been on a fantastic run of form over the past few months. In 2024, DeChambeau finished T6 at The Masters, 2nd at the PGA Championship and won the US Open. To start 2025, he was in the final pairing on Sunday at The Masters and led the tournament briefly before a poor back nine saw him finish T5. That is a finish of T6 or better in four of his past five majors, including a win. DeChambeau is also playing well on the LIV Tour, winning their last event in Korea. While many players’ games have seemingly taken a massive hit since moving to LIV, DeChambeau has thrived. Getting out of the spotlight and weekly grind of the PGA Tour and being able to focus on his passions — building up his YouTube channel and changing his public image — has done wonders for him.
This is a tournament where big hitters have a huge advantage and almost nobody hits it further and straighter than DeChambeau. He has played well at Quail Hollow in the past, finishing in the top ten twice at the Wells Fargo Championship. DeChambeau is the third-best player in the world at the moment, behind Scheffler and McIlroy. However, there is a decent gap between their odds and DeChambeau’s odds. That creates a good amount of value on him to be the first-round leader. With his game, especially off the tee, he could go very low on Thursday in Charlotte. DeChambeau’s game around the greens is also incredibly underrated. He should be able to reach every Par 5 in two shots and have wedges into all of the Par 4s. If his putter is firing to start the tournament, he has a great chance to lead at the end of Thursday.
Jason Day FRL (+6500)
Jason Day has been phenomenal throughout his career at Quail Hollow. He won the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, finished T4 at the Wells Fargo in 2024 and has two other top ten finishes at the course, including at the last PGA Championship held here. On top of his great success at Quail Hollow throughout his career, Day has had a strong start to the 2025 season. He finished T13 at Pebble Beach, T3 at the American Express and T8 at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Masters.
Day has always been a good bet at majors throughout his career. Day has 18 career top ten finishes at majors, including his win at the 2015 Masters. In the early part of this decade, Day was struggling with his game and it looked like his career might be drifting away. However, he has revitalized himself since the 2023 season and can compete with the best players in the world when his game is on. He might not be able to outlast DeChambeau, McIlroy and Scheffler over four days, but if he bring his best stuff, he could go lower than the rest of the field on Thursday.
