PGA Championship 2021: The case for and against 10 potential winners

The year’s second Major is nearly upon us as the 103rd PGA Championship is less than a week away. Kiawah Island’s breathtaking Ocean Course is set to stage the event for the first time since 2012 when Rory Mcllroy obliterated the competition on his way to an eight-shot victory that at the time secured his second-ever Major Championship win.

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After a sensational victory at last year’s PGA Championship Collin Morikawa is back to defend the trophy he won last August at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s own, Dustin Johnson will be relishing the opportunity to win a Major title in his home state.

Fresh off of his first win in over 550 day’s Rory Mcllroy is favored to repeat the feat he accomplished back in 2012 according to the oddsmakers, but in today’s game the differences between to World’s elite are minute, here is the case both for and against ten of the favorites heading into the PGA Championship.

The odds used in this article are provided by WynnBET and are current at the time of this article. For more betting content and information check out the newly launched Betsided site.

Ten potential winners of the 103rd PGA Championship

1. Rory Mcllroy (+1000)

Case for: Winning for the first time in over 550 days is sure to have taken a massive weight off of Rory’s shoulders and now he returns to a site where he won by a massive eight shots previously. The two-time PGA Championship winner is historically amongst the best on these difficult long courses, and in 2021 Rory is second to only Bryson in distance off the tee.

Case against: Two weeks ago there would have been serious questions around Rory as he makes his way back to Kiawah, and now he is the favorite to win after securing his first win in over a year and a half. For as long as it had been between victories for Rory prior to last week, it has been even longer since his last Major win, seven years in fact.

2. Jon Rahm (+1200)

Case for: Has finished 15th or better in five of his last six Major championship appearances, he also has recorded six top 10 finishes already in 2021. Even after playing the Masters following one practice round Rahm still managed a top 5 finish, imagine what he can do with a full week of practice prior to a Major?.

Case against: Jon suffered his first missed cut since June of 2020 at Quail Hollow last week, and he will also be seeing Kiawah for the very first time come the PGA Championship.

3. Dustin Johnson (+1300)

Case for: Johnson has finished runner-up at the last two PGA Championships and now has the chance to win his first PGA Championship title in his home state of South Carolina, he also holds one of the best track records on Pete Dye-designed courses.

Case against: The World number one withdrew from the AT&T Byron Nelson as a result of a knee injury and there will be a considerable amount of concern over his health heading into the PGA Championship. Dustin has also struggled with form for a good part of 2021 with his last top 10 finish coming all the way back at the Genesis in February.

4. Justin Thomas (+1300)

Case for: Justin Thomas has a win and 6th place finish in two of his last three PGA Championship appearances, throw in the PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP he won earlier this year on another Pete Dye design, and look out for JT this week.

Case against: This list pretty much begins and ends with Thomas’s putter, an area of his game that he has really struggled with at times this year, especially in his last two starts. Like Rahm before him, Justin has acknowledged the fact that he will be seeing Kiawah for the first time this week.

5. Bryson DeChambeau (+1400)

Case for: Bryson is coming off a 4th place finish in his last PGA Championship and he followed that up with his first Major win a month later at the U.S. Open in 2020. DeChambeau leads the PGA in driving distance in 2021 and this length should be a huge advantage at the PGA Championship on a course that is expected to play at over 7,800 yards.

Case against: DeChambeau has struggled with accuracy at times this season, both with wayward drives and his approach shot’s into greens, he has also struggled at Major’s in large part with just two top 10 finishes in the big four events since 2017.

6. Jordan Spieth (+1500)

Case for: Is there a better story in golf, even sports, than the return of Jordan Spieth in 2021?. Spieth has been incredible this year with five top 5 finishes in his last eight starts and this week he will look to carry that momentum towards a career grand slam.

Case against: Spieth has been missing since the Masters in early April, and it came out that he had tested positive for COVID-19 during that time. Health and occasional struggles off the tee are the main concerns for Jordan going into the PGA Championship.

7. Xander Schauffele (+1750)

Case for: Xander’s track record at Major’s without a win really is remarkable, since 2017 Schauffele has recorded an incredible eight top 10 finishes at the four big events. The World’s fifth-ranked player has already recorded four top 5 finishes in 2021 and he ranks inside of the top 30 in driving distance this year to go along with one of the most complete games in all of golf.

Case against: For all of his success he rarely wins and there is something to be said about the pressure that comes along with trying to secure your first Major win, something he will be feeling until he accomplishes it.

8. Brooks Koepka (+2200)

Case for: There are two sides of the coin with Brooks, when he is healthy and in a Major Championship, he is a force to be reckoned with. Koepka has seven top 5 finishes in Majors since 2017 including his four wins, he also has recorded three top 5’s in his last five PGA Championship starts.

Case against: Brooks has played once since the Masters in April and before that he had not played since the WGC Workday in February, it’s all about how healthy he really is going into this PGA Championship.

9. Hideki Matsuyama (+2500)

Case for: The Masters winner will be looking to make it two major wins in a row this week at Kiawah after securing his first Major championship at Augusta National last month. Hideki has finished inside of the 20 at Majors 10 times now dating back to 2017, this includes a 5th and 16th place finish in two of his last four PGA Championship appearances.

Case against: The last two winners of Major Championships haven’t exactly fared well in their next appearances at one of golf’s four biggest events with Dustin Johnson missing the cut following his Masters win, and Bryson DeChambeau slumping to a 34th place finish following his win at the U.S. Open. Matsuyama will also have made only one start since Augusta so some rust could certainly play a factor.

10. Collin Morikawa (+2500)

Case for: The champ is back to defend his title after he won his very first PGA Championship in his very first PGA Championship. Collin is an elite ball-striker and he has already put together a very nice 2021 that includes a WGC win and four top 10 finishes. Morikawa put up a 7th place finish at the last Pete Dye course he saw and even with putting troubles from time to time can’t be counted out.

Case against: Putting, putting, putting, Morikawa ranks 179th on tour in putting.