PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is the major built on the strongest field in golf, and it lands in May every year as the second major of the season. Run by the PGA of America, it leans on top professionals plus a slice of club pros, with very few makeweights — so the depth of real contenders is the highest of the four majors. For a bettor, depth is the whole story: it stretches the prices out and that’s where the each-way value lives.
You’ll find the PGA Championship markets live at Scorebet, from outrights to each-way and top-finish bets.
What makes the PGA Championship different to bet
The other three majors each have a defining quirk — Augusta’s course history, the Open’s links and weather, the US Open’s brutal setup. The PGA’s defining feature is simpler: the best field, played as straight, strong stroke play. It moves venue every year, so there’s no decade of course form to lean on the way there is at the Masters.
That changes how you read it. With no fixed-venue edge, you’re back to weighing current form, all-round game, and how the specific course that year suits a player’s strengths. A long, soft setup favours bombers; a tight, firm one rewards accuracy and a hot putter. Match the player to the course, not to a course-history record that doesn’t exist here.
Why the deep field helps each-way bettors
A stronger, deeper field works in the each-way punter’s favour in two ways:
- Longer prices across more names. When 30-odd players have a genuine shout instead of a dozen, the bookmaker can’t price them all short. Credible 40.00 and 50.00 shots are everywhere.
- Generous place terms. A full-strength major field usually means a book paying seven or eight places each-way, so a placed finish from your pick is more likely to land.
The flip side is honest: more credible contenders also means your specific player is less likely to be the one who wins. That’s exactly why you take the opinion each-way here rather than win-only — you’re banking the strong week, not betting the house on the victory.
The markets that fit the PGA Championship
- Outright (each-way) — the staple. Back a player to win, each-way so a placed finish still pays. With the field this deep, the place portion is doing real work.
- Top-10 / top-20 finish — a pure place bet, no win portion, for backing a player to contend without needing the trophy.
- First-round leader and 3-balls — single-round markets for the early days, when the draw and groupings create readable matchups.
- Make the cut — a solid bet on a consistent, in-form all-rounder to play the weekend.
The full mechanics of each are in the golf bet types guide — this is where you apply them.
Where the value sits
The favourites are short for a reason — the elite show up at majors — but “most likely to win” and “best value” are different questions. In a deep field the value tends to sit one tier down: the proven major contender in solid but unflashy form, the player the market has drifted slightly while it chases last week’s winner. The casual money piles onto the top of the board; the sharper money fishes in the 25.00–60.00 range where the each-way maths actually pays.
A worked example. Say you back an all-rounder at 40.00 each-way, eight places at a fifth, staking R50 each-way (R100 total). He finishes seventh: the place half pays at a fifth, so 40.00 becomes 8.80 → R50 × 8.80 = R440 back for your R100 outlay. He never led on Sunday, and you’ve still turned a contending week into a clear profit. That’s the each-way logic a deep field rewards.
Will your PGA Championship bet actually pay out?
PGA Championship markets at Scorebet are fixed odds — your price is locked when you bet, and an each-way bet settles in two parts once the tournament is official: the win half if your player wins, the place half if they finish inside the places. Winnings land in your wallet, with withdrawals on local rails — Instant EFT, cards, e-wallets — once your account is FICA-verified. The honest caveat: an outright ties your money up for four days and most years returns nothing, so stake the each-way way and keep it small.
Bet the PGA Championship the smart way
Forget course history — there isn’t any here — and read the player against that year’s specific setup. Back the proven major contender over the in-form name, take your opinions each-way to bank the strong-but-not-winning weeks, and check the place terms before you commit. When you’re ready, the PGA Championship markets are live at Scorebet — and the US Open plays by very different rules when June comes round.
Frequently asked
When is the PGA Championship played?
In May, the second of golf's four majors for the year. It's run by the PGA of America, not the same body as the PGA Tour, and the course changes each edition, so there's no single 'home venue' the way Augusta is for the Masters.
Why is the PGA Championship field so strong?
Because it has very few amateurs and almost no weak qualifiers — it's built around the top professionals and a contingent of club pros, so the depth of genuine contenders is the highest of any major. More credible names means longer odds spread across more players, which is good for each-way bettors.
What's the best bet for the PGA Championship?
For most punters, an each-way outright on a strong all-rounder, because the deep field pushes prices out and the place portion does the heavy lifting. Top-10 and top-20 finish markets are a lower-variance alternative when you fancy a player to contend without backing the win.
Why do club professionals appear in the PGA Championship field and do they matter to a bettor?
The PGA of America reserves a set number of spots for working club pros — teaching professionals from courses around the country — which is a tradition unique to this major among the four. They almost never contend and usually miss the cut, so for betting purposes they're field-fillers rather than live names. Knowing that helps you read the real depth: the contenders are the touring elite, not the headcount on the entry sheet.
Why does a moving venue change how you handicap this major versus the Masters?
The Masters is at Augusta every year, so a decade of course history is a genuine edge there. The PGA Championship rotates venues, so that fixed-course form simply doesn't exist — you're handicapping current form and how a player's strengths fit that specific year's setup. A bomber suits a long, soft course; an accurate iron player suits a tight, firm one. Backing a player on last year's course record is a mistake here because last year was a different track entirely.