Who’s going to catch up to Scheffler for the 2026 PGA season?
After the usual tune-up events with a softer field in Hawaii, where PGA Tour predictions are pretty much a crapshoot, things always start to get more serious with the WM Phoenix Open. Bettors are done with NFL until September, and Phoenix is the first real test of the 2026 PGA Tour Season.
Scottie finished in 3rd spot at TPC Scottsdale and he looks like he’s ready to continue dominating this year. Rory’s back in the #2 spot. Brooks is back on the Tour after the LIV divorce. And the Masters ads started before the confetti started falling at the Super Bowl…
Golf is back.
Golf betting is too, and the PGA Futures for all the majors – the Masters, the PGA Championship, the Open Championship and the U.S. Open are full of early season value, before the books have new data from this season to plug into the PGA odds and lines.
Check the latest odds at Lucky Rebel.
Scottie Scheffler
Dominance.
Scheffler flies under the radar when it comes to talking about golf’s all-time greats because he’s the complete opposite of Woods, Nicklaus, or Palmer. He’s so boring off the course that it takes away from his actual place in the golf betting public’s mind. But he’s the most dominant player since Woods and the books know it, even if the casual betting public prefers more sizzle.
The following stats should make him chalk for the next decade, as long as he stays healthy (and he stays away from cops guarding the club gates at 5 in the morning).
- Scheffler has held the world No. 1 ranking for over 175 weeks, the longest continuous stretch since the Official World Golf Rankings started in 1986.
- He’s only 29 but already owns 4 majors and 20 PGA Tour wins, putting him with Woods and the Golden Bear as the only players to hit those numbers before age 30.
- His 2025 season featured 5 official PGA Tour wins that included two majors, after a 7-win 2024 season.
- He hit almost $28 million on the money list last season, $10M more than second-place Tommy Fleetwood.
There’s an entire book on Scheffler’s stats that we could write. But heading into every tournament he’s sitting miles ahead of the pack when it comes to golf odds. Scheffler’s Masters odds are currently at +300. This means golf betting fans typically don’t find a ton of value in betting Scheffler to win outright. The odds to win a major in 2025? Even sharper. Scheffler’s
-135 puts him as the only golfer without a + in front of his number.
The only big number next to Scheffler’s name is the +1600 for him to win 3+ majors in 2026. Tempting for some, but there are too many contenders on any given weekend.
You’re betting off fading the golf futures when it comes to betting him. Focus on live PGA betting and stats closer to the event, where his most current form – and the form of his competition – will tell you if he’s worth taking.
Rory McIlroy
Rory has had to spend time in Woods’ shadow and now Scheffler’s.
But throughout, he has stayed in the top tier of golfers for well over a decade, and he’s a decent value threat to win every weekend.
Especially for the 2026 season. He spent much of the last 3 seasons leading the PGA in its battle against LIV, and only last year started to be able to just focus on the course again.
McIlroy took home 3 PGA trophies last season, to go with 8 top-10 finishes overall. The highlight, of course, was his 2025 Masters win, after 10+ years of close calls. Many golf bettors thought that win would propel him to an epic season, but Scheffler got in the way and the rest of the pack reeled him in. McIlroy is still #2 in the OWGR, and still sitting second in most majors’ odds for the 2026 season. But winning only twice more after April has cooled his odds off.
For this year’s Masters as the current Green Jacket holder, McIlroy is currently listed at +700. A much more appealing number to wager on than Scottie’s +300.
Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood
The two British golfers are #3 and #4 in the world currently, and both have the game and the mental capacity to take home any tournament they’re in.
Rose has found the fountain of youth in his golf career. He turned in 7 top-10s last season, won the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and was a force in the Ryder Cup, leading Team Europe to dominate Team USA.
Rose finished 2nd at Augusta last year, which makes his +2500 listing for the 2026 Masters look like some of the best value on the board. He’s got 7 top-10 finishes at the Masters in his career.
The Englishman is just made for the mental test of majors, an edge he has over the younger players on tour (they’re almost all younger than he is). Rose to finish in the top 20 at all 4 majors is also an appealing play at +1200.
Fleetwood could also be the breakout player of the 2026 season.
He closed out 2025 with the first win on the PGA Tour of his long-ish career, with a 3rd and a 4th in the weeks leading up to it.
Look at Fleetwood for some regular event wins early in the season but fade him at the majors. He had 6 straight top-25s to start his 2025 season, but missed the cut at the U.S. Open. His best major finish was just T16 last season.
Brooks Koepka The first big-time player to leave the LIV Tour and head back to the PGA, Koepka is the dark horse for 2026 golf tournaments.
He’s got the game to get back on top of course, with 5 majors to his name already. But Koepka missed the cut at Phoenix in February, and it shows that he’s going to have to get familiar with the PGA course layouts and the 4-day format again. We’ll fade him for now, but catch him early for the best PGA odds if he starts heating up for a few weeks ahead of a major.