UPDATE: Rory McIlroy is the King of the Course winner after demolishing the rest of the field with 15 birdies or better! Stay tuned for winnings updates.
King of the Course is BACK!
$1 million in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opted in and placed an outright winner bet on the player records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of this week’s golf major.
Who will take home the crown on Friday as DraftKings’ King of the Course? Follow along below!
King of the Course First Round Leader
King of the Course Live Updates
Rory McIlroy is your King of the Course (6:23 p.m. ET)
McIlroy knocked down another birdie on 16 for good measure, and can no longer be mathematically caught as he records his 13th birdie or better of the tournament. Congratulations, Rory bettors.
McIlroy leads King of the Course (6:13 p.m. ET)
It’s looking like Rory McIlroy will be the King of the Course. The reigning champion has birdied three of his last four holes on 12, 13 and 15 to get himself to 12 birdies or better on the week. It doesn’t look like he will be caught, unless Cameron Young (9) birdies each of the last three holes.
Rory ties the lead (5:31 p.m. ET)
Rory McIlroy followed up his birdie on the 12th hole with another one on 13. That’s his 11th birdie or better of the week, and puts him in a tie with Brooks Koepka and Chris Gotterup with five holes to play.
Kitayama and Reitan’s challenges come up short (5:04 p.m. ET)
After an impressive back-nine charge, Kristoffer Reitan won’t quite be able to catch the current co-leaders for King of the Course, Brooks Koepka and Chris Gotterup, who each have 11 birdies or better.
Kurt Kitayama had the King of the Course lead with eight birdies in the first round, but he only had two birdies in Round 2, finishing one behind Gotterup and Koepka.
The main threat to the leaders still on the course is Rory McIlroy, who has nine birdies with seven holes still to play. Jason Day and Tommy Fleetwood still have enough holes to be mathematically alive, but would need to post a barrage of birdies very quickly.
Reitan’s impressive run (4:35 p.m. ET)
After just three birdies or better in his first round on Thursday, 28-year-old Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan is going off on the back nine in Round 2. He had two birdies and no bogeys on the front nine but then ran off four straight birdies from No. 12 through No. 15.
He has nine birdies or better with three holes remaining and still needs two more to catch the co-leaders in the King of the Course contest. If he continues his run through the end of his round, he’d actually take the solo lead.
Behind Reitan, Rory is also still stuck on nine birdies after four straight pars to close out the front nine. The defending champ still leads the tournament, but he hasn’t been able to close in on the top of the King of the Course leaders yet.
Knapp on a roller coaster (4:25 p.m. ET)
While he only has eight birdies or better and isn’t likely to climb into contention for King of the Course with four holes remaining, Jake Knapp is posting quite the up-and-down round on Friday. He began the day at +1 and had three birdies and two bogeys and came into the par-3 12th at even par.
His tee shot cleared the water but then rolled back into the water hazard, leading to a double-bogey. He got those two strokes back on the very next hole, though, by hitting his second shot on the Par-5 to within 12 feet and setting up an eagle to get right back to even par. With a birdie on No. 14, he’s back under par for the tournament and sitting T18.
Official leaderboard update (4:10 p.m. ET)
As a reset for those just joining us, here’s a current look at the leaderboard for King of the Course:
English comes up short, Kitayama closes in (4:04 p.m. ET)
Harris English had nine birdies with two holes remaining, with a shot to tie our co-leaders of King of the Course, Brooks Koepka and Chris Gotterup. English made a birdie on No. 17 but drove his tee shot on No. 18 into the trees and made bogey. He finished his second round with 10 birdies or better, one back of the leader.
The overnight King of the Course leader, Kurt Kitayama, got off to a slow start to the second round. He has two birdies through 14 holes and is also at 10 birdies or better. If he can find one more par-breaker in his last four holes, he can join the leaders. He could also take the lead with a couple of birdies.
Further back on the course, Rory McIlroy is about to make the turn still at nine birdies or better, while Akshay Bhatia is stuck on eight birdies or better with eight holes remaining.
Gotterup and Koepka done with 11 (3:20 p.m. ET)
Brooks Koepka had a two-birdie lead at one point in his final round, but he finished with five straight pars while Chris Gotterup managed a birdie-birdie finish to match his total of 11 birdies or better through the first two rounds. With both of those players in the clubhouse at 11, they would share the King of the Course bonus bets if no one catches them from behind.
Justin Rose is done with 10 birdies or better, so it won’t be him. At nine birdies right now, Rory McIlroy still has 13 holes remaining, and overnight leader Kurt Kitayama has seven holes left. Further back but with more holes to play, Akshay Bhatia (one of my top longshot picks coming into the week) has eight birdies or better but still has 11 holes to play.
