The final Major of the PGA TOUR season kicks off on Thursday \u2013 Kiawah Island will play host to the worlds best in the 2012 PGA Championship. \u00a0<\/p>\n
2012 PGA Championship<\/strong> Defending Champion:<\/strong> Keegan Bradley ($1,445,000)<\/p>\n Kiawah will play in incredible 7676 yards and along with the record length of the course the players will have some Major wind to deal with as well. Ball striking and putting will be key as always but length on this course will be critical as well. Look for the accurate bombers to do well and for the shorter hitters to have to rely on strong long iron play this week.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at some of the names to keep an eye on this week.<\/p>\n Tiger Woods 13\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n Actually came on to finish Top 10 at Firestone last week with an impressive 66 on Sunday. He is fourth on TOUR in ball-striking but his putter has been letting him down a tad recently. Still, with three wins on TOUR this year and his knack for showing up large in Majors, Tiger has to be in the conversation.<\/p>\n Luke Donald 15\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Donald also had a good tune-up last week \u2013 T8 at Firestone. He is 18th on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit, 12th in scrambling and ninth in bogey avoidance but maybe doesn\u2019t have the length here.<\/p>\n Lee Westwood 15\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n How about Westy for his first Major? I\u2019m hoping for him as are many in the Golf world. Westwood has the all-around game to contend this week and he also has more motivation than anyone.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy 20\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Finished T5 at Firestone last week and appears to be rounding into form with three Top 10s in his last five starts. McIlroy certainly has the length to contend but unfortunately his game isn\u2019t quite where it needs to be for this week.<\/p>\n Jason Dufner 25\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Dufner is Taylor made for this course \u2013 great distance off the tee and he is masterful with his irons. He recorded his seventh Top 10 of 2012 last week and is the most consistent player on TOUR at the moment. He is #2 on TOUR in ball striking, he never gets rattled and he should be good to go this weekend!<\/p>\n Graeme McDowell 30\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Has been money in the majors this year \u2013 top 5 in the last two. He is fourth on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit and 59th in greens in regulation but he just can\u2019t seem to break through for that elusive win.<\/p>\n Bubba Watson 30\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Watson leads the TOUR in distance and greens hit and he does have some history at the PGA Championship on Pete Dye designed courses \u2013 two years ago he lost in a playoff at this event. Watson has been OK since the US Open but not great however.<\/p>\n Matt Kuchar 30\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Has been on my radar for the last three weeks. He has eight top 10s this year and three in his last four starts overall. He is 33rd on TOUR in ball-striking, 13th in scrambling and fourth in bogey avoidance \u2013 good qualities for this course. Kuchar will be there on Sunday \u2013 it is just a matter of where.<\/p>\n Dustin Johnson 30\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Johnson has finished top 20 in his last two starts including a T9 at the British Open. Johnson\u2019s game is well suited for this track and he did play his college golf in Carolina. The starts may be aligning for Johnson who would love to avenge that victory that was snatched from him two years ago at this event \u2013 THAT WAS NOT A BUNKER!!!!<\/p>\n Steve Stricker 40\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Finished T2 at Firestone and has been top 25 in the last two majors and he has finished top 5 in two of his last three starts overall. If you are looking for someone who is good with the long irons and the putter \u2013 there is nobody better in the world. At 40\/1, Stricker offers some great value for the second week in a row.<\/p>\n Justin Rose 40\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Rose has been great on the European TOUR this year and he is coming off a T5 at the Bridgestone. He has nine top 10s in his last 14 starts worldwide. Rose is second on the PGA TOUR in GIR, 23rd in scrambling and sixth in bogey avoidance \u2013 good qualities for this track.<\/p>\n Louis Oosthuizen 50\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Looked good last week at Firestone \u2013 a fourth place finish and is looking better than he has in quite some time. He also played well in the British Open proving that he is rising to the occasion later in the season.<\/p>\n Charl Schwartzel 50\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Shot a 63 on Sunday last week to finish T24 but has struggled in majors this year \u2013 a T38 at the US open was his best finish. His superb long iron play should keep him in the hunt this week. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n Keegan Bradley 60\/1<\/strong><\/p>\n Bradley at 60\/1? He is the defending champion in this event and he is coming off a win against a superb field last week to break a slump. Bradley\u2019s confidence has to be high ahead of the PGA and at 60\/1 he provides serious value.<\/p>\n The pick this week is Dustin Johnson at 30\/1.<\/strong> He has the length, the motivation and most importantly he is comfortable with the conditions that he will be facing this weekend.<\/p>\n My sleeper is Louis Oosthuizen at 50\/1<\/strong>. He has been playing well and offers terrific value coming off an impressive outing last week.<\/p>\n CLICK TO BET\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nLocation: Kiawah Island, South Carolina, United States
\nCourse: Kiawah Island Golf Resort
\nDate: Aug 9-12, 2012
\nTotal Purse: US $ 8,000,000
\nWinner’s Share: US $ 1,445,000 (18% of total purse)<\/p>\nThe Favorites:<\/h3>\n
The Contenders:<\/h3>\n
The Sleepers:<\/h3>\n
The Pick:<\/h3>\n
2012 PGA Championship Betting Lines & Future Odds<\/h3>\n