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Every significant tournament held at valhalla golf club, host of the pga championship 2024, share this article.

The second men’s major championship of the year get underway next week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. The PGA Championship last visited this historic track in 2014 when Rory McIlroy claimed his fourth major championship title — and his most recent. We’ll have to see whether the Northern Irishman can return to glory at the site of his last major triumph.

Valhalla has hosted several significant tournaments in its history, including the 2000 PGA Championship won by Tiger Woods in a playoff. Woods’ iconic walk-in putt while pointing to the hole is one of the most memorable moments of his career — which is saying a lot.

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Let’s take a walk through history and recap all the significant events held at Valhalla over the years.

1996 PGA Championship

Mark Brooks and Kenny Perry shake hands after Brooks won the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

• Winner: Mark Brooks (in a playoff)
• Score: 11 under
• Runner-up: Kenny Perry

Ten years after Valhalla opened — thanks to the vision of the Gahms, the course’s founding family — it finally had its first signature tournament. And what remains the signature win of Mark Brooks’ golfing career.

But it nearly was a storybook ending for the course, and the Bluegrass State: Kenny Perry, a Kentuckian, shot a 4-under-par 68 to end at 11 under for 72 holes. That earned him a spot in a sudden-death playoff with Brooks. On the first playoff hole, however, Perry’s tee shot went into the rough.

Brooks, who had birdied the 18th hole to force the playoff with Perry, birdied the 18th again to ruin Perry’s dreams — and likely those of many in attendance that August day — of winning a major in his home state.

It was the only major victory for Brooks, who won seven times on the PGA Tour and is a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.

Perry, who played at Western Kentucky, had 14 wins on the PGA Tour — but a major wasn’t among them. He had two other top fives in addition to the 1996 PGA playoff loss; Perry had a share of the 54-hole lead at the 2009 Masters but fell in a playoff to Angel Cabrera.

Since joining the Champions tour, Perry has won four major championships on the senior circuit.

2000 PGA Championship

Tiger Woods holds the trophy after winning the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

• Winner: Tiger Woods (in a playoff)
• Score: 18 under
• Runner-up: Bob May

Woods entered the 2000 PGA as the undisputed No. 1 player in golf. May had never won a PGA Tour event.

Their vastly different résumés meant nothing during the final round of what then still was known as “Glory’s Last Shot” because of the PGA’s position as the final major of the year in those days. Woods, who already had the U.S. Open and Open Championship titles to his name that year (winning those two by a combined 23 strokes), had to birdie his final two holes in regulation to force a playoff with May.

The three-hole aggregate playoff — the first year of the format, switching from sudden death — delivered drama in spades.

It started with the aforementioned birdie putt from Woods on the 16th.

The pair each made par on the next hole, the 17th. On the final hole, No. 18, May’s birdie putt barely slid by the cup. Woods was able to save par after hitting into a greenside bunker, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 with three major victories in a calendar year.

Woods went on to capture the 2001 Masters to complete the “Tiger Slam” and become the first player in the professional era of golf (beginning with the formation of the Masters in 1934) to hold all four major championships at once.

2004 Senior PGA Championship

Hale Irwin poses with the trophy after his fourth time winning the Senior PGA Championship on May 31, 2004 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

• Winner: Hale Irwin
• Score: 8 under
• Runner-up: Jay Haas

In a rain-delayed Senior PGA Championship that ended on a Monday, Hale Irwin birdied the 18th hole to beat Jay Haas by one stroke. It was Irwin’s fourth Senior PGA Championship; only the legendary Sam Snead (six) won more. It also was Irwin’s 40th win on the senior tour, becoming the first player to reach that figure. (His 45 victories on the senior tour remained the standard until last year, when Bernhard Langer bagged No. 46).

Irwin, who led after each round of the 2004 Senior PGA, was 58 at the time of his win, making him the oldest victor of the event since 61-year-old Pete Cooper in 1976.

2008 Ryder Cup

USA captain Paul Azinger is sprayed with champagne after defeating the Europeans at the 37th Ryder Cup at the Valhalla Golf Club in 2008. (Photo: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports)

Score: United States 16½ – Europe 11½

Things couldn’t have been much bleaker for the U.S. team entering the 2008 Ryder Cup. For the first time in the history of the biennial event, Team Europe had brought home the cup three consecutive meetings. And the Americans were without the world’s top player, Woods, who sat out while recovering from knee surgery.

