This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
PGA Championship
Charlotte, North Carolina
Quail Hollow Club - Par 71 - 7,626 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $18.5M
The Preview
The Truist Championship (formerly Wells Fargo) enjoyed a new temporary home and a Signature Event field at The Philadelphia Cricket Club last week, while Quail Hollow Club has been groomed to host the PGA Championship this week for the first time since 2017. Driving ability typically factors heavily into the recipe for success here in Charlotte, with distance being more rewarded than tee balls that miss the fairway are penalized. Shorter clubs into fast and firm, but relatively sizable greens provide advantages for the bombers. Late-round drama is made possible by the Green Mile, as players attempt to survive the three-hole closing stretch that can play nearly an entire stroke over-par on average. It'll be essential to convert par-breaker opportunities on Quail Hollow's three par-5s, and heavy showers early in the week could have the par-4s playing much longer in Rounds 1 and 2 as well.
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Recent Champions
2024 - Xander Schauffele (Valhalla Golf Club)
2023 - Brooks Koepka (Oak Hill Country Club)
2022 - Justin Thomas (Southern Hills Country Club)
2021 - Phil Mickelson (Kiawah Island Golf Resort)
2020 - Collin Morikawa (TPC Harding Park)
2019 - Brooks Koepka (Bethpage Black)
2018 - Brooks Koepka (Bellerive Country Club)
2017 - Justin Thomas (Quail Hollow Club)
2016 - Jimmy Walker (Baltusrol Golf Club)
2015 - Jason Day (Whistling Straits)
Key Stats to Victory
Driving Distance
SG: Putting
Proximity: 150-plus
SG: Off-the-Tee
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Rory McIlroy - $45
The ultimate horse for the course with four wins at Quail Hollow dating back to 2010, McIlroy lands in a prime spot to contend for another major championship just a month after completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters in April. McIlroy's elite driving prowess remains an obvious advantage, but he's also gained an average of 3.1 strokes putting per event over his past five starts.
Scottie Scheffler - $45
I probably won't have much Scheffler exposure elsewhere in the betting and DFS markets this week due to a combination of his expensive pricing, lack of Quail Hollow history and McIlroy/DeChambeau being better suited for this setup off the tee, but the $45 salary is too affordable to ignore the No. 1 player in the world, especially coming off an eight-shot victory at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in his most recent outing.
Bryson DeChambeau - $39
Yahoo's softer pricing makes it entirely feasible to fit DeChambeau into an alpha trio alongside the aforementioned McIlroy/Scheffler combo, and this will be a popular stack given their substantial collection of win equity. Last year's PGA Championship runner-up, DeChambeau also notched a pair of top-10s in his past two trips to Quail Hollow at the 2018 and 2021 Wells Fargo Championships, particularly excelling with the flat stick on these greens. He's now coming off a two-shot win at LIV Golf Korea, and DeChambeau has enough room to absolutely let it fly off the tee in Charlotte.
Glue Guys
Patrick Cantlay - $38
Cantlay's ball striking has been on point since THE PLAYERS Championship, and he just used seven final-round birdies to produce his best result of the season with a T4 finish at the Truist Championship on Sunday, ultimately ranking third among the Signature Event field in SG: Approach as well. When the PGA Championship was last held at Quail Hollow in 2017, Cantlay gained four strokes off the tee and another 3.4 strokes with the putter.
Daniel Berger - $34
Not only has Berger gained strokes from tee to green in every event that he's played this season, but he's also finished no worse than T30 in nine straight starts since a runner-up effort at the WM Phoenix Open. Over his last 36 rounds, Berger ranks top-10 in each of SG: Approach, Prox: 200-plus and Par-4: 450-500 Efficiency.
Joaquin Niemann - $29
Niemann's underwhelming track record at the majors is a red flag, but at this price it's okay to bet on the 26-year-old's talent over history this far down the salary board. He's already won three LIV Golf events this year, and he gained 5.3 strokes from tee to green en route to a top-30 finish at the Masters.
Bargain Bin
Jordan Spieth - $24
Spieth mentioned that he was inspired by McIlroy's career achievement at Augusta National as he looks to accomplish the Grand Slam himself this week at the PGA Championship. Spieth's short game has returned to form since the beginning of March, and he's become sneaky long while gaining an average of 1.5 strokes off the tee per tournament throughout his last 20 measured events. Over his past 36 rounds, Spieth ranks fourth in SG: Par-5s and 11th in Birdies or Better Gained.
Patrick Reed - $22
Reed arrives in great form for a $22 option with three top-7s across his last four LIV outings since the beginning of April, and he finished behind only McIlroy in SG: Tee-to-Green at the Masters on the way to a third-place result. He also tied for second at the 2017 PGA Championship hosted by Quail Hollow when he gained 9.8 strokes from tee to green and another 4.6 strokes putting.
Jon Rahm - $20
Rahm doesn't like Quail Hollow and he's yet to win on LIV this season, but a minimum salary for one of the best players in the world is absurd. He's shorter than 20-1 at most shops in the outright betting market, and a 14th-place showing at the Masters felt like a floor performance. Contrasting with other DFS sites, expect Rahm to carry a massive amount of ownership in this spot.
Looking for the best golf picks on Yahoo? Find the top Yahoo PGA DFS picks and value plays for every tournament from RotoWire golf expert Bryce Danielson.
