PGA Championship Round 2 Odds, Picks & Predictions 2023

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19 May 2023

PGA Championship Round 2 Odds, Picks & Predictions 2023

Scottie Scheffler closed as the pre-tournament favorite by the 2023 PGA Championship odds and he lived up to that billing with a 3-under par round of 67 on Thursday that had him two strokes off the lead after Day 1. We check out who may be poised to challenge him with our look at the best PGA Championship odds and our best picks for Round 2.

The first round of the 2023 PGA Championship was completed early Friday morning and we're now free to turn our collective attention fully toward Round 2 with Bryson DeChambeau holding a one-stroke lead over Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners, Dustin Johnson, and Eric Cole. DeChambeau's scheduled to tee off at 2:31 p.m. ET on Friday.

Scottie Scheffler entered the second major of the year at No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and as the betting favorite by the PGA Championship odds. With his strong 3-under-par start and the early troubles experienced by World No. 1, Jon Rahm (plus-6), Scheffler could be in cruise control entering Round 2. And that's what the best sports betting apps seem to expect.

Read on as we break down the best PGA Championship odds and picks for Round 2 (odds via our best live betting sites).

Best 2023 PGA Championship Round 2 picks

To win: Rory McIlroy (+2200 via Caesars, PointsBet)

Whenever I live bet golf, I look to those who are struggling on the greens but excelling with their irons, as the latter is far more sustainable, reliable, and predictable. As such, I'm sticking with my top pre-tournament PGA Championship outright pick and doubling down on McIlroy at a boosted number heading into the second day of action.

The former World No. 1 and current third-ranked golfer in the OWGR started his Thursday at 3-over par through nine but turned it around to shoot minus-2 on his back nine (the regular front). Starting on that side Friday afternoon could help him get hot quickly in more favorable weather conditions than the cold of Thursday morning.

McIlroy ranked sixth in the field on Thursday with 2.69 strokes gained: approach but lost 1.22 strokes on the greens. More strangely, the PGA Tour leader in SG: off-the-tee across everyone's last 16 measured rounds lost 0.12 strokes off the tee on Thursday. That shouldn't happen again.

While the best sports betting sites have Scheffler pegged as being in control of the PGA Championship leaderboard, that was also the case in the 2022 Tour Championship when McIlroy stormed back to beat Scheffler by nine strokes over the final 54 holes.

Top 10: Sepp Straka (+750 via DraftKings, Caesars, PointsBet)

Straka finished his first 18 holes at 1-under par and is tied for 10th entering Friday's play. This bet is only asking him to hold his position, and we're getting +750 odds from three of our five best live betting sites.

No one in the PGA Championship field gained more strokes on approach than Straka on Thursday. His 4.93 SG: approach were nearly a half-stroke more than Viktor Hovland and over a full-stroke better than Eric Cole, who ranked third in the metric for the opening round.

Straka's shortcoming on Thursday was his 1.91 strokes lost with the putter. Some correction even toward his modest 2022-23 PGA Tour rank of 72nd with just 0.194 SG: putting per round and continued excellence in terms of ball striking will keep the Austrian on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday.

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Round 2 matchup: Tom Hoge (+105 via DraftKings) vs. Harold Varner III

This second-round matchup will look only at the scores posted by Hoge and Varner over their next 18 holes. We're getting plus-money odds on who I consider to be the better golf on any given day because Varner enters Day 2 of the tournament in a tie for 20th at even par and Hoge is T-76 at plus-4.

Hoge ranked fifth in the field in SG: approach on Thursday and that's a continuation of his excellent iron play this year. His 2.53 strokes lost off the tee is alarming, but that has also been a positive aspect of his game for much of 2023.

Varner shot four strokes better on Thursday but that was with 2.42 strokes gained with his putter. Expect the white-hot flat stick to cool off over the course of Friday and take the value with Hoge's more sustainable iron play in an 18-hole matchup.