Tipster Martin Mathews reckons Matt McCarty can get off to a flyer.
The USPGA Championship tees off on Thursday as the second tournament of four men’s major golf competitions in 2026.
Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania is the stage for four days of action and Paddy has you covered with a full set of USPGA Championship odds.
Ahead of the competition start, all eyes are back on Rory McIlroy following the defence of his Masters crown in April, but the Northern Irishman has not won the PGA since 2014.
With our main outright bets all locked and loaded for the PGA Championship it’s time to take a look at the different speciality markets available and Paddy has done us proud pricing up a wide raft of options to choose from. So, let’s get tipster Martin Mathews’ best bets.
USPGA tips
1st Round Leader – Matt McCarty/Nick Taylor
Top Continental European – Sepp Straka (Each-Way)
Top debutant – Sudarshan Yellamaraju
Top 20 Finish – JJ Spaun
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
1st Round Leader – Matt McCarty/Nick Taylor
The weather forecast for Thursday doesn’t show much advantage for either the early morning or afternoon wave of tee-off times, so I’ll side with one from the AM and one from the PM.
Matt McCarty heads out at 7.29am local time. He’s started 2026 slowly, however, since a solid 24th at Augusta he’s produced some great stuff and posted three consecutive top 12 finishes in Signature events.
Accurate off the tee, McCarty possesses an excellent touch on the greens, which should certainly hold him in good stead here. He opened last week’s Truist Championship with a 63 to take the round one lead and I can see him starting quickly again this week.
I’m also siding with is Nick Taylor who gets underway at 1.16pm local time. Taylor has run into form of late, finishing ninth and 14th over the last two weeks in Signature events.
The key to Taylor’s up tick in form has been his ability to get out of the blocks quickly, posting 66’s on each of the last two Thursdays. He also currently sits fourth on the tour for Round 1 scoring averages this season.
A five-time tour winner, Taylor would be the first to admit his Major record is underwhelming. However at Aronimink he faces a test where his strong iron play will benefit him, and his lack of length off the tee shouldn’t disadvantage him too much.
The Canadian looks good value for another strong Day 1 performance this week.
TOP CONTINENTAL EUROPEAN – Sepp Straka (EACH-WAY)
The next market grabbing my attention is the Top Continental European where I’ll take Sepp Straka.
Straka comes to the fore where strong iron play is required and this certainly looks to be the case at Aronimink. The Austrian had a poor week at Quail Hollow, however, he still ranked 16th in approach play with the short game letting him down. Prior to that he was fourth at Doral, so his game is in good shape. A win last year when the Truist Championship was played nearby in Pennsylvania is also a positive.
I noted my concerns over LIV players in general in my main outright preview so I’m happy to take out Jon Rahm. Of the others ahead of Straka in this market, Viktor Hovland continues struggle while I don’t see this as a course to really suit Nicolai Hojgaard.
Ludvig Aberg will no doubt perform strongly as he rarely has an off week, but Straka is underrated in the market, and with an each-way safety net he’s the bet.
Top debutant – Sudarshan Yellamaraju
Paddy has priced a top debutant market, and while in form duo of Kristoffer Reitan and Alex Fitzpatrick are worthy market leaders, the one I like at the odds is Sudarshan Yellamaraju.
As a rookie on tour this year, Yellamaraju has taken to the big league like a duck to water, missing only one cut back in January. Since then he’s posted five top 20 finishes with a best of fifth at the Players.
The key to the Canadian’s success is that he does everything well and ranks 22nd from tee to green, 26th in approach and 40th in putting.
Third favourite in this market Pierceson Coody has seen his form has plateaue of late, after a hot start to the year. I’ll take the consistency of Yellamaraju to come out on top.
Top 20 Finish – JJ Spaun
Moving on to the Top 20 Finish market and I will play JJ Spaun. The thought of Spaun winning two Majors in two years is quite fanciful, but there’s lots to like about how his game has been trending of late, with a 14th and a fifth in his last two starts to follow a recent win in Texas.
Spaun’s strength’s lie in his tee to green game, he currently ranks 14th on tour in this department and ninth in approach play, so he has the tools to plot his way round Aronimink.
HIs last trip to Pennsylvania for a Major memorably saw him land the US Open at Oakmont. He will undoubtedly have positive vibes returning to the area again and he looks good value for another strong week and a top 20 finish.
USPGA tips
1st Round Leader – Matt McCarty/Nick Taylor
Top Continental European – Sepp Straka (Each-Way)
Top debutant – Sudarshan Yellamaraju
Top 20 Finish – JJ Spaun
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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