The first major of the 2020 PGA Tour season is finally upon us.

Ninety-five of the top 100 players in the world have descended on TPC Harding Park in San Francisco for this year’s PGA Championship.

Fresh off his victory at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Justin Thomas has recaptured the No. 1 ranking in the world.

Thomas is currently a co-favourite to take home his second Wanamaker trophy along with Brooks Koepka, who is also listed at +1000 odds to win outright this week.

Koepka is a two-time defending champion at this event, with wins at Bellerive and Bethpage Black over the past two years.

He’s looking to become the first three-peat champion since Walter Hagen did it four times in a row from 1924-27.

Koepka found his game last week and very nearly successfully defended his title in Memphis before tying for second behind Thomas.

It will be exciting to watch those two battle it out at a major event this week.

There are four Canadians in the field for this year’s PGA Championship – all of them long shots to win outright.

Corey Conners is considered Canada’s best hope at 150-to-1.

Mackenzie Hughes is 200-to-1 to win outright, followed by Adam Hadwin at 250-to-1 and Nick Taylor at 350-to-1 to join Mike Weir as the only Canadian male golfers to win a major tournament.

Tiger Woods will make his second official start since February following a nondescript T-40th at the Memorial three weeks ago.

Woods has a chance to join Jack Nicklaus and Hagen as the only five-time champions at this event.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy will chase his first major win since 2014 as the third choice on the board.

McIlroy won the WGC-Match play event at this course back in 2015.

McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are all listed at +1400 odds.

Jordan Spieth will chase the career grand slam at +5000 to win this week.

Here is our first look at the field for the PGA Championship:

PGA Championship Betting Odds To Win Outright – Top-15

Brooks Koepka +1000

Justin Thomas +1000

Rory McIlroy +1400

Jon Rahm +1400

Bryson DeChambeau +1400

Xander Schauffele +1600

Dustin Johnson +2200

Patrick Cantlay +2500

Webb Simpson +2500

Collin Morikawa +2500

Tiger Woods +3000

Jason Day +4000

Hideki Matsuyama +4000

Rickie Fowler +4000

Patrick Reed +5000

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Koepka aiming for a PGA Championship three-peat.

Koepka can raise his level of play in the blink of an eye, as evidenced by his back-to-back PGA Championship victories.

Here is a look at what he’s done in his last five major championship appearances:

Koepka's Last Five Major Championship Tournament Results

2019 Open Championship          T-4th

2019 US Open                            Second

2019 PGA Championship            Win

2019 Masters                               T-2nd

2018 PGA Championship             Win

Keep in mind that Koepka also delivered back-to-back U.S. Open titles in 2017 and 2018.

Coming off a T-2nd at last week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, the expectation is that he will once again contend for the outright win at TPC Harding Park this week.

Koepka put to rest any concerns about a persistent nagging knee injury with his strong performance in Memphis.

There isn't a ton of value betting Koepka at +1000.

However, based on his recent major tournament history – including at this event in particular – Koepka is an obvious frontrunner this week.

PGA Championship – Past Five Winners

2019: Brooks Koepka -8

2018: Brooks Koepka -16

2017: Justin Thomas -8

2016: Jimmy Walker -14

2015: Jason Day -20

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Thomas' last two years of major championships a mixed bag

Unlike his co-favourite to win the PGA Championship, Thomas doesn’t have a great track record at major tournaments over the past two years, with just one top-10 result.

Thomas' Majors Tournament Results Since 2018

2019 Open Championship                      T-11th

2019 US Open                                        CUT

2019 PGA Championship                        DNP

2019 Masters                                           T-12th

2018 PGA Championship                        T-6th

2018 Open Championship                        CUT

2018 US Open                                          T-25th

2018 Masters                                             T-17th

 

While he delivered a top-10 finish in the 2018 PGA Championship, as well as a pair of top-15 results at the 2019 Masters and 2019 Open Championship, Thomas hasn’t been able to figure out how to claw his way to victory on some of the biggest stages.

That said, he's the only three-time champion on tour this season and he’s coming off an impressive victory at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if this is the week that he changes that narrative.

The problem is that at +1000, there isn’t enough value to bet on Thomas to get it done at a major event.

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Fore Your Information

In the last PGA Tour event at this course, the four-time major championship McIlroy emerged victorious against 2019 US Open winner Gary Woodland in the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play tournament.

In the third-place match, 2016 Masters Champion Danny Willett came out on top over 2003 US Open victor Jim Furyk.

All four of those golfers have won major championship titles.

While McIlroy is the obvious frontrunner from that group at +1400, the other three are major long shots with Woodland at +5000, Willett at +12500 and Furyk at +25000.

TPC Harding Park tends to bring out the best in elite players, so expect the cream to rise to the top this weekend.

At +5000, Woodland in particular sports enticing odds for a man who won a major last year in California and has six top-10s on the season.

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Trending Up

Jason Day +4000

The 2015 PGA champion has shown signs of life with top-10 results in each of his past three starts following a miserable dry spell over his previous six appearances.

He's also been incredibly consistent in his last seven starts at the PGA Championship, making the cut each time while racking up four top-10 results, including a win here in 2015 and a runner-up in 2016.

The Australian ranks second in Strokes Gained: Around The Green, which will be important this week at TPC Harding Park.

At +4000 odds, the 12-time PGA Tour winner is definitely worth a look this week.

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Trending Up or Trending Down?

Brendon Todd +12500

On the one hand, you could argue Todd is trending up as a two-time winner this season who has held the 54-hold lead in two of his last four appearances.

On the other hand, you could argue he’s trending down after failing to capitalize on those recent 54-hole leads, finishing outside of the top-10 at both the Travelers Championship and last week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Todd has been excellent off the tee, ranking third in Driving Accuracy. He also ranks fifth in Sand Save Percentage.

Can he finally put it all together for four full rounds this week?

At +12500 odds, the value is certainly there if you are willing to take a chance on Todd as a sleeper pick to win the PGA Championship this week.

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*All Betting Information appears as listed by Bodog on Wednesday Aug. 5, 2020*