PGA Championship Best Bets Today: Rory McIlroy vs. Ludvig Aberg, Jon Rahm vs. Xander Schauffele

The first round of the 2026 PGA Championship and the Aronimink Golf Club showed some bite.

Plenty of people, myself included, thought we'd see a low-scoring affair on Thursday, but not a single golfer in the field managed to post a score better than three-under. Seven different golfers are tied for first with that exact score, so it's still anyone's tournament to win.

If you're looking to get in on some second-round bets, you're in the right place. Let's dive into three of my favorites.

PGA Championship Round 2 Bets

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Ludvig Aberg +115 vs. Rory McIlroy
Patrick Reed -124 vs. Shane Lowry
Xander Schauffele -105 vs. Jon Rahm

Ludvig Aberg +115 vs. Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy had a baffling opening round, and it wasn't just bad putting luck. He lost -0.94 strokes with his approach play and gained only +0.10 strokes off the tee. I'm not sure if that's the type of golf that can be turned around within a day.

DraftKings has him paired up with Ludvig Aberg, who showed more promise on Thursday despite finishing at +2. He gained strokes with his ball striking, but lost over a stroke on the green, something that doesn't happen often to the Swede.

I'll take Aberg as the underdog and hope McIlroy struggles for a second straight round.

Patrick Reed -124 vs. Shane Lowry

Of all golfers in the field, