PGA Championship First Round Leader: 5 Picks, Predictions and Best Bets

First Round Leader Picks at a Glance

• Cameron Young (+2500)
• Xander Schauffele (+2700)
• Ludvig Åberg (+3000)
• Tommy Fleetwood (+4000)
• Nicolai Højgaard (+4500)

The 2026 PGA Championship tees it up at Aronimink Golf Club this week, with the first round starting on Thursday morning.

Which golfers stand out as good bets in the PGA Championship First Round Leader market at FanDuel Sportsbook?

All golf odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

First Round Leader Picks, Best Bets for the PGA Championship

Cameron Young (+2500)

Young is on fire, and the case for backing him to lead after 18 holes centers on his blazing-hot form. Over his last seven starts, he has six top-10 finishes, two wins, and a T3 at the Masters. In that stretch, he paces the entire field in total strokes gained tee-to-green. Where this gets interesting for this week is that his breakthrough PGA Tour win came at Sedgefield Country Club, another Donald Ross design, signaling a comfort level with this style of course. If you put a lot of weight into form when betting the FRL market, Young is right up your alley.

Xander Schauffele (+2700)

Schauffele is in one of the marquee morning groupings alongside Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton, and while Hatton and Koepka draw plenty of attention, the X-Factor for FRL purposes is Schauffele's relentless consistency in major championships. He is a two-time major winner who has been in the top 10 in scoring average in this field across the season, ranks among the best approach players in the world, and has made 23 of 24 major championship cuts in his career.

Ludvig Åberg (+3000)

Åberg is in the morning wave alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler, and that tee time matters as much as anything else in this pick. Morning conditions at Aronimink on Thursday are expected to be calm and cool, with calmer winds and softer greens that reward the kind of precision approach play Åberg has in his bag. He has posted top-8 finishes in five of his last six starts, ranks fourth in this field in total strokes gained tee-to-green, and gains strokes off the tee, on approach, and around the greens, too — a combination that makes him a dangerous player every time out.

Tommy Fleetwood (+4000)

If course history is your thing, Fleetwood is your guy. He has shot 62 at Aronimink. Twice. The Englishman owns a share of the course record, posting 62 twice at the 2018 BMW Championship. He arrives off a T5 at last week's Truist Championship, his fifth top-10 of 2026, with his iron play clicking and confidence sky high. All that's missing from Fleetwood's resume is a major win, and this might be the week for him to get it. But as far as this market goes, he's shown he can go very low here, and that's appealing.

Nicolai Højgaard (+4500)

Højgaard tees off in one of the first groups of the morning at 7:07 AM ET, so he should get to play most of his round on a soft course. Factor in that he arrives fresh off a T2 at the Truist Championship last week and T23 in Miami, and Højgaard checks some boxes. The 25-year-old missed the cut at the Masters, but his +4500 odds — same as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay — tell you that the FRL market has a good amount of respect for him.

Check out our PGA Championship best bets.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.