SportsLine’s proven model simulated the 2025 PGA Championship 10,000 times and revealed its surprising PGA Tour golf picks and PGA Championship favorite to win
After ending a 10-year major championship drought and completing a career grand slam at the 2025 Masters, Rory McIlroy has another opportunity to claim a major. The 2025 PGA Championship will be held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte starting Thursday, May 15, and McIlroy has four PGA Tour wins on this very course. Can McIlroy get on a major championship roll now that he’s shed the weight of pursuing the career grand slam and ended the 10-year drought? The 29-time PGA Tour winner and five-time major champion is a +500 co-favorite in the 2025 PGA Championship odds along with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
They’re followed on the odds board by Bryson DeChambeau (+1000), Ludvig Aberg (+1200), Xander Schauffele (+1200) and Collin Morikawa (+1400). Before locking in any 2025 PGA Championship picks of your own, or entering any 2025 PGA Championship DFS picks on sites like FanDuel, DraftKings, and PrizePicks, be sure to see the early golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June 2020. In fact, the model is up nearly $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 14 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters (its fourth Masters in a row) and last year’s PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting apps like FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics.
Now that the 2025 PGA Championship field is taking shape, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
2025 PGA Championship predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the PGA Championship 2025: Xander Schauffele, the defending champion and a two-time major winner, stumbles and barely cracks the top 10. Schauffele has racked up nine career wins on the PGA Tour and has made the cut in 62 consecutive tournaments the longest such streak since Tiger Woods’ historic run (142 straight) from 1998 to 2005.
However, Schauffele has recorded just one top-10 finish this season after dealing with rib injury earlier in the year. The 31-year-old has struggled mightily with a putter in his hands, ranking 142nd in putting average (1.772), 156th in one-putt percentage (38.19%) and 161st in strokes gained: putting (-0.475). He’s also been ineffective off the tee, ranking 148th in total driving (228) and 162nd in strokes gained: off the tee (-0.439). He’s not a strong pick to win it all, and there are far better values in the 2025 PGA Championship field.
Another surprise: Patrick Cantlay, a 28-1 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Cantlay is in the conversation for best player that hasn’t won a major with eight career PGA Tour wins and 28 cuts made in 32 major championship starts.
The 33-year-old is currently ranked No. 16 in the Official World Ranking after making the cut in all nine events that he’s played so far in 2025. He recorded top-five finishes at the 2025 Genesis Invitational and the 2025 American Express, but he is on a nearly three-year winless drought after last hoisting a trophy at the 2022 BMW Championship. Cantlay was on the 2022 Presidents Cup team that triumphed at Quail Hollow and he’s had five top-10 finishes in major championships, including two at the PGA Championship. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2025 PGA Championship picks
The model is also targeting three other golfers with odds longer than 20-1 who will make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these longshots could hit it big. You can only see the model’s picks here.
Who will win the 2025 PGA Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2025 PGA Championship odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed 14 golf majors, including the last four Masters and three majors in 2024.
2025 PGA Championship odds, favorites
Get full 2025 PGA Championship picks, best bets and predictions here.
Scottie Scheffler +500
Rory McIlroy +500
Bryson DeChambeau +1000
Ludvig Aberg +1200
Xander Schauffele +1200
Collin Morikawa +1400
Jon Rahm +1800
Justin Thomas +2000
Brooks Koepka +2000
Viktor Hovland +2500
Patrick Cantlay +2800
Tyrrell Hatton +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +3000
Joaquin Niemann +35000
Tommy Fleetwood +4000
Will Zalatoris +4000
Corey Conners +4000
Wyndham Clark +4000
Jordan Spieth +4000
Sungjae Im +4000
Cameron Smith +4000
Shane Lowry +4500
Tony Finau +4500
Cameron Young +5000
Russell Henley +5000
Min Woo Lee +5000
Jason Day +5500
Sahith Theegala +5500
Justin Rose +5500
Tom Kim +6000
Sepp Straka +6000
Max Homa +6000
Sam Burns +6000
Matt Fitzpatrick +6000
Dustin Johnson +6000
Akhshay Bhatia +6500
Byeong-Hun An +6600
Patrick Reed +7500
Si Woo Kim +8000
Talor Gooch +8000
Nick Dunlap +8000
Adam Scott +10000
Keegan Bradley +12500
Brian Harman +12500
Rickie Fowler +12500
Kurt Kitayama +15000
Tiger Woods +15000
Cam Davis +15000
Nicolai Hojgaard +15000
Stephan Jaeger +15000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +15000
Harris English +15000
Doug Ghim +17500
Keith Mitchell +17500
Denny McCarthy +20000
Lucas Glover +20000
Eric Cole +20000
Jake Knapp +20000
