US PGA betting tips: Expert Picks for major championship at Oak Hill

Sporting Life RAB: McIlroy T10, Cantlay T20, Harrington top senior, Burmester top SA (all including ties) at 22/1

Ben Coley and Dave Tindall are guests on the Betfair Only Bettor podcast, presented by Sarah Stirk. CLICK HERE to listen.

Harris English to finish in the top 20

By Dave Tindall

Former Sky Sports Golf editor Dave Tindall is a regular contributor to betting.betfair.com and various other publications.

• CLICK HERE to back English with Sky Bet

Few will know that HARRIS ENGLISH has made 16 of his last 17 cuts in majors.

True, many of those were midfield finishes but the American is clearly very comfortable at this level and has shown he can make an impact higher up the leaderboard by finishing solo fourth (2020) and solo third (2021) in back-to-back US Opens.

The first of those top-fours came at Winged Foot and that has to bode well given that we're on another New York track with some obviously similar traits this week.

English has his latest crack at a major in pleasing form following third place at Quail Hollow (another major track) last time. Add in second place at the tough Bay Hill and 12th at Riviera and he looks a value bet at 13/2 to land a top 20.

Thorbjorn Olesen to be the top Danish player

By Tom Jacobs

Tom Jacobs is the creator and host of golf podcast Lost Fore Words, which features interviews with coaches and players, plus weekly previews of the biggest events in golf.

• CLICK HERE to back Olesen with Sky Bet

THORBJORN OLESEN is the outsider in this three-player betting heat, and I am happy to chance that the more experienced player of the trio comes out on top at this week’s PGA Championship.

Between the two of them, the Hojgaard twins have made just five starts in majors, with each of them making just one cut each. That is no real slight on the two youngsters, who have all the time in the world ahead of them to improve in the big events, it is just something I see as important right now.

Olesen has made upwards of 20 major starts, seven of which have come at this event. In his major career, he has posted top-10 finishes at both the Masters (T6) and the Open, and in this major itself he has finished inside the top 30 on two occasions.

A repeat of his previous-best T27 in the PGA may well be enough to secure the win in this market, and in his form, I am confident he can get through the weekend to beat his compatriots. Already in 2023, Olesen has secured a win plus three more top-sixes, and he has only finished outside the top 20 on two occasions.

Yes, he will have to step up in quality this week, but he might just be the best position of these three players to do so.

Patrick Reed to finish in the top 40

By Matt Cooper

Matt Cooper is a long-time Sporting Life contributor who previews the women's majors for the website and provides tips for multiple tours for betting.betfair.com and others.

• CLICK HERE to back Reed with Sky Bet

PATRICK REED seems a bit underrated this week.

He's not in the same bracket as his fellow renegades Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith in terms of potential and quality but all of his prices seem a little large and, while top 40 might be aiming low, the numbers are persuasive.

In terms of form, of course, it's difficult to judge given that LIV fields only have 48 players in them but his last five starts on the rebel circuit were all top-20s.

The case builds when you branch out.

In New York? Four of five starts were top 40. In next door New Jersey? Five of seven. On Donald Ross designs? Nine of 12 not counting East Lake which only has a field of 30 (five of eight of those were top 20). All majors? 24 of 36. The PGA Championship? Six of Nine. If this week is US Open-like he has seven in nine at that championship. Full field events this year? Two of three.

This price might be the wrong side of evens.

Taylor Moore to finish in the top 30

By Martin Mathews

Martin Mathews writes a regular PGA Tour tipping column on his own website and is a regular Paddy Power contributor.

• CLICK HERE to back Moore with Paddy Power

TAYLOR MOORE is fast becoming one of the most reliable performers on the PGA Tour with only two missed cuts and six top-30 finishes in 11 solo starts in 2023.

A winner in hugely impressive fashion at the Valspar Championship in March, Moore possesses the sort of solid all-round game that can potentially thrive in the major environment going forward, something which we saw when he made his debut at Augusta in April and finished 39th.

Strong on the greens, with a current ranking of 12th for the season, the intricacies of these Donald Ross putting surfaces should hold no great fears for the 29-year-old old while I was also very much drawn to the fact that he finished sixth and fifth on his two first forays on Ross designs at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Wyndham Championship respectively last season.

This event is of course a big step up in class from those two PGA Tour regular stops, however arriving in New York on the back of another really solid week at the Wells Fargo I expect Moore to step up to the plate again and continue in his consistent vein of form.

Dean Burmester to be the top South African player

By Ben Coley

Ben Coley is Sporting Life's deputy head of editorial and long-serving golf columnist and tipster. Read his outright preview here.

• CLICK HERE to back Burmester with Sky Bet

If power is indeed vital at Oak Hill then an imbalance between the two best South African players will be exposed, with DEAN BURMESTER far better equipped for the challenge ahead.

He's a decent lob-wedge longer than Christiaan Bezuidenhout and when last they both played in the same major, that advantage helped him to 11th as his short-hitting compatriot struggled to keep up at St Andrews.

With Thriston Lawrence out of form and major debutant Ockie Strydom last seen shooting 81 in Rome, this looks like a head-to-head between two vastly different players. In that scenario it's all about whose strengths are accentuated by conditions and the answer is Burmester.

Posted at 1445 BST on 16/05/23

More PGA Championship content

• Ben Coley's outright preview and selections
• Specials and prop bets for the US PGA
• PGA Championship: Expert picks
• Home advantage for McIlroy at Oak Hill?
• What did we learn about LIV at Augusta?
• What will it take to win the US PGA?
• Oak Hill course guide
• Golf tipping record

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