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 the PGA Championship.
After Thursday’s Round 1, Ryo Hisatsune leads the way with seven birdies or better. He also went to bed with a share of the tournament lead at 3-under par. Will that success continue on Friday? Or will we crown a different golfer King of the Course?
Follow along with the action below!
King of the Course Winners
King of the Course Live Updates
Payouts Announced (11:00 a.m. ET)
That’s A Wrap, Folks! (8:00 p.m. ET)
We had a nice run of late drama, but Alex Smalley and Aaron Rai held on to the top spot by one birdie!! We don’t have an official winnings announcement just yet, but we will soon know the exact bonus bet splits and update here. Congrats to the winners!
INCHES Away!!! (7:20 p.m. ET)
It all came down to the last hole. Maverick McNealy had a medium-range birdie putt to close his day, one that would have tied him with Alex Smalley and Aaron Rai for the King of the Course. But he was barely an inch away, missing out on a share of the crown. That means all of our players at 9 birdies are done for the day, all but locking in Smalley and Rai.
The last few players are wrapping up their days. Barring a miracle, those two will be our winners. But don’t start counting your bonus bets yet.
So Close, But No Cigar (6:50 p.m. ET)
Min Woo Lee was oh-so-close to getting that final birdie, but the greens didn’t want to behave. That’s one more player off the board, making Alex Smalley and Aaron Rai safe for the moment.
Si Woo Kim and Maverick McNealy remain one birdie behind and are on their last holes. Will we get another player at 10?
More Late Movement (6:10 p.m. ET)
TONS of action to break down. First and foremost, Maverick McNealy continues to make progress; his latest birdie increases his lead on the field to two strokes, and brings him within one birdie of the King of the Course crown. Shortly after that, Si Woo Kim drilled a long birdie putt to keep pace with McNealy at nine total birdies. Then just for fun (or to make my job harder), Min Woo Lee decided to drill another birdie putt. Just minutes ago, we had only two players sitting at 9+ total birdies/eagles; now we are up to five.
Only one birdie remains for each of those players to tie for the top spot. How many leaders are we going to end up with?
Another Late Contender? (6:00 p.m. ET)
It’s getting late in the day at Aronimink, and the competition is getting hotter. Now we have another player within two strokes of the top spot on our leaderboard: Min Woo Lee.
Lee sank a huge birdie on 15, not only improving his chances in the tournament but putting him within striking distance of being King of the Course. That gives us five players with holes left to play who are two strokes off the lead. Talk about some drama.
McNealy Climbing (5:30 p.m. ET)
Not only has Maverick McNealy climbed to the top of the leaderboard in the PGA Championship, but he’s making a play for the crown in King of the Course. The owner of seven birdies and an eagle, McNealy is two back of Rai and Smalley, our two current leaders. Already a -4 today, he’s building momentum going into the back nine, and has more than enough time to take the top spot.
First things first, let’s see if he can knot up Chris Gotterup and Ben Kern, sitting at nine birdies. It’s going to be a frantic finish today.
Si Woo Kim Within Striking Distance (4:35 p.m. ET)
The lead for the King of the Course promo on DraftKings Sportsbook is shared by Alex Smalley and Aaron Rai at 10 birdies or better in two rounds. Si Woo Kim has set himself up with a chance to catch them, though, after making three birdies on his front nine holes on Friday, bringing his total to eight for the tournament.
He enters the back nine needing two birdies to tie or three to take the lead. In Round 1, he had three birdies on these holes, so he has a realistic shot to get it done if he keeps playing so well. Aldrich Potgieter is the only other player on the course with at least eight birdies in the first two rounds, and he only has three holes remaining.
Alex Smalley and Aaron Rai Still Atop the Leaderboard (4:10 p.m. ET)
Smalley and Rai each have 10 birdies or better after two rounds of the PGA Championship, and no one has made a run at them over the last hour. Birdies have been tough to come by in the afternoon wave on Friday, with the course still playing more than two strokes over par.
Aldrich Potgieter has the lead for the tournament and still has eight birdies for the tournament after making four straight pars to start his back nine. He still has time to close the gap, but he’ll need to get moving, since he needs two birdies to tie or three to take the lead over his five remaining holes.
Ryo Hisatsune had seven birdies or better in Round 1 and had the lead in the King of the Course contest at the start of play today, but he has yet to get his first birdie of the day on Friday. He still has 12 holes to go and could make a late charge, but he hasn’t gotten any momentum yet in Round 2.
Alex Smalley and Aaron Rai Tied For DraftKings King of the Course lead (3:00 p.m. ET)
Smalley and Rai each have 10 birdies or better after two rounds of the PGA Championship. Smalley birdied his final hole of Round 2 to get to -4, which is good enough for a share of the lead in the tournament as well at this point, with plenty of players still on the course.
Rai had five birdies in each of his two rounds, finishing with two birdies in his last three holes to get to -1 for the tournament.
While those two players have the current lead, it’s very uncertain to stand up. Aldrich Potgieter has eight birdies or better with nine holes to play after taking the lead with this birdie at No. 9.
Also still on the course with a chance to challenge for the lead, overnight leader Ryo Hisatsune has seven birdies with 16 holes remaining. Si Woo Kim has seven birdies with 13 holes to play, while Min Woo Lee has six birdies or better with 13 holes left, and Nicolai Hojgaard has six birdies with 11 holes still to play.
