PGA Championship Overview & Leaderboard

2023 PGA Championship: Overview & Leaderboard

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 12 May 2023

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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2023 PGA Championship: Overview

About 156 golfers are expected to step onto the green course of the Oak Hill Country Club. The 2023 PGA Championship will be hosted on the East Course, designed by the late Donald Ross. The 18-hole course was restored recently and is expected to stage a challenging tournament for all the participants, making it a popular destination on the best US golf betting sites.

Scottie Scheffler was world number 1 when the previous Major got underway in Augusta in April. This time, the highest-ranked player in the field will be the current world number 1, Jon Rahm, who is in scintillating form this year. Despite losing his world number 1 ranking, Scheffler is still one of the top favorites to win this event and make a move to reclaim his spot at the summit.

Several top golfers have joined the LIV Golf Tour, which held its inaugural tournament last year. Initially, golfers who joined the rival circuit were banned from playing in PGA Tours. However, several competitions, including the Augusta Masters, made an exception and allowed LIV golfers to feature in the tournament.

The PGA Championship is the latest one to follow the same path and opened its doors for LIV golfers as well. A pre-set criterion must be fulfilled for these golfers to participate in the 72-hole stroke play tournament. Former PGA Championship winners who have joined the LIV Golf Tour are eligible to enter the tournament.

This long list includes names like Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Patrick Reed, and Phil Mickelson. Brendan Steele and Mito Pereira also joined the LIV Tour recently, but since they finished inside the top 15 in last year’s PGA Championship, they will also be eligible to compete in this year’s Major.

Including the defending champion, Justin Thomas, the majority of the player field comprises players who are still with the PGA circuit. The inclusion of almost all top golfers is expected to add more thrill to this mercurial tournament. Apart from the PGA Championship, the US Open has also confirmed that it will allow LIV Tour players to compete under the same criteria.

2023 PGA Championship: The Underdogs

The player field of more than 150 players consists of several underdogs. World number 10 Jordan Spieth is a name that will be on the top of that list. The 29-year-old nabbed a decent second-place finish at the RBC Heritage tournament in April this year. Before that, at the Augusta Masters, he finished T4 with Patrick Reed and Russell Henley.

Spieth is expected to bring his A-game at the PGA Championship this year because this is the only Major he has not won. He won the Masters and US Open in 2015 and then went on to win the Open Championship in 2017. A win here will help him complete his Grand Slam, but that does look unlikely because Spieth has only won two tournaments in the last five years.

Despite being the defending champion, Justin Thomas will only be an underdog at the tournament he has won twice. Apart from that, he has not won any other Majors. World number 16 Collin Morikawa has decided to revert to his saw-putting grip in the middle of the season. This grip guided him to two Major wins, but it may not be enough at the PGA Championship.

2023 PGA Championship: The Favorites

Apart from the obvious favorites in Rahm, Scheffler, and McIlroy, a few names could pip the top three for the 2023 PGA Championship. The first name on this list is Brooks Koepka. The 33-year-old finished T2 with Phil Mickelson at the previous Major in Augusta, just four shots behind Rahm, who slipped on the green jacket.

Koepka also knows what it takes to win this tournament, as he has done it twice over the last four years. World number 5 and Olympic Gold medal winner Xander Schauffele finished as the runner-up in the Wells Fargo Championship that ended recently. The 29-year-old has never won a Major, but that could change if he maintains his top form.

World number 7 Matt Fitzpatrick finished T2 in the Masters before he won the RBC Heritage tournament in April this year. Last year, Fitzpatrick nabbed his first Major when he won the US Open. After a disappointing outing at the Wells Fargo Championship recently, the 28-year-old will be eager to bounce back and maybe even clinch the second Major of his career.