But thanks to U.S. captain Paul Azinger, the Americans didn’t taste defeat a fourth straight time.

Unlike previous men in his position, Azinger had four captain’s picks at his disposal instead of two. And he created a pod system for his team, with the 12 players divided into groups of three based on style of play and personality.

Azinger’s unconventional approach paid off: The U.S. ended the morning session of the opening day ahead 3-1 and up 5 ½ to 2 ½ when the afternoon matches wrapped up. By the close of Day 2, the U.S. led 9-7.

The red, white and blue ended Europe’s run of success in the event on the third and final day, taking a 16 ½ to 11 ½ victory on their home soil. Perry and fellow Kentuckian J.B. Holmes were members of the triumphant squad.

Jim Furyk’s 2-and-1 win over Miguel Angel Jimenez provided the clinching point for the U.S. team.

2011 Senior PGA Championship

Tom Watson holds the Alfred S. Bourne trophy after winning the 2011 Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

• Winner: Tom Watson (in a playoff)
• Score: 10 under
• Runner-up: David Eger

In yet another tournament at Valhalla decided after 72 holes were in the books, all-time great Tom Watson birdied the first playoff hole to edge David Eger. Both players had opportunities to win in regulation, but neither could sink their respective birdie putts on the 18th.

The lead swapped hands throughout the final day, with four players — Eger, Irwin, Watson and Kiyoshi Murota, who had a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds and placed solo third, just one shot out of the playoff — taking turns at the top.

With the victory, Watson set a (since-broken) record as the oldest player (61) to win a major since the senior tour was founded in 1980.

2014 PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy celebrates with the Wanamaker trophy after his one-stroke victory in the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

• Winner: Rory McIlroy
• Score: 16 under
• Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

At the time Rory McIlroy tapped in his putt on the 72nd hole of the 2014 PGA Championship, it appeared the golf world had its most dominant player since Woods in his prime. It was McIlroy’s third win in as many starts, which also included the Open Championship and a World Golf Championship.

His Valhalla conquest was his second PGA Championship in three years, giving McIlroy four major titles at just 25 years old; the only others who had accomplished that feat were three of the game’s biggest names in Woods, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.

But since that victory, despite oh-so-many close calls, McIlroy has yet to win another major championship.

And on that day nearly a decade ago, as he raced to beat the darkness, McIlroy had to earn it.

McIlroy held off charges from Phil Mickelson (who shot a final-round 66, two strokes better than McIlroy) and Rickie Fowler (who tied for fifth or better in all four majors that year without a win). Those three, as well as Henrik Stenson, had at least a share of the lead on the back nine during the final round.

A 10-foot birdie putt on 17 extended McIlroy’s lead to two shots with one hole to play, but then controversy ensued: He hit his tee shot on the 18th while the pairing ahead, Fowler and Mickelson, still were in the fairway. Neither Fowler nor Mickelson could match McIlroy at 16 under.

As dusk set in, the Northern Irishman cemented his status as the world’s top-ranked golfer.

“I think I showed a lot of guts out there to get the job done,” McIlroy said after the win. “Today wasn’t easy. The guys came at me pretty quickly. I was waiting for something to click.”

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PGA Championship Big Board: How Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and everyone else stacks up

The PGA Championship may be the least-noticed major championship most years, but it brings an unusual level of intrigue to Valhalla Golf Club outside of Louisville, Ky., this week.

Scottie Scheffler won his last start, the RBC Heritage last month. He’s won four of his last five actually, including the Masters, Players Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational. Another win would create a summer of conversation around the pursuit of a grand slam.

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Rory McIlroy has won his last two starts, including a dominant performance Sunday to win the signature event Wells Fargo Championship. He’s seeking to end his decade-long major drought, his last being the 2014 PGA at … Valhalla.

And Brooks Koepka , the defending PGA champion, won his last event, LIV Golf’s Singapore tournament. A sixth major championship of his career would tie him at 12th all-time with Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson.

This is before we mention Jon Rahm, Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele or any of the rest of the top contenders at Valhalla. There are plenty of them, which is why we’ve brought back our Big Board for this PGA Championship, ranking the top contenders in the field 1-40.

