USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Tips: Three Players To Make Fast Starts
The USPGA Championship gets under way on Thursday when hopefully the thunderstorms and rain which has fallen will die away.
Rory McIlroy is the 5/1 favourite on betting sites to follow up his US Masters success and win this tournament for the third time.
The Northern Irishman is also The Panel’s headline tip to win at Quail Hollow, a course where he has won four times and finished runner-up once.
But there are plenty of each-way places available and The Panel have also picked out a few USPGA longshots and top 20/30 selections this week.
However, this column is all about finding a player that can get off to a fast start and with that in mind, here are three USPGA Championship first-round leader tips.
USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Odds: Stick With Schauffele
Schauffele is making excellent progress in his recovery from a rib injury which curtailed the early part of his season and he has now finished inside the top 20 in four successive tournaments, including last month’s US Masters.
Perhaps what is less well known is that the world number three has burst out of the blocks in his last two appearances at Quail Hollow.
Two years ago, the American was just a shot behind Tommy Fleetwood after the opening round and 12 months later he topped the leaderboard after Thursday’s play, three shots clear of his nearest rival, one of which was McIlroy.
Defending champ Xander Schauffele talks to the media.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/zoZ3ksN2Ii
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 14, 2025
The American has been no lower than 35th after the first round in his last four outings, but Schauffele has been runner-up at this course in the last two years, so it’s clearly a track he likes.
He has been paired with McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who is making his debut at Quail Hollow, so he could not have asked for a more high-profile group to kickstart his week.
Hopefully, McIlroy’s prowess on this course will help drag him along on the opening day for which he is 35/1 with golf betting sites to top the leaderboard.
USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Prediction 1: Xander Schauffele First-Round Leader - 35/1 With BoyleSports (Six Places)
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USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Tips:
- Xander Schauffele First-Round Leader - 35/1 With BoyleSports (Six Places)
- Keith Mitchell First-Round Leader - 75/1 With Bet365 (Five Places)
- Patrick Reed First-Round Leader - 70/1 With BoyleSports (Six Places)
(Odds correct at time of publication - 4pm, May 14, 2025)
USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Tips: Make Mitchell A Fast Starter
Keith Mitchell appears as one of The Panel’s USPGA Championship each-way tips, but he cannot be ignored in the first-round leader market.
Remarkably, the American has led the field after the opening day in three of his last five tournaments and he was second in the other two!
If you need any more convincing, Mitchell was fourth after round one at the Wells Fargo Championship, hosted by Quail Hollow, in 2021, having been eighth in his previous appearance two years earlier.
Mitchell is one of the later starters on Thursday when sun and cloud seem to be the order of the day, and with negligible wind throughout the day, he looks worth a whirl at 75/1 for first-round leader.
USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Prediction 2: Keith Mitchell First-Round Leader - 75/1 With Bet365 (Five Places)
(Odds correct at time of publication - 4pm, May 14, 2025)
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USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Predictions: Reed To Roar On Day One
Patrick Reed is the last of The Panel’s USPGA Championship first-round leader tips at 70/1 with betting apps.
The American has spent the last few seasons plying his trade on the LIV Golf Tour with the likes of Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, but has yet to win a tournament despite the limited fields.
Reed, though, has finished inside the top 10 in three of his last four visits to Quail Hollow and although he hasn’t played here since 2021, the memories are sure to start flooding back now that he is in Charlotte.
He has also topped the leaderboard on the opening day in the last couple of months, first on an Asian Tour event in Macau and then again at LIV Golf Miami.
Reed has missed the cut just once in his last 20 major outings and he was third at the Masters, so he can clearly still cut it at elite level and hopefully the early start with Jordan Spieth and Ludvig Aberg will be to his advantage.
USPGA Championship First-Round Leader Prediction 3: Patrick Reed First-Round Leader - 70/1 With BoyleSports (Six Places)
