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Collin Morikawa 2023 PGA Championship: Best Bets & Predictions

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The PGA Championship used to bat cleanup as the fourth and final major of the season, but this will be the fifth time that the PGA has been held in May, in between the Masters and the U.S. Open.

Justin Thomas is the defending champion. He shot a final-round 67 at Southern Hills last year and beat Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win the Wanamaker Trophy, the giant piece of hardware awarded annually to the PGA champ. Thomas and Brooks Koepka have combined to win four of the last six PGA Championships, with Collin Morikawa and Phil Mickelson interrupting the Thomas/Koepka reign in 2020 and 2021.

This year’s PGA Championship returns Oak Hill in Pittsford, N.Y., where Jason Dufner finished -10 to win the 2013 PGA, beating runner-up Jim Furyk by two strokes. But the East Course at Oak Hill will look much different than it did at the last PGA here 10 years ago. Course architect Andrew Green presided over a major remodeling intended to make the course more faithful to the original Donald Ross design. The course will once again play at par-70, and after playing at 7,163 yards in 2013, it has been stretched to 7,400 for this year’s event.

Will favorites Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler flex their muscles at Oak Hill? Will Thomas and Koepka extend their stretch of PGA dominance? Or will an unexpected winner emerge from the field the way Jimmy Walker did at Baltusrol in 2016? Read on for betting profiles of the top contenders for the 2023 PGA Championship.

Check out our 2023 PGA Championship Betting Guide >>

Collin Morikawa 2023 PGA Championship Best Bets

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Collin Morikawa Stats to Know

    • Best odds to win: +3200 (FanDuel)
    • World ranking: 16
    • Best PGA Championship finish: 1 (2020)
    • Last three PGA Championship finishes: 1, T8, T55
    • Last four tournament finishes: T10, T31, MC, MC

Collin Morikawa Course History

Collin Morikawa has appeared in three PGA Championships since turning pro in 2019. In his PGA debut and just the second major of his career, Morikawa had one of the most memorable weekends in tournament history, firing a 65 and a 64 at TPC Harding Park to secure his first major championship in his home state of California. He followed that up with a T8 at the 2021 PGA before a disappointing T55 finish in Southern Hills in 2022.

Collin Morikawa Recent Form

Morikawa’s play in 2023 has been pretty solid so far, but it seems he is a couple of small adjustments away from reaching the level he wants to be at. He had a great start to 2023 with a runner-up finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and followed that up with a third-place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. After that, Morikawa was erratic over the next few months, missing two cuts in his next three events. In between those two MCs was a T6 finish at the Genesis Invitational after a Sunday 67. He picked it up a bit in March and April, including a T13 at the Players Championship and a T10 finish at the Masters. Things were looking up for Morikawa after good finishes in events with strong fields, but he eventually fell off the rails again with missed cuts in his last two starts at the Zurich Classic and the Wells Fargo.

Collin Morikawa Betting Outlook

Morikawa comes into this week’s PGA Championship with four top-10 finishes on the year and sits 21st in the FedEx Cup rankings, but there is more to be desired from Morikawa. His best odds sit at +3200 — a telling indication that something is off for this former PGA champion. But Morikawa hasn’t been stroking the ball all that badly. He’s fourth on the Tour in driving accuracy and strokes gained: approach to green, and he sits fifth in greens in regulation %. His trouble this season has been on the greens, where he’s been surprisingly bad. Morikawa’s putting stats have been brutal, as he’s 161st in strokes gained: putting, 146th in putts per round, and 130th in one-putt %. Frankly, he’s just not going to conquer a major championship field with the putting form he’s been in. It’s paramount for Morikawa to gain confidence with the putter, as he will be tested all week, and he’ll need to sink tough putts on Sunday if he’s in contention. Morikawa’s game is built for majors, but his recent putting form will keep me away from any outright bets. I’m looking to back Morikawa with a top-10 and top-20 bet at a decent number and will be looking for a favorable round match bet with him if he gets matched up with a golfer who has less experience in majors.

2023 PGA Championship Golfer Profiles

Check out our previews for each of the top golfers competing at Oak Hill this week:

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