Scottie Scheffler

Rory McIlroy

Ludvig Åberg

Xander Schauffele

Wyndham Clark

Collin Morikawa

Brooks Koepka

Joaquin Niemann

Viktor Hovland

Patrick Cantlay

Bryson DeChambeau

Tyrrell Hatton

Sahith Theegala

Matt Fitzpatrick

Tommy Fleetwood

Hideki Matsuyama

Will Zalatoris

Brian Harman

Cameron Young

Justin Thomas

Cameron Smith

Akshay Bhatia

Jordan Spieth

Russell Henley

Sepp Straka

Dustin Johnson

Nicolai Højgaard

Nick Taylor

Shane Lowry

Keegan Bradley

Min Woo Lee

Lucas Glover

Matthieu Pavon

(Top image: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Jason Butler, Jared C. Tilton, David Cannon / Getty Images)

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Our new ranking of every PGA Tour course—from best to worst

There are plenty of reasons why a course is selected to host a PGA Tour event beyond its architectural merits. Of course, the layout must sufficiently test the best players in the world, but the regional market, logistics and history all play important roles in landing a tour event as well.

That said, it’s no secret the tour travels to many of our country’s finest courses. Of the 32 events played in the United States during the 2024 PGA Tour season, 16 are currently ranked on at least one of Golf Digest's national rankings— America's 100 Greatest , Second 100 Greatest and 100 Greatest Public .

In this guide, we rank the 32 U.S. courses that will host a PGA Tour event or major championship this season, based on the scores from our 1,800 course-ranking panelists. (This list only includes events played in the U.S.—there are five international events scheduled this season. Also note that we only rank the primary course at multi-course events such as Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach.)

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You might be surprised how the architectural merits of a layout don’t always align with the prestige of the tour event played there. Our panelists evaluate courses on seven scoring criteria, ranging from Shot Options and Layout Variety to Conditioning and Aesthetics .

Scroll on for the complete ranking, and be sure to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography and reviews from our course panelists. We also encourage you to leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … so you can make your case for why a course should be higher or lower on our rankings.

1. Augusta National Golf Club (Masters Tournament)

Augusta National Golf Club

Augusta, ga.

• 100 Greatest
• Best In State

There will be no surprise with the No. 1 course on this list. Augusta National has been ranked first, second or third on our biennial America's 100 Greatest Courses ranking in each edition. The club made a significant change in the fall of 2022, lengthening the par-5 13th hole by about 30 yards . No club has tinkered with its golf course as often or as effectively over the decades as has Augusta National Golf Club, mainly to keep it competitive for the annual Masters Tournament, an event it has conducted since 1934, with time off during WWII. All that tinkering has resulted in an amalgamation of design ideas, with a routing by Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones, some Perry Maxwell greens, some Trent Jones water hazards, some Jack Nicklaus mounds and swales and, most recently, extensive rebunkering and tree planting by Tom Fazio. The tinkering continued in the summer of 2018 as the club lengthened the par-4 fifth by extending its back tee on newly acquired land. Soon to come, the lengthening of the famed par-5 13th.

RELATED: A Comprehensive History Of Every Change Made To Augusta National Golf Club

2. Pebble Beach Golf Links (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Pebble beach, ca.

• 100 Greatest Public

Editor's Note: Courses such as Spyglass Hill, which are not the main host courses of tour, were not included in this list. Read our experts' reviews of Spyglass Hill here .

3. Muirfield Village Golf Club (The Memorial Tournament)

Muirfield Village Golf Club

4. the riviera country club (the genesis invitational).

Riviera Country Club

Pacific palisades, ca, 5. pinehurst no. 2 (u.s. open).

Pinehurst No. 2

Pinehurst, nc, 6. tpc sawgrass: stadium (the players championship).

TPC Sawgrass: Stadium

Ponte vedra beach, fl, 7. castle pines golf club (bmw championship).

Castle Pines Golf Club

Castle rock, co.

8. Valhalla Golf Club (PGA Championship)

Valhalla Golf Club

Louisville, ky.

9. Quail Hollow Club (Wells Fargo Championship)

Charlotte, NC

• Second 100 Greatest

10. Kapalua: Plantation (The Sentry)

Kapalua: Plantation

Lahaina, hi.

