2026 PGA Championship Pool Picks: Tiered Pool Strategy With Data
May 11, 2026 by
Here's our picks and data-driven strategy to help you win your 2026 PGA Championship Pool. Whether you're playing in a standard 6-tier pool by odds, or any other type of tiered pool setup, make sure you are using data to inform your picks this year.
Picks By Tier (click for context)
General Golf Pool Picking Strategy
- Pick guys that will make the cut
- Pick guys that others won't
- Use data, like past results at the tournament, odds, world ranking, and recent form. For these picks I used our free PGA Championship Pick Research tool. I weighed odds, recent PGA Championship finishes, recent major results, and current hot-hand streaks. Give it a try to do your own research.
Tier 1 Pick: Cameron Young 🔥
Young enters the PGA Championship on a remarkable hot streak: T10 at the Truist Championship, T3 Masters, won THE PLAYERS Championship.
He's OWGR #3 but priced at 15/1 — significant value compared to Scheffler at 3/1 who everyone will take.
All Tier 1 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler 🔥 | 1 | 3/1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 2 | 8/1 |
| Jon Rahm | 20 | 13/1 |
| Cameron Young 🔥 | 3 | 15/1 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 28 | 17/1 |
| Xander Schauffele 🔥 | 11 | 19/1 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | 4 | 20/1 |
| Ludvig Aberg 🔥 | 15 | 20/1 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 6 | 26/1 |
| Collin Morikawa | 5 | 36/1 |
Tier 2 Pick: Brooks Koepka
Koepka is a PGA Championship specialist above all else.
His OWGR (125) is artificially low due to LIV Golf, but anyone who watches him knows he elevates for majors.
He finished T12 at the 2026 Masters and is the best odds in the tier at 39/1.
All Tier 2 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Brooks Koepka | 125 | 39/1 |
| Justin Rose | 7 | 43/1 |
| Russell Henley | 9 | 47/1 |
| Si Woo Kim | 22 | 47/1 |
| Justin Thomas | 16 | 48/1 |
| Robert MacIntyre | 12 | 53/1 |
| Viktor Hovland | 27 | 54/1 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 30 | 54/1 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | 26 | 55/1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 51 | 59/1 |
Tier 3 Pick: Rickie Fowler 🔥
Fowler is the definition of a hot hand going into this major. His last three starts: T2 at Truist, T9 at Cadillac Championship, T8 at RBC Heritage — three consecutive top-10s.
At 70/1 with that kind of momentum, he's the best value in Tier 3. Avoid the groupthink picks like Matsuyama or Hideki — ride the hot hand.
All Tier 3 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Burns | 35 | 60/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 17 | 62/1 |
| Adam Scott | 46 | 64/1 |
| Rickie Fowler 🔥 | 37 | 70/1 |
| Chris Gotterup | 10 | 74/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 24 | 74/1 |
| Min Woo Lee | 31 | 78/1 |
| Ben Griffin | 14 | 80/1 |
| Sepp Straka | 13 | 84/1 |
| Shane Lowry | 38 | 90/1 |
Tier 4 Pick: Harris English
English finished T2 at the 2025 PGA Championship — that's the single most relevant data point in this tier.
Add a T4 at the Zurich Classic and T30 at the Masters.
At 105/1, very few people will have him, making him an ideal pool differentiator.
All Tier 4 Pick Options & Data
Sorted by odds. Highlighted row = our pick. Data from our PGA Championship Field by World Rank tool.
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Akshay Bhatia | 23 | 94/1 |
| Maverick McNealy | 33 | 94/1 |
| Jake Knapp | 39 | 94/1 |
| Joaquin Niemann | 167 | 94/1 |
| Jason Day | 41 | 96/1 |
| J.J. Spaun | 8 | 100/1 |
| Kurt Kitayama | 34 | 100/1 |
| Harris English | 21 | 105/1 |
| Nicolai Hojgaard | 29 | 110/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 47 | 110/1 |
Tier 5 Pick: Kristoffer Reitan
Reitan just won the Truist Championship in his most recent start.
He also posted T14 at the Cadillac Championship and T10 at the Valero Texas Open.
All Tier 5 Pick Options & Data
Sorted by odds. Highlighted row = our pick. Data from our PGA Championship Field by World Rank tool.
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| David Puig | 62 | 110/1 |
| Jacob Bridgeman | 19 | 120/1 |
| Michael Thorbjornsen | 63 | 120/1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 32 | 125/1 |
| Corey Conners | 50 | 140/1 |
| Kristoffer Reitan | 25 | 145/1 |
| Alex Fitzpatrick | 83 | 150/1 |
| Sudarshan Yellamaraju | 105 | 150/1 |
| Harry Hall | 57 | 155/1 |
| Sungjae Im | 67 | 155/1 |
Tier 6 Pick: Alexander Noren
Noren is the anti-groupthink pick in Tier 6.
His PGA Championship history is the best in this tier: T17 in 2025, T12 in 2024.
He makes cuts and posts solid scores at this event.
Recent form is steady: T7 at Cadillac, T31 Truist.
