NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — The opening stanza of the 108th PGA Championship told a story few saw coming: Aronimink Golf Club is wildly exceeding expectations.

The renovated Donald Ross classic was castigated by players and media alike ahead of the week. Fears of this championship devolving into a mindless long-drive contest dominated the discourse, with even the likes of Rory McIlroy labeling the strategy here as pure “bomb-and-gouge.”

Instead, what the world’s best got Thursday was a proper major championship examination. One demanding precision off the tee, disciplined positioning, spin control into greens and, above all else, patience.

The wind proved to be the perfect amplifier for Ross’ trademark sloped putting surfaces and tactical bunkering, helping produce the kind of jammed leaderboard major fans dream about. Seven players sit tied atop the board at 3-under, with over 40 within three shots.

For bettors, that’s where things get interesting.

A leaderboard this congested means premium names are suddenly available at discounts compared to their pre-tournament numbers. One hot round can vault a player from lurking to leading in the blink of an eye.

With that in mind, lets look at the odds to win the 2026 PGA Championship after Round 1:

• Scottie Scheffler +164
• Xander Schauffele +1175
• Jon Rahm +1225
• Min Woo Lee +2000
• Brooks Koepka +2450
• Collin Morikawa +2800
• Matt Fitzpatrick +3000
• Patrick Reed +3000
• Cameron Young +3200
• Alex Smalley +3200
• Justin Thomas +3600
• Jordan Spieth +3900

Draws

Xander Schauffele (+1175)

It feels like Xander Schauffele is living through a bit of a "Back to the Future" time warp back to 2023, right before he ripped off his run of two major championships.

After a rib injury early in 2025, Schauffele looked like a player searching for his place among the TOUR’s elite again. He carded just three top-10 finishes all season before inconspicuously snapping back to relevance with a win in Japan at the FedExCup Fall’s Baycurrent Classic.

Schauffele is quietly riding a stretch of five top-12 finishes in his last seven starts as he steadily rebuilds toward his ceiling. Even in what he called “the worst year of my career" last season, he still managed to show up at the majors with a T8 at the Masters and T7 at The Open. He followed that up with another T9 at Augusta just a month ago.

Schauffele sits just one shot back in the crowded 2-under pack and was one of the few players in the field to gain strokes in all four major Strokes Gained categories.

At this number, this feels like an ideal buy-low spot to get Schauffele into your stable.

Cameron Young (+3100)

If you were waiting for a signal to jump on Cameron Young at 1 over, consider this your blinking neon sign.

Young sits just four shots off the lead, yet his odds have drifted to 31/1, offering a massive clearance sale for a player whose evolution over the last year into a world-class closer has become impossible to ignore. Young lost ground on approach and around the greens Thursday, but if the forecast holds and warmer temperatures firm this place up even further, it sets up beautifully for the type of golf he thrives in.

We’ve seen it repeatedly where, as the scoring gets tougher, Young tends to rise. Those near-misses in majors provided the experience that matters in cauldrons like this, except now, Young is a multi-time winner.

If Aronimink were playing as advertised and we were barreling toward a winner at 20 under, I probably wouldn’t be pounding the table for THE PLAYERS champion. But if this turns into a proper survival test, there’s a real chance this is the cheapest number you’ll get on Young before he fully dials in.

Loose change

With a leaderboard this bunched, there are simply too many blue-chip names sitting at absurd prices not to sprinkle.

All it takes is catching the right side of a weather draw, a brief lull in the wind or one heater of a birdie run that suddenly becomes impossible to chase down.

A few names sitting on major Round 1 discounts:

• Ludvig Åberg (+7600)
• Tommy Fleetwood (+9800)
• Sam Burns (+8200)

And yes, even …

• Rory McIlroy (+9000)