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:  Most golf fans are familiar with Kapalua Golf Club’s Plantation Course, home of the PGA Tour's opening event each year. Located on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Maui, the Plantation was built from open, windswept pineapple fields on the pronounced slope of a volcano and is irrigated by sprinklers pressured solely by gravity. As the first design collaboration by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, it unveiled their joint admiration for old-style courses. The blind drive on the fourth, the cut-the-corner drives on the fifth and sixth are all based on tee shots found at National Golf Links. So, too, are its punchbowl green and strings of diagonal bunkers. It's also a massive course, built on a huge scale, Coore says, to accommodate the wind and the slope and the fact that it gets mostly resort play.

Read our architecture editor's complete review here

11. East Lake Golf Club (Tour Championship)

East Lake Golf Club

Atlanta, ga, 12. harbour town golf links (rbc heritage).

Harbour Town Golf Links

Hilton head island, sc.

13. Colonial Country Club (Charles Schwab Challenge)

Colonial Country Club

Fort worth, tx, 14. torrey pines golf course: south (farmers insurance open).

Torrey Pines Golf Course: South

La jolla, ca.

RELATED: See our course panelists' reviews of Torrey Pines (North).

15. PGA West: Stadium (The American Express)

PGA West: Stadium Course

La quinta, ca, 16. the dunes golf & beach club (myrtle beach classic).

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

Myrtle beach, sc, 17. tpc southwind (fedex st. jude championship).

TPC Southwind

Memphis, tn, 18. waialae country club (sony open in hawaii).

Waialae Country Club

Honolulu, hi.

RELATED: This graphic shows why Waialae’s 17th hole is one of the most under-appreciated par 3s on the PGA Tour

19. TPC San Antonio: Oaks (Valero Texas Open)

TPC San Antonio Oaks Course

San antonio, tx, 20. sedgefield country club (wyndham championship).

Sedgefield Country Club

Greensboro, nc, 21. arnold palmer's bay hill club & lodge (arnold palmer invitational).

Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge: Challenger/Champion

Orlando, fl.

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:  I've always been fascinated by the design of Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer's home course for over 45 years (although Tiger Woods owns it, competitively-speaking, as he's won there eight times.) For one thing, it's rather hilly, a rarity in Florida (although not in the Orlando market) and dotted with sinkhole ponds incorporated in the design in dramatic ways.

I always thought the wrap-around-a-lake par-5 sixth was Dick Wilson's version of Robert Trent Jones's decade-older 13th at The Dunes Club at Myrtle Beach. Each of the two rivals had claimed the other was always stealing his ideas. But the hole I like best at Bay Hill is the par-4 eighth, a lovely dogleg-right with a diagonal green perched above a small circular pond. OK, I admit that it reminds me of the sixth at Hazeltine National, another Trent Jones product, but I don't think Wilson picked Trent's pocket on this one, as both courses were built about the same time, in the early 1960s.

Check out our architecture editor's complete review, here.

22. Innisbrook Resort: Copperhead (Valspar Championship)

Innisbrook Resort: Copperhead

Palm harbor, fl, 23. pga national resort & spa: champion (cognizant classic in the palm beaches).

PGA National Resort: Champion

Palm beach gardens, fl.

One of five courses at PGA National, the Champion Course has hosted the Honda Classic since 2007. (The event dates back to 1972, though with Honda pulling out as a tournament sponsor, the event is in question going forward.) Originally designed by Tom and George Fazio for tournament play, Jack Nicklaus redesigned the course in 2014, creating the infamous three-hole stretch aptly named "The Bear Trap." Routinely one of the toughest courses on tour, The Champion is a true ball-striking test that plays a lot differently than most courses, where winning scores push over 20 under par.

24. TPC Deere Run (John Deere Classic)

TPC Deere Run

25. tahoe mountain club: old greenwood (barracuda championship).

Tahoe Mountain Club: Old Greenwood

Truckee, ca, 26. tpc river highlands (travelers championship).

TPC River Highlands

Cromwell, ct, 27. tpc scottsdale: stadium (wm phoenix open).

TPC Scottsdale: Stadium

Scottsdale, az.

28. TPC Craig Ranch (The CJ Cup Byron Nelson)

TPC Craig Ranch

Mckinney, tx, 29. memorial park golf course (texas children's houston open).

Memorial Park Golf Course

Houston, tx, 30. tpc louisiana (zurich classic of new orleans).