With plenty of holes still to go, it seems like Rory has a strong chance, while Bhatia could put a late charge on as well. If neither can get to 11 birdies or better, Gotterup and Koepka would hold on for the win. If you have your token on any of those players, get ready to sweat it out down the stretch!
Gotterup catches Koepka (3:00 p.m. ET)
There have only been seven birdies on No. 18 all day, but Chris Gotterup got a final birdie in before the buzzer to catch Brooks Koepka at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard. Gotterup birdied each of his last two holes and finished the day with seven birdies after four in Round 1.
He matched Koepka’s 11 birdies or better for the top spot on the leaderboard. Koepka is still finishing his final hole, and many player with a chance to catch them remain on the course. At least for now, though, Koepka and Gotterup are lined up to share the King of the Course title unless something changes.
Stay tuned!
Rory drops another one (2:51 p.m. ET)
Rory McIlroy had his third birdie in a row on hole No. 4 and is quickly up to nine birdies or better for the tournament. He’s still two behind the current leader, Brooks Koepka, but Koepka is on his final hole, while Rory still has 14 more to go.
Chris Gotterup added a birdie to his total on No. 17, but he’s still one behind Koepka, tied with Justin Rose. Kurt Kitayama is still in the mix as well despite a double-bogey. Remember, for King of the Course, birdies or better is all that matters, and Kitayama has nine of those with eight holes still to play.
And then there was one… (2:39 p.m. ET)
We’ve been tracking the most birdies or better, but at the other end of the spectrum, only one player remains without a birdie this week. Of the 91 players in the field, 90 have at least one birdie. The last remaining birdieless player is Sami Valimaki, who had six bogeys, two double-bogeys, and 21 pars with seven holes remaining.
While he obviously isn’t going to challenge Brooks Koepka’s lead for King of the Course, can he get off the schneid and give every player in the field at least one birdie? He has seven holes left to find out…
Rory ready to roll (2:25 p.m. ET)
While Brooks Koepka remains out in front with a cushion thanks to his 11 birdies or better, one player with a real chance of catching him is Rory McIlroy, who starts the day with six birdies from Round 1. He birdied his second hole of Round 2 and is already up to seven birdies or better with 16 holes to go. It will be a big task, but he has the holes needed to chase down Koepka.
Justin Rose, one of my long-shot picks for this special event, closed to within one birdie of Koepka and is now alone in second place with 10 birdies or better. He only has three holes remaining to close that gap, though.
Another player definitely alive for the overall crown is overnight leader Kurt Kitayama, who made his first birdie of the day at hole No. 8 and now has nine birdies on the week with 10 holes still to play on Friday.
After strong runs, Tyrrell Hatton and Ludvig Aberg will both come up short of Koepka’s mark, since they don’t have enough holes remaining to get to 11 birdies or better.
Hatton makes a move (2:10 p.m. ET)
Tyrrell Hatton is on his way to one of the best rounds of the day with seven birdies and no bogeys through his first 16 holes. He only had two birdies on Thursday, so he is still two birdies or better behind Koepka on the King of the Course leaderboard, but he has joined the leaders at the top of the tournament leaderboard after making back-to-back birdies at No. 15 and No. 16.
Hatton’s run proves that low scores are available, so many players are still in the race for King of the Course honors, even though Koepka remains atop the leaderboard with 11 birdies or better.
Back-to-back for Brooks (1:47 p.m. ET)
After making a birdie on No. 12 to move back to the top of the King of the Course leaderboard with 10 birdies, Koepka added another birdie on No. 13. He has six birdies in Round 2, and now has a little breathing room since no other player has more than nine birdies or better in the tournament.
Back-to-back for Brooks (1:47 p.m. ET)
After making a birdie on No. 12 to move back to the top of the King of the Course leaderboard with 10 birdies, Koepka added another birdie on No. 13. He has six birdies in Round 2, and now has a little breathing room since no other player has more than nine birdies or better in the tournament.
Justin Rose and Chris Gotterup are at nine birdies with enough holes remaining to catch him, but they’ll need to make a move soon. Rory McIlroy, who will start his round with six birdies or better will be another charge that Brooks will have to hold off as the second round continues.
Koepka back on top (1:33 p.m. ET)
After being caught by multiple players, Brooks Koepka regained his lead for the King of the Course honors with a birdie on No. 12. Not only did the birdie move him back into the top-10 for the tournament, but it also gave him 10 birdies or better on the week, one ahead of Justin Rose, Chris Gotterup and Brian Harman.
Koepka is back in the solo lead for the King of the Course, although there are still plenty of players with lots of holes to play.
Four-way tie at the top (1:00 p.m. ET)
Not only did Brooks Koepka get caught, but we’ve also all of a sudden got a crowd at the top. Brian Harman, Chris Gotterup and Justin Rose are all on top of the King of the Course leaderboard with nine birdies or better so far in the tournament.
