Draws And Fades: Xander Schauffele Set To Separate From Pretenders At Aronimink

18H AUG

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PGA Championship: Contenders, pretenders, full Aronimink rundown after Round 1

Written by Jimmy Reinman

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

The renovated Donald Ross basic was punished by gamers and media alike forward of the week. Fears of this championship returning right into a senseless long-drive contest dominated the discourse, with even the likes of

Rory McIlroy labeling the technique right here as pure “bomb-and-gouge.”

Instead, what the world’s greatest bought Thursday was a correct main championship examination. One demanding precision off the tee, disciplined positioning, spin management into greens and, above all else, endurance.

The wind proved to be the proper amplifier for Ross’ trademark sloped placing surfaces and tactical bunkering, serving to produce the sort of jammed leaderboard main followers dream about. Seven gamers sit tied atop the board at 3-under, with over 40 inside three pictures.

For bettors, that is the place issues get attention-grabbing.

A leaderboard this congested means premium names are all of a sudden obtainable at reductions in contrast to their pre-tournament numbers. One sizzling spherical can vault a participant from lurking to main within the blink of an eye fixed.

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

Xander Schauffele (+1175)

It seems like Xander Schauffele resides by a little bit of a “Back to the Future” time warp again to 2023, proper earlier than he ripped off his run of two main championships.

After a rib harm early in 2025, Schauffele regarded like a participant looking for his place among the many TOUR’s elite once more. He carded simply three top-10 finishes all season earlier than inconspicuously snapping again to relevance with a win in Japan at the FedExCup Fall’s Baycurrent Classic.

Schauffele is quietly using a stretch of 5 top-12 finishes in his final seven begins as he steadily rebuilds towards his ceiling. Even in what he referred to as “the worst 12 months of my profession” 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 only one shot again within the crowded 2-under pack and was one of many few gamers within the discipline to acquire strokes in all 4 main Strokes Gained classes.

At this quantity, this seems like a really perfect buy-low spot to get Schauffele into your secure.

PGA Championship: Contenders, pretenders, full Aronimink rundown after Round 1

If you have been ready for a sign to bounce on Cameron Young at 1 over, think about this your blinking neon signal.

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.

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

All it takes is catching the correct facet of a climate draw, a short lull within the wind or one heater of a birdie run that all of a sudden turns into not possible to chase down.

A couple of names sitting on main Round 1 reductions: