NFL
By Noah Thomas —
Despite being called the “PGA Championship” — and, technically, the event that names the PGA Tour’s champion — the final major of the professional golf season and calendar year has always been exceptionally underrated in both the eyes of the public and the media.
That may change soon. The golf world is in for an exciting weekend, as the PGA Championship at Baltusrol acts as a culmination of a season that has seen a lot of drama on the course.
Dustin Johnson, the winner of June’s U.S. Open, goes into the tournament as the odds-on favorite at 8-1. He had a top-10 finish in The Open Championship at Royal Troon a few weeks ago, coming in at No. 9. That’s a heck of a couple performances for any golfer, and it reinforces the idea that Johnson is here to stay after winning his first major tournament.
Coming in right behind D.J. is Jason Day and Rory McIlroy. Day, the world’s No. 1 golfer, came on strong to start the year but his performance has dropped a bit in recent months. As the PGA Championship’s defending champion, this would be a perfect opportunity for him to reassert his dominance in the rankings.
Unfortunately, Day may not be at 100% before tee off. PGATour.com reported that Day wasn’t feeling well earlier in the week after contracting an illness from his children.
McIlroy, on the other hand, does not appear to be hurt or ill in any way, shape, or form, but I can’t figure out why he’s favored so heavily right now. Past performances have not been great to Rory.
Sure, he finished 5th in The Open. He finished 10th in The Masters back in April. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open. Outside the up-and-down major outings, he’s failed to win a tournament on Tour this year.
These guys are playing for a $1.8 million paycheck as part of a $10 million purse. That’s a whole bunch of denero.
You can find the full odds listing here: https://espn.go.com/chalk/story/_/id/17145408/pga-golf-latest-2016-pga-championship-futures-betting-odds-westgate-las-vegas-superbook
