It’s time to see who claims the crown in King of the Course at the PGA Championship! You asked for it, we answered. DraftKings Sportsbook is running back the King of the Course promotion this week.
This Thursday and Friday, $1 million in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opt in and place an outright winner bet on the golfer who ultimately leads the first two rounds in birdies or better!
In this post, we’re going to look at three picks that are longer shots to win and to claim the King of the Course crown, but they could end up being great options if they contend for King of the Course honors. Since they will likely have fewer tokens on them than the favorites like Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy, they will likely provide larger payouts if they emerge with the crown. It is important not to reach too far, though, since the bet itself is also for them to win the tournament, so that needs to also be a realistic possibility.
Collin Morikawa (+4100)
Morikawa is just outside the top 10 shortest odds to win this week, but he brings lots of upside if he has recovered from his back issue that derailed his season for the past few weeks. Despite his injury, Morikawa ranks second in Strokes Gained: Approach on the PGA TOUR this season. He is also second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, so if his putter cooperates, he can go on birdie runs. He ranks fifth on the PGA TOUR in Birdies or Better%.
Before taking last week off, he struggled to a T62 at The Blue Monster Course, but before that, he rolled off five top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place finish at the Masters.
Morikawa also has a strong history at majors, highlighted by his wins at the PGA Championship in 2020 and The Open Championship in 2021. He has three top-10 finishes in his six career PGA Championships, and he has never missed a cut at this event. His well-rounded, creative game typically travels well to a wide variety of courses, and Aronimink Golf Club should be another good fit for Morikawa, whose struggles in Doral should keep him off the mainstream radar.
Rickie Fowler (+6900)
Fowler ranks second on the PGA TOUR in average par-4 scoring, tied with Cameron Young behind only Scottie Scheffler. Par-4 scoring will be especially important this week at Aronimink Golf Club, which has four par-3’s, two par-5’s, and 12 par-4’s.
Rickie has gained over 1.0 stroke per round on approach in each of his last three tournaments, racking up 16 par-breakers at the RBC Heritage, 17 at the Cadillac Championship, and 22 last week at the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow. Fowler finished T2 last week after starting Sunday’s round with six birdies in his first 10 holes and eight birdies on the day. He didn’t have a single birdie in Round 1, so he averaged over seven birdies per round in his three most recent rounds.
He has shown a high ceiling at major championships in the past, with 23 top-25 finishes in his 44 career major appearances. He is also one of the few players in the field who have played this course competitively in the past, placing T8 in 2018 at the BMW Championship.
David Puig (+11500)
Puig is one of the youngest players in LIV Golf and has already started to post good finishes. The 24-year-old starred at Arizona State before going pro early and joining LIV in 2022. He has also played on the Asian Tour, where he picked up his first win in October of 2023 at the International Series Singapore.
In November of last year, the Spaniard won the Australian PGA Championship and committed to play full-time on the DP World Tour. He placed T3 at the Dubai Invitational, T7 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and T18 at the Turkish Airlines Open on that circuit, while also playing for Fireballs GC on LIV. He has notched five top-12 finishes in his seven events this season and finished runner-up in Mexico City less than a month ago.
Puig is definitely a dark-horse this week, but he excels off the tee and on approach, which should give him plenty of birdie chances at Aronimink. He is one of the longest drivers in the field, so if this is a course where length plays up, Puig could go on a nice birdie run to start the week as a contender for the King of the Course honors.
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!
