NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — There’s a bottleneck on the PGA Championship leaderboard after two rounds.
Fifteen players are within two shots of the lead, including co-leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley at 4 under par. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s just the third major championship in history with 15 or more players that close to the lead after 36 holes.
Sportsbooks didn’t have to think hard to sort out their favorite. It’s World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, and it isn’t particularly close.
As of Friday night, Scheffler was the +340 favorite to win the PGA at DraftKings Sportsbook and the +375 favorite at BetMGM, head and shoulders above the field despite posting a 1-over 71 Friday and sitting two back of the lead.
Scheffler is the defending champion, his 2025 victory at Quail Hollow Club serving as the third of his four career major titles. He is a known quantity to sportsbooks and golf fans alike, having won 20 times on the PGA Tour since 2022.
Second on the board at both sportsbooks was Cameron Young, the third-ranked player in the world, who also sits at 2 under with Scheffler and five others.
Young was a trendy pick entering the week and had the third-shortest odds at most books. He’s now +900 to win at BetMGM and a more distant +970 behind Scheffler at DraftKings.
Sportsbooks also have more faith in Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg before finally coming to one of the co-leaders, McNealy, as the fourth favorite.
It likely has something to do with both their form and their career resumes. While Aberg has yet to win a major, the 26-year-old does own two PGA Tour wins and is widely seen as one of the sport’s top prospects. Aberg came on strong late in the second round with birdies at Nos. 12, 13, 14 and 16 to leave him at 2 under.
McNealy, whose only win on tour came at the 2024 RSM Classic, reached 6 under par Friday afternoon before a pair of poor bogeys over his final four holes set him back.
DraftKings has Aberg at +1175 to win and McNealy at +1250. At BetMGM, McNealy made a late move to tie Aberg for third-shortest odds at +1200.
Smalley, who has no professional wins on his resume, is at +1400 on BetMGM, tied with Chris Gotterup, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Min Woo Lee of Australia (each of whom are 3 under). Smalley is even further back on DraftKings’ board, which installed Spaniard Jon Rahm as the fifth favorite at +1275 despite a late stumble putting him three back at 1 under.
Smalley has +1550 odds to win at DraftKings, No. 9 on the board.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