Rose birdied four of his last five holes and is now tied for the lead of the tournament along with the King of the Course lead. I highlighted Rose as a value play coming into the week, and he’s right in the mix now if he can find another birdie or two in his final seven holes.
Harman has seven birdies on the day with two holes remaining, while Gotterup has five birdies today and six holes left. Koepka has seven holes left as he tries to pull ahead as well.
Meanwhile, overnight leader for King of the Course, Kurt Kitayama, is still looking for his first birdie of the day and bogeyed hole No. 4 to drop back into a T9. He’s just one behind that lead group with eight birdies.
The other end of the spectrum (1:00 p.m. ET)
While we’ve been tracking the most birdies for the tournament, let’s take a look at the opposite end of the leaderboard. Of the 91 players in the tournament, only four are still without a birdie. Amateur Brandon Holtz, Sami Valimaki, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, and Patrick Cantlay are still looking fo their first birdie of the tournament and are tied for the bottom spot on the leaderboard.
Brooks Koepka still maintains his lead at the top of the leaderboard with nine birdies or better with a large chase pack forming behind him. Ludvig Aberg made back-to-back birdies going into the turn and is up to seven birdies on the tournament, while Brian Harman and Danny Willett have eight birdies or better but only have a few holes remaining.
Clark can’t catch Koepka (12:50 p.m. ET)
Wyndham Clark finished with two pars and is done for the day at eight birdies or better. He finished his round in solo third place at -4, but he won’t be the King of the Course this week.
Brooks Koepka has nine birdies on the week with nine holes remaining and remains in the lead for now with Chris Gotterup just one behind him with nine holes to play and Kurt Kitayama one back with 15 holes remaining in his round.
Brooks Koepka gets to nine to take the top spot (12:25 p.m. ET)
After a bogey on No. 7, Brooks Koepka birdied the par-5 No. 8 to move up to T7. Koepka is now at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard with nine Birdies or Better, while no other player has more than eight.
Wyndham Clark moved up to eight birdies or better with back-to-back par-breakers on No. 15 and No. 16 to move into third place for the tournament as well. He only has two holes remaining, though, so it isn’t likely that he can hold on to the top spot even if he catches Koepka, who has 10 holes left in his second round.
Sam Stevens strikes again (11:35 a.m. ET)
Stevens only has two holes remaining, but he was able to pick up a great birdie on hole No. 16 to move into a tie for the lead in the King of the Course standings. He is tied with Brooks Koepka and Kurt Kitayama, but he probably won’t be able to hold on since still has 12 holes remaining and Kitayama still has all 18 holes in Round 2.
While Stevens’ strong stretch probably won’t earn him King of the Course honors, his play has pushed him up the leaderboard enough that he’ll likely make the weekend. After his latest birdie his is T41 at +2 with two holes remaing. According to DataGolf, the cut will likely land at +4 (47.3%) or +5 (30.8%).
Koepka catches Kitayama for co-King of the Course (11:31 a.m. ET)
Brooks Koepka birdied hole No. 5 to move up to T6 for the tournament, and he also caught Kurt Kitayama for the top spot in the King of the Course standings. Both players have eight birdies so far in the tournament, with Kityama teeing off in about 30 minutes to try and regain the outright lead. After three birdies in his first five holes in Round 2, it’s worth noting that Koepka made three of his five Round 1 birdies on his remaining holes, indicating he can probably find a few more parbreakers as well.
Just behind Kitayama and Koepka, Chris Gotterup, Harris English and Sam Stevens all have seven birdies or better. Stevens only has three holes remaining in Round 2, but English and Gotterup are early enough in their second rounds to definitely be factors over the next few hours.
The other big name in play is Rory McIlroy, who had six birdies in the first round, but he doesn’t tee off until 1:44 p.m. ET, so we have a while before he starts climbing the King of the Course leaderboard.
Brooks Koepka closing in on the King of the course lead (11:11 a.m. ET)
While Kurt Kitayama is still in the lead with eight Birdies or better, Brooks Koepka has made an early charge with a couple of birdies out of the gate. He bogeyed the first hole but then made back-to-back birdies to get to seven for the week, sitting just behind Kitayama on the King of the Course leaderboard.
Kitayama tees off shortly after noon, and it’ll be interesting to see if he still holds the lead at that point.
Earlier in the morning, Wyndham Clark made three birdies to climb into the top 10, and he’s up to six birdies or better, also within striking distance of Kitayama’s lead.
How to Play King of the Course
- Opt in to receive your King of the Course token in the Promotions page
- Make an outright winner bet on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (minimum $5 bet)
- If the golfer you wagered on with your token applied records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of the tournament, win a share of $1 million in bonus bets
For more information on this promo, click here!