All Tier 6 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Noren | 18 | 160/1 |
| Sahith Theegala | 76 | 160/1 |
| Thomas Detry | 61 | 165/1 |
| Marco Penge | 40 | 170/1 |
| Sam Stevens | 49 | 175/1 |
| Wyndham Clark | 71 | 175/1 |
| Alex Smalley | 78 | 175/1 |
| Keith Mitchell | 109 | 175/1 |
| Daniel Berger | 42 | 185/1 |
| Ryan Gerard | 36 | 200/1 |
| Nick Taylor | 58 | 200/1 |
| Rasmus Hojgaard | 64 | 210/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | N/A | 210/1 |
| Pierceson Coody | 55 | 230/1 |
| Aaron Rai | 44 | 240/1 |
| Jordan L. Smith | 68 | 240/1 |
| Angel Ayora Fanegas | 107 | 240/1 |
| Bud Cauley | 66 | 250/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 131 | 250/1 |
| Matthew McCarty | 43 | 260/1 |
| Jayden Trey Schaper | 65 | 260/1 |
| Brian Harman | 53 | 270/1 |
| Ryan Fox | 56 | 270/1 |
| J.T. Poston | 79 | 270/1 |
| Taylor Pendrith | 86 | 270/1 |
| Michael Kim | 45 | 290/1 |
| Ryo Hisatsune | 59 | 290/1 |
| Denny McCarthy | 99 | 290/1 |
| Max Homa | 123 | 290/1 |
| Cameron Smith | N/A | 290/1 |
| Tom McKibbin | 108 | 300/1 |
| Rico Hoey | 88 | 320/1 |
| Matt Wallace | 69 | 325/1 |
| Hao-Tong Li | 80 | 330/1 |
| Ricky Castillo | 90 | 330/1 |
| Michael Brennan | 52 | 350/1 |
| Max Greyserman | 70 | 360/1 |
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | 92 | 375/1 |
| Stephan Jaeger | 100 | 375/1 |
| Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | 77 | 390/1 |
| Aldrich Potgieter | 75 | 400/1 |
| Andrew Novak | 54 | 420/1 |
| Patrick Rodgers | 73 | 430/1 |
| Daniel Hillier | 96 | 430/1 |
| Max McGreevy | 80 | 460/1 |
| Chris Kirk | 98 | 480/1 |
| Billy Horschel | 117 | 480/1 |
| Casey Jarvis | 72 | 490/1 |
| Ian Holt | 113 | 490/1 |
| John Parry | 87 | 500/1 |
| William Mouw | 132 | 500/1 |
| Steven Fisk | 134 | 500/1 |
| Nicolas Echavarria | 48 | 525/1 |
| Garrick Higgo | 85 | 525/1 |
| John Keefer | 74 | 550/1 |
| Austin Smotherman | 84 | 575/1 |
| Matthias Schmid | 97 | 575/1 |
| Sami Valimaki | 60 | 600/1 |
| Andrew Putnam | 82 | 600/1 |
| Lucas Glover | 93 | 625/1 |
| Daniel Brown | 102 | 625/1 |
| Jhonattan Vegas | 126 | 750/1 |
| Emiliano Grillo | 115 | 800/1 |
| Mikael Lindberg | 137 | 850/1 |
| Adrien Saddier | 101 | 1000/1 |
| Bernd Wiesberger | N/A | 1000/1 |
| Elvis Smylie | 94 | 1100/1 |
| Kota Kaneko | 192 | 1300/1 |
| Stewart Cink | N/A | 1300/1 |
| David Lipsky | 91 | 1500/1 |
| Andy Sullivan | 106 | 1500/1 |
| Chandler Blanchet | 112 | 1500/1 |
| Joe Highsmith | 151 | 1800/1 |
| Travis Smyth | 145 | 2000/1 |
| Adam Schenk | 155 | 2000/1 |
| Davis Riley | 141 | 2250/1 |
| Brian Campbell | 104 | 4000/1 |
| Martin Kaymer | N/A | 4000/1 |
| Kazuki Higa | 152 | 4500/1 |
| Padraig Harrington | N/A | 4500/1 |
| Jordan Gumberg | N/A | 4500/1 |
| Jason Dufner | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Shaun Micheel | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Jimmy Walker | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Luke Donald | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Y.E. Yang | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Austin Hurt | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Ben Kern | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Ben Polland | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Braden Shattuck | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Bryce Fisher | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Chris Gabriele | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Derek Berg | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Francisco Bide | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Garrett Sapp | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Jared Jones | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Jesse Droemer | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Mark Geddes | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Michael Block | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Michael Kartrude | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Paul McClure | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Ryan Lenahan | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Ryan Vermeer | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Timothy Wiseman | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Tyler Collet | N/A | 5000/1 |
| Zach Haynes | N/A | 5000/1 |
Do Your Research With PGA Championship Picks Research Tools
Don't just copy my picks, do your research! Here are a couple free tools to help you make your picks:
Start Your Golf Pool Now!
Have Fun & Happy Pooling!
Good luck with your 2026 PGA Championship pool! Reach out with any questions or other pool ideas via our contact page.
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