Round one is officially in the books, and we’ve got a packed leaderboard heading into Friday. One thing that immediately stood out was how unusual the scoring environment ended up being. It’s pretty rare to see a major championship round where 67 is the low score of the day, especially when conditions never felt completely out of control.
Yes, the wind picked up a little throughout the afternoon, but I don’t think that was the true story of the day.
The real defense of the golf course ended up being the greens.
PGA Championship Round 2 Bets
Players were able to get themselves into reasonable spots and avoid complete disaster, but very few players consistently converted putts in that critical 10–20 foot range. We saw plenty of stress-free two-putts, but not many players were able to truly separate from the field by making putts from medium range. That led to a leaderboard where a lot of players are still very much alive heading into Round 2.
Looking ahead to Friday, conditions don’t appear like they’re going to become any easier.
The wind looks likely to increase throughout the day, and with firmer conditions beginning to develop, I think driving accuracy and short-game ability become even more important. Players who can consistently place the ball in the right spots off the tee and rely on quality scrambling when they inevitably miss greens should have a significant edge.
With that in mind, here are two spots that stand out.
Russell Henley Live Top 10 (+590)
We took Russell Henley outright before the tournament, and despite opening with a 2-over 72, I’m not remotely ready to abandon ship.
The encouraging part is that he actually did many of the things we wanted to see.
Henley drove the golf ball extremely well and consistently put himself in proper positions off the tee. He also showed exactly the type of around-the-green game we were looking for entering the week.
That profile matters because with scoring remaining difficult, there’s no need to panic after one round.
The leaders are still within striking distance, and Henley now gets an earlier Friday tee time that could present a small advantage before conditions become more difficult later in the day.
He doesn’t need anything spectacular. He simply needs a clean round.
If he can continue driving it well and pair that with a modest improvement on approach, I absolutely believe he can work himself into contention heading into the weekend.
The Pick: Russell Henley Live Top 10 (+590)
Scottie Scheffler End of Round 2 Leader (+245)
This number immediately jumped off the page.
We’re nearly getting an outright-style number on Scottie Scheffler despite him already sitting tied for the lead entering Friday.
That feels wrong.
He’ll be going out early on fresh greens, and we know exactly what his profile looks like in these situations. He is absolutely minting fairways right now, which becomes increasingly important as conditions become more difficult.
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On top of that, his short game remains arguably the best in the world.
A lot of players sitting near the top of the board are likely to drift backward as the tournament progresses. Scottie feels like the exact opposite.
This number simply feels too long for the best player in the field.
The Pick: Scottie Scheffler End of Round 2 Leader (+245)