TPC Louisiana

Avondale, la, 31. detroit golf club: north (rocket mortgage classic).

Detroit Golf Club: North

Detroit, mi, 32. tpc twin cities (3m open).

TPC Twin Cities

Explore  Golf Digest's new Course Reviews section  where you can submit a star rating and evaluation on all the courses you’ve played. We've collected tens of thousands of reviews from our course-ranking panelists to deliver a premium experience, which includes course rankings, experts' opinions, bonus course photography, videos and much more.  Check it out here !

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Arnold Palmer Invitational: Bay Hill’s final 4 holes will separate best from the rest

Regarded as one of the most challenging golf courses on the PGA Tour, Bay Hill’s final four holes will play a pivotal role yet again.

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The PGA Tour returns to Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational , the fourth Signature Event of the 2024 Season.

This week’s field is loaded, but so is the golf course, which is loaded with trouble.

Water comes into play on nine holes, and if the wind picks it up, it turns Bay Hill into a U.S. Open -like atmosphere.

Since 2020, only one winner has finished double-digits under par. Bryson DeChambeau did so in 2021, shooting 11-under for the week to win by one.

Hence, mitigating mistakes is paramount. But to do that, players must find the fairway off the tee to succeed at Arnie’s Place.

“I think there’s a premium on driving the golf ball in the fairway, and I think you have to play really smart around this place,” Patrick Cantlay said Tuesday.

“There are some really tricky hole locations, and if you get out of position, it’s really important to get the ball to the correct spot if you want to have a chance at scoring. It’s definitely one of the harder stops on Tour.”

With temperatures in the mid-80s all week and wind gusts swirling up to 20-25 miles per hour, this course will only get more challenging as the championship wears on.

That should entertain golf fans everywhere.

Knowing this, let’s explore the final four holes at Bay Hill, which will play a pivotal role in determining the winner:

Hole 15 - Par 4, 467 Yards

After Bay Hill kicks players in the mouth for 14 holes, you arrive at the difficult par-4 15th gasping for air. But the 15th offers little reprieve—much like the rest of the golf course.

Last year, this dogleg right par-4 ranked as the third most challenging hole during the tournament. It requires a 250-yard carry over a bunker at the corner of the dogleg, as the fairway narrows significantly beyond the trap.

At the 300-yard mark off the tee, the fairway is only 21 yards wide, leaving very little room for error. Magnolia trees on either side make the target look smaller than it appears, making this one of the most difficult driving holes on the property.

Players will then face a second shot into a green protected by three sand traps.

Two guard the front of the green, while the third sits to the back and left.

The putting surface is somewhat tricky. It generally slopes from back to front, but it has subtle mounds on the front left and front right that will cause fits. A significant drop off to the left of the green—between the two bunkers—will also collect any pulled tee-shot. The left side of this green generally slopes in that direction as well.

Anyone making a four here will leave the 15th satisfied.

Hole 16 - Par 5, 511 Yards

During the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational, more players made birdie at the par-5 16th than not. This hole is one of the easiest on the PGA Tour, as it played nearly a half-stroke under par last year.

But weirdly, this hole creates more pressure for the player.

Tour pros expect to make a birdie-four here, which heightens the tension late in the round, especially down the stretch on Sunday. Should they fail to make birdie here, they’re essentially losing a stroke to the rest of the field.

The 16th at Bay Hill doglegs to the right, but not as severely as the tough par-4 15th.

Two bunkers sit on either side of the fairway roughly 300 yards from the teeing ground, and only the big bombers can clear them. To carry the trap on the right, a 345-yard carry is required.

But finding this fairway is critical to making birdie here. It’s about 34 yards wide at the 300-yard mark, an expansive fairway by Bay Hill standards.

Then, players will have a mid-to-long iron into a green protected by three sand traps and water.

The water comes into play much more so on the left side, as a pond will collect anything pulled. But a stream that flows into that pond runs about 25 yards short of the green. Any mishit short will find the water, too.

Hole 17 - Par 3, 221 Yards

The penultimate hole at Arnie’s Place is an absolute brute.

A massive ‘beach bunker’ protects this kidney-shaped green, while a stream gently meanders around the back right portion of it.

The pond in front of the large bunker should not come into play, although a terrible mishit could end up there.

