Golf tips: Best first-round leader bets for the PGA Championship
15 May
Golf
Jack Green
Back any player to win the PGA Championship and you will be paid out as a winner if they lead at the end of any round.

JON RAHM

To win 18/1

To lead after the first round 28/1

Rahm finished T4 in this event last year and has now finished T9 or better in three of his last five major starts.

The Spaniard’s temperament has been questioned throughout his career and he still might be too hot-headed to win a major at this point, but his talent is clear and he has every chance of getting into contention early on at Bethpage Black.

Rahm ranks third in first-round scoring average on the PGA Tour this season behind only Matt Kuchar and Justin Thomas – who is absent this week through injury.

The 24-year-old was T6 after the first round at the Masters – the last time he teed up – and took the lead in the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season with a stunning 62.

JASON DAY

To win 22/1

To lead after the first round 33/1

This week’s weather forecast suggests going out in the afternoon on Thursday will be favourable, which bodes well for Day, who tees off at 13:38 with Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.

The Australian’s victory at the 2015 PGA Championship remains his only major triumph to date, and he finished T20-MC-T17-T19 in golf’s four biggest events last year.

A T5 at the Masters last month, however, suggests he’s ready to contend once again.

Day ranks 21st in first-round scoring this year and should get off to a fast start at Bethpage Black, having fired an opening round of 68 – which left him just two shots off the lead – when this venue hosted the Barclays in 2016.

A 67 on the first day of this event last year left him T5, and a similar score could see him lead outright at what is a trickier course.

KEVIN KISNER

To win 80/1

To lead after the first round 80/1

If you’re looking for a contender at a bigger price this week, Kisner looks a great option.

The American won the WGC Match Play in March and is yet to miss the cut in 11 starts this season.

Kisner’s first-round scoring average of 69.33 is the 11th-best on the PGA Tour in 2019, and he’s been inside the top eight at the end of the first day in four of his last seven stroke play starts.

He led after each of the first three days at the 2017 PGA Championship and looks poised to find his way to the top of the leaderboard again this week.

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