The 2024 PGA Championship first round gets underway from Valhalla Golf Club on Thursday morning, as 156 players will tee off with hopes of lifting the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday evening.
But before anyone thinks about touching silverware, they must start strong on Thursday morning.
Let’s take a look at the favorites to lead after the first round.
Scottie Scheffler | +1400 |
Rory McIlroy | +1800 |
Brooks Koepka | +2500 |
Xander Schauffele | +2500 |
Jon Rahm | +3000 |
Ludvig Aberg | +3000 |
Collin Morikawa | +3500 |
Max Homa | +3500 |
Bryson DeChambeau | +3500 |
As expected, the First Round Leader market looks very similar to the outright market.
But while the tournament favorites and top players in the world are expected to contend throughout the week, the round one leaderboard doesn’t always reflect that.
As shown below, just one of the last 10 majors has seen a player lead after the first round and also win the tournament. That player was Jon Rahm at the 2023 Masters, who was joint-top after Thursday, then won his first Green Jacket three days later.
The weather forecast can also play a big part in who leads after the first round, as earlier or later tee times may play in more favorable conditions than the other.
Scheffler is the clear favorite at +1400, and rightly so. Not only is the Texas native the best player in the world, but he is the PGA Tour’s Round 1 scoring average leader this season, averaging a score of 67.5 over 10 opening rounds.
Patrick Cantlay (+4000), Collin Morikawa (+3500), Xander Schauffele (+2500), Jason Day (+6000) and Alex Noren (+8000) are also in the top-10 on tour in that category this season.
McIlroy, the second-favorite to lead after Thursday at +1800, is 22nd on tour with a 69.33 average. In his triumph at the Wells Fargo last week, Rory shot a first-round 67, three strokes behind the leader Schauffele.
Bryson DeChambeau led the field after round one at The Masters with a dazzling 7-under 65. The LIV golfer is the only player to hold an outright lead after the first round more than once in the last 10 majors.
Tournament | First Round Leader (Score) | Tournament Winner (Score) |
2024 Masters | Bryson DeChambeau (-7) | Scottie Scheffler (-11) |
2023 Open Championship | E. Grillo, T. Fleetwood, C. Lamprecht (-5) | Brian Harman (-13) |
2023 U.S. Open | R. Fowler, X. Schauffele (-8) | Wyndham Clark (-10) |
2023 PGA Championship | Bryson DeChambeau (-4) | Brooks Koepka (-9) |
2023 Masters | J. Rahm, B. Koepka, V. Hovland (-7) | Jon Rahm (-12) |
2022 Open Championship | Cameron Young (-8) | Cameron Smith (-20) |
2022 U.S. Open | Adam Hadwin (-4) | Matt Fitzpatrick (-6) |
2022 PGA Championship | Rory McIlroy (-5) | Justin Thomas (-5) |
2022 Masters | Sungjae Im (-5) | Scottie Scheffler (-10) |
Odds mentioned in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.