PGA Championship Preview

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Developing Stories 📰

This weekend marks the 106th edition of the PGA Championship, the second major event of the 2024 calendar, hosted at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. The last time Valhalla hosted the PGA Championship was in 2014, where Rory McIlroy claimed victory, marking his last major championship win. Scottie Scheffler, currently ranked as the world's top golfer, is set to participate despite recently celebrating the arrival of a new family member with his wife Meredith. Like McIlroy, Scheffler enters the tournament following a recent victory at the RBC Heritage, held just after the Masters last month.

Valhalla Golf Club, designed by legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus, stands as the premier course in Kentucky and is recognized among Golf Digest's "America’s 100 Greatest Courses." Spanning 486 acres, the course boasts rolling terrain, narrow fairways lined with trees, and challenging undulating greens.

Over the years, PGA Championships have favored longer courses, and Valhalla, at 7,609 yards this week for a par-71, follows suit, boasting a yardage 100 yards longer than in 2014. Despite its wider fairways, averaging 30 yards, the course still presents a challenge, ranking ninth for narrowness compared to other PGA Tour stops.

In 2014, Valhalla played at an average of +0.54 over par, placing it among the more challenging courses that year. With elevation changes and 62 bunkers scattered throughout, players will face uneven lies and strategic water hazards, including Floyd’s Fork stream winding through seven holes.

Maintaining accuracy off the tee will be crucial, given the four-inch Fescue/Bluegrass rough. A notable change since 2014 is the transition of tees and fairways to Zoysiagrass from Bentgrass, promising firmer and faster playing conditions, albeit with potential challenges of shots running off the fairway.

The small, fast Bentgrass greens, measuring 5,000 square feet, will test players' putting skills, with speeds reaching 13-14 on the stimpmeter. The front nine offers relatively flatter terrain and wider spaces, featuring Fescue-carpeted mounding and limestone defenses around greens and water areas.

In contrast, the back nine presents a traditional, tree-lined layout with significant elevation changes and hazards. Notable holes include the signature island green 13th, reachable with a short wedge from the fairway, and challenging par-3s measuring over 205 yards.

The lengthened par-4s and reachable par-5s, including the challenging seventh and 10th holes with water and bunkers around the greens, will demand strategic play from competitors. Holes 13 through 16, bordering Floyd’s Fork, pose particular difficulty, while the uphill par-5 18th offers a split fairway option and a unique horseshoe green to conclude the round.

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Trends 📈📉 via Oddsshark

🏀 Cavaliers at Celtics

• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 6 games when playing Boston

• Cleveland is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston

🏀 Mavericks at Thunder

• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City

🏒 Avalanche at Stars

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 5 games on the road

⚾️ Rockies at Padres

• Colorado is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games

• Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

⚾️ Royals at Mariners

• The total has gone OVER in 9 of Kansas City's last 11 games when playing Seattle

⚾️ Rays at Red Sox

• Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston

• Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games at home

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games

⚾️ Cubs at Braves

• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta

• Chi Cubs is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta

⚾️ Cardinals at Angels

• The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 7 games

• The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Angels's last 7 games when playing at home against St. Louis

⚾️ Dodgers at Giants

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 5 games when playing LA Dodgers

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 7 games

Public Money 🤑 via VSiN at 9AMCT

🏀 NBA

55% of bets and 75% of money is on OKC -4

🏒 NHL

51% of bets and 86% of money is on DAL -1.5 (+170)

⚾️ MLB

24% of bets and 46% of money is on COL +200

41% of bets and 63% of money is on UNDER 7.5 COL at SD

53% of bets and 71% of money is on KC +120

40% of bets and 59% of money is on TB +120

20% of bets and 50% of money is on CHC +160

67% of bets and 87% of money is on UNDER 9 CLE at TEX

18% of bets and 58% of money is on OAK +200

42% of bets and 72% of money is on OVER 8.5 OAK at HOU

Future Odds 🔮 via Bovada Sportsbook

Picks 🔒

Mavericks/Thunder Under 214.5 | When the Thunder excel it's usually because of their great defense especially at home They want to control the pace against Dallas who's struggling with Doncic's injury The under bet has been successful lately reflecting Oklahoma City's strong defense

Thunder -4 | The Thunder are riding momentum from a road win and are favored to win game five at home. Gilgeous-Alexander's clutch play and improved frontcourt performance give them an edge. Their recent trend of covering the spread suggests they'll likely secure another win and cover in this game.

Orioles/Royals UNDER 7 | the Under is 5-1 in their last 6 meetings and 8-2 in their last 10

PGA Winner

Rahm +2000

DeChambeau +3000

Top 20:

Koepka +100

Hatton +200