Two other sand traps sit beside this green: one to the front left, and one to the back left.

But the great thing about this gorgeous hole is that players tee off from an elevated tee, giving them an incredible view of this par-3. It also serves as an advantage, as the player can likely hit one club down instead of mustering the full 220-yard shot.

Nevertheless, whoever finds this green off the tee will be pleased.

The green primarily slopes from back to front, towards the beach bunker, and also towards the front left portion of the green.

Hole 18 - Par 4, 458 Yards

No hole carries more prestige at Bay Hill than its finisher, the tough par-4 18th.

Surely, you have seen the highlights of Tiger Woods eliciting massive fist-pumps on this boomerang-shaped green.

But this hole has plenty more to it than its putting surface, which slopes severely towards the pond it is shaped around.

The tee shot is pretty straightforward.

Out-of-bounds lurks down the left side, but a player will only re-load if they really pull their tee shot.

Thick, gnarly rough runs down both sides of the fairway. The large pond that sits by the green comes into play 330 yards from the tee box on the right-hand side, but players rarely reach the water with their drives.

Like most holes at Bay Hill, finding the fairway is crucial here. A lay-up to the left will likely ensue if a player misses it. The rough that lines this fairway will not allow a shot to carry the water onto the green.

The second shot cannot be missed short and right, or it will find the water or perhaps even the rocks that line this green.

Three sand traps protect this green’s left and back sides, forcing the player to pick a narrow target.

It is an incredible finishing hole, one that can yield birdies. But double bogeys also lurk, making it one of the more entertaining closing holes on the PGA Tour.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

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2024 PGA Championship prop bet picks and PGA Tour predictions

T he best players in the world will be competing for the Wanamaker Trophy this week at the 2024 PGA Championship . The year's 2nd major is being hosted for the 4th time by Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. First round tees off on Thursday morning.

Below, we search for the best value prop bets from BetMGM Sportsbook among the 2024 PGA Championship odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions .

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the heavy favorite at +450, and he's also the top-ranked player in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Rory McIlroy comes in at No. 2 in the rankings, and he also has the 2nd-shortest odds (+750) to win this week – which would be his 3rd consecutive victory on tour. Brooks Koepka may be ranked 29th in Golfweek's poll but he has the 3rd-best odds to win (+1400), with fellow LIV Golf member Jon Rahm being 5th (+1800).

Valhalla is a brute of a course, coming in at 7,609 yards as a par 71. The venue was renovated in 2021 in advance of this year's PGA Championship, which comes 10 years after the last time Valhalla hosted (2014). The overall length of the course is 151 yards longer than it was in 2014, so it should play even tougher than it did then.

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PGA Championship – Top-5 picks

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook ; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. ET.

Xander Schauffele (+300)

Schauffele couldn't close out the Wells Fargo Championship thanks to a final-round 65 by McIlroy, and it once again raises some concerns about his inability to close out big tournaments. He could break through with his 1st major win this week, but taking him for a top-5 is much safer.

Rory McIlroy (+160)

McIlroy is still looking for his 1st major title since the 2014 PGA Championship, which just happened to be played at Valhalla. It'll take a great week for him to beat everyone in the field, but he should be in the mix on Sunday after winning each of his last 2 starts.

Jon Rahm (+333)

This time last year, Rahm was +800 to win the PGA Championship. That's not much longer than his odds for a top 5 this week, while his outright odds sit at +1800. There's no question he's being discounted because of his move to LIV Golf, as well as his struggles at Augusta, but Rahm is still one of the best players in the world.

PGA Championship – Top-10 picks

Brooks koepka (+150).

Koepka may have flopped at the Masters, but he's played well since then, even winning a LIV event in the last month. He should have a much better showing at the PGA Championship, an event he's already won 3 times, including last year at Oak Hill. He's a great fit for any difficult course like Valhalla because of the way he avoids costly mistakes and scrambles to save par.

Ludvig Aberg (+160)

If Aberg can notch a top 5 in his Masters debut, he can come in the top 10 at the PGA Championship. He's deadly accurate off the tee while still hitting it plenty long for a course with as much length as Valhalla, and his putter was excellent at Augusta throughout the week.

