Tiger Woods made the cut. Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Smith are among those in serious contention. Will Zalatoris, a former runner-up at the Masters (2021), has the solo lead.
As expected, it was a fun first two days at the PGA Championship. Without further ado, it’s time to dive into some of the best 2-ball bets for Saturday at Southern Hills. I went 2-1 on Thursday and also 2-1 on Friday, so let’s keep the momentum going.
Keegan Bradley (-120) over Harold Varner III
Harold Varner III is playing the best golf of his career, but he has never finished better than T23 at a major. There is no reason to forecast a successful weekend in his future. The 31-year-old was 2-under at the Masters earlier this spring heading into Saturday and promptly fired a third-round 80. Even though Varner is in fine form, Bradley is playing just as well if not better. The 35-year-old has 4 top-11 performances in his last 5 starts, including a 5th-place effort at the Players Championship. Bradley is also a former winner of the PGA Championship (2011). He went from 72 on Thursday to 70 on Friday, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see further improvement on the weekend.
Kevin Na (+100) over Matt Kuchar
The first 2 rounds for Na and Kuchar were similar: 68 and 71 for Na, 67 and 71 for Kuchar. As a whole, I am much more confident in Na. The 38-year-old American made 3 cuts in a row heading into the PGA, including a T14 finish at Augusta National. Kuchar has come on strong basically out of nowhere in the past 2 months, but this is the first major cut he has made since the 2019 British Open. That is nothing short of shocking. The former Georgia Tech star has probably forgotten what it’s like to play golf on weekends at the biggest events in the world. Na is the more reliable player these days, so getting him at plus-money is a steal.
Abraham Ancer (-120) over Bubba Watson
Abraham Ancer carded a 67 on Thursday, so I rolled with him on Friday in his 2-ball matchup against Patrick Reed. The Oklahoma University product delivered a 1-under 69, good enough to beat Reed by a stroke. Following that success, I am going right back to the well on Saturday. Watson is coming off a PGA Championship-tying round of 63, but there is no reason to trust his consistency. The 2-time Masters winner’s 3 results prior to this week were 2 missed cuts and a T39 at the Masters. After making the cut in Augusta, Watson promptly stumbled to a third-round 78. That does not bode well for his weekend prospects at Southern Hills.
A three-leg parlay with and Bradley, Na and Ancer pays out at +572 odds.
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