The first round of the PGA Championship did not go as anybody expected. There are two big takeaways from day one.
The first is the leaderboard. None of the top 10 players in the world are inside the top 18 of the leaderboard. You have to go all the way down to Scottie Scheffler (T19), who is the #1 ranked golfer in the world. Among the top 18 spots on the leaderboard, it’s the Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley with the lowest world golf ranking (#19).
The second talking point of the day was the “mud ball” situation. Lift, clean and place is not permitted in this tournament. Many golfers in the early wave, including Scottie Scheffler had a few choice words about the rule.
With all that being said, below are my favorite live bets on DraftKings Sportsbook with round 1 already in the book.
Nico Echavarria Top 10 (Including Ties) +550
The world #51 had a great day at the office, and his irons were in pinpoint shape. He led the field in strokes gained approach (5.432) and his only blemish of the day came on the 13th hole after back-to-back mistakes in the greenside bunker. Besides those two terrible swings, it was a solid day for Echavarria (-3) who is T9 on the leaderboard.
His round of 68 got going on the fourth hole with a birdie, he then birdied back-to-back holes on the par 5 7th hole and the 8th. His back nine was more modest, with birdies on 12 and 17 sandwiched around the double bogey on 13.
It’s clear what part of his game struggled on Thursday, as he ranked 151st in the field in strokes gained around the green. If he can sharpen up his play around the putting surface, Echavarria should be hanging around the top 10 of this leaderboard all week with iron play like he displayed in the opening round.
Harris English to Make the Cut -200
English shot a round of 72 to open this year’s PGA Championship to sit at T60. The top 70 players including ties will make the cut at this year’s event, so English is right around the danger zone of the cut line.
Similar to Echavarria, there is one part of his game that has held him back in the first round. English had a tough time on the greens in round 1, losing 2.430 strokes to the field. It’s hard to make a cut at a major championship when you are 141st in the field in putting.
To struggle on the greens like this is unusual for Harris, as he is 18th on the PGA TOUR this season in strokes gained putting. Expect Harris to be much sharper with the flat stick on Friday and make it to the weekend.