Cameron Young (+350)

Young has 5 top-10 finkshes in his last 8 major starts, which includes a T-3 at the 2022 PGA Championship. He still hasn't won on the PGA Tour, but he's come close several times and this week could be another near-win for Young. He's at his best when playing difficult courses that don't turn into birdie fests. Valhalla won't yield very low scores so Young should be able to hang around.

Other T10 contenders ( in order from longest odds to shortest ):

• Max Homa (+275)

PGA Championship – Top-20 picks

Will zalatoris (+225).

Zalatoris at +225 for a top-20 finish feels like a fantastic value. He's finished in the top 10 in 4 of his last 5 starts in the PGA Championship or U.S. Open, with the only exception being a missed cut at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Valhalla is a ball striker's course and Zalatoris has the length and accuracy to contend on Sunday.

Cameron Smith (+175)

Smith will need to keep it in the fairway in order to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy because if he starts spraying it off the tee, even his short-game prowess won't be able to overcome it. That being said, he's an outstanding putter and chipper so anytime he does miss the green, he'll have a chance to save par.

Corey Conners (+275)

Conners finished 17th at Kiawah in 2021, missed the cut in the 2022 PGA and came in 12th last year at Oak Hill, so he's had some success in this major championship before. His iron play will give him a fighting chance at Valhalla, even if his putter stays cold.

Other T20 contenders ( in order from longest odds to shortest ):

• Akshay Bhatia (+375)
• Alex Noren (+320)
• Jason Day (+200)

PGA Championship – Matchups

Suggested play is golfer in bold .

Cameron Smith (+115) vs. Joaquin Niemann (-150)

Niemann might have the higher floor, but Smith absolutely has the higher ceiling this week. For that reason, Smith is the better pick at plus money against Niemann, who's never finished better than 23rd in a U.S. Open or PGA Championship.

Jason Day (-110) vs. Sungjae Im (-110)

Im has been up and down all year and though he's shown signs of life in his last 2 starts at the RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo, he's just not a great fit for U.S. Open/PGA Championship-style courses. Day, on the other hand, has won a PGA Championship.

Sahith Theegala (-120) vs. Sam Burns (-105)

Theegala is a legitimate contender this week as he looks to take his career to the next level, showing the creativity around the greens to save par when he misses with an approach.

PGA Championship – Top Japanese

Hideki matsuyama (+100).

Assuming his back is fine, Matsuyama shouldn't have much trouble cashing this bet. There are only 3 other Japanese players in the field, none with better odds than +350; Keita Nakajima is the 2nd-favorite behind Matsuyama. It's surprising this line is only even money.

PGA Championship – Top Debutant

Ludvig aberg (+300).

Aberg was the top debutant at the Masters and he's the favorite to be the same at the PGA this week. He just has a complete skill set to perform well at any course. Theegala is the 2nd-favorite to be the top debutant at +900, with Stephan Jaeger , Akshay Bhatia and Jake Knapp also lurking.

PGA Championship – First-round leader

Xander schauffele (+2800).

Schauffele was the 1st-round leader last week at Quail Hollow with a blistering score of 64, and he now ranks 6th in 1st-round scoring average this season. If you have concerns about his ability to close at a major, take him to be the 1st-round leader at an even better number than his outright odds.

Alex Noren (+9000, +700 for top 10)

Back to Noren we go with this 1st-round wager. He's fired rounds of 64 and 67 on Thursday in his last 2 starts and has the 3rd-best 1st-round scoring average on tour. He's been in the top 10 after Round 1 in each of the last 2 tournaments so that's another way to play this.

More expert prop bet predictions

Group d winner: will zalatoris (+450).

Zalatoris is grouped with Tyrrell Hatton (+275), Matsuyama (+350), Day (+350) and Im (+400), yet he has the longest odds of the 5. He has a better track record at the PGA Championship than any of those players in the last 3 years.

Koepka and Schauffele both to finish in top 10 (+900)

Koepka loves the PGA Championship and Schauffele is on a heater with 7 top-10s in his last 10 starts. At +900, it's worth playing because they're 2 serious contenders to hoist the trophy on Sunday.

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For more sports betting picks and tips , check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW .

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This article originally appeared on USA Today Sportsbookwire: 2024 PGA Championship prop bet picks and PGA Tour predictions

Scoring Average

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SG: Approach the Green

Greens in Regulation Percentage

SG: Putting

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