Potgieter’s King of the Course quest (1:45 p.m. ET)
Long driver Aldrich Potgieter has claimed the overall lead at the PGA Championship after a birdie on No. 3 to move to -4 for the tournament. He is one stroke clear of the group at -3 that includes Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Stephan Jaeger, and our overnight King of the Course leader Ryo Hisatsune, who tees off at 2:11 p.m. ET.
Potgieter has seven birdies or better for the tournament with 13 holes remaining in his second round. The 21-year-old South African has seven birdies on the week, two behind Smalley and Ben Kern, who currently have nine birdies or better. Smalley still has three holes to play, but Potgieter has plenty of chances to catch the leaders if he continues his current strong form.
Another big name that crashed the King of the Course leaderboard with a big finish was Chris Gotterup, who is already a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR this season. He surged with three birdies in his last three holes but finished with nine birdies or better, which is just behind the leaders.
With Potgieter on the course and Hisatsune starting soon, it will be a race to the finish to determine who will be the King of the Course.
Smalley Struggling But Shares Both Leads (1:02 p.m. ET)
After opening up a momentary two-stroke lead on the field, Smalley made the turn and went bogey-bogey-bogey to start his second nine. He fell out of the five-way tie for the top spot but birdied No. 4 (his 13th of the day). That birdie moves him back into the tie atop the leaderboard for the tournament and also gives him nine birdies or better on the week. He and Ben Kern currently share the lead in the King of the Course standings with only Aaron Rai (who is done for the day) at eight birdies or better.
Smalley has five holes remaining, while Kern is done for the day, likely finishing inside the cut line and making the weekend in one of the fun stories at this year’s PGA Championship.
Alex Smalley Looming Large (12:15 p.m. ET)
Alex Smalley has claimed the solo lead at the PGA Championship after making his second birdie of the day. He played the back nine first on Friday, making birdies on No. 16 and No. 18 to move to -5, two strokes clear of the rest of the field at the moment.
Smalley is also just one birdie or better behind Ben Kern for the top spot in the King of the Course leaderboard. Smalley still has the entire front nine to go, so he is in great shape to be atop the King of the Course leaderboard at the end of the early wave.
Kern still has three holes to go as well, so let’s see what target the rest of the field will have to aim at on both leaderboards by the time Smalley is done.
Ben Kern on Top! (11:50 a.m. ET)
Ben Kern ended his run of three straight birdies with a bogey on No. 4, but he got right back on the birdie train on No. 5 with his sixth birdie of the day. Kern now has the solo lead in the King of the Course leaderboard with nine total birdies or better over the first two rounds of the PGA Championship.
Kern is still near the current cut line with four holes remaining, but he also has some very possible birdie chances to extend his lead if he stays hot, especially with his putter:
still only T40, but he has started his second nine with three straight birdies to surge up the leaderboard and also reach the top spot in the King of the Course leaderboard. He has eight birdies in his first two rounds with six holes remaining. He and Aaron Rai are tied for the current lead with eight birdies or better.
Ben Kern and Kurt Kitayama Close In (11:22 a.m. ET)
Ben Kern is still only T40, but he has started his second nine with three straight birdies to surge up the leaderboard and also reach the top spot in the King of the Course leaderboard. He has eight birdies in his first two rounds with six holes remaining. He and Aaron Rai are tied for the current lead with eight birdies or better.
Kern is a 41-year-old Kansas State Alumnus who has four career appearances on the PGA TOUR. He is the PGA General Manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, and he started the week as a long shot to even make the cut. He’s got it rolling now, though, and would likely pay out a huge bonus bet if he can stay in the top spot. With so many players with more holes remaining, it seems unlikely, but it’s still remarkable that he’s in this spot for now!
A much more well-known player who is also on the rise is Kurt Kitayama, who caught Ryo Hisatsune in a tie for third with seven birdies or better. Kitayama only has three holes left, though, so he’ll need to move fast to claim the top spot before his day is done.
It’s exciting to track these early surges, but Hisatsune, Potgieter, and the later wave options still have a great chance of ending up on top by the end of the day, since they haven’t even gotten their round underway yet.
Rai Not Aaron? (11:00 a.m. ET)
The early wave of the second round is coming to a close as we approach lunch time at Aronimink Golf Club. The course is playing difficult once again in the early going at +2.85 over par on the day, after the average score in Round 1 was +2.26 over par.
At the top of the King of the Course leaderboard, we have a new leader, though, as Aaron Rai has taken over the top spot with his eighth birdie of the event. He’s only at even-par for the day with a bogey and double-bogey reading his three birdies in Round 2, but for King of the Course, we’re just looking for birdies, not overall score.
Just behind Rai, Rio Hisatsune and Ben Kern have seven birdies or better, while Alex Smalley, Aldrich Potgieter, Kurt Kitayama and Collin Morikawa all have six birdies or better, with plenty of holes to play.
Stay locked in to this tracker for updates throughout the second round to see who claims the King of the Course crown this year! Here’s how to watch all the action at the PGA Championship throughout the day:
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 $1,000,000 in bonus bets
For more information on this promo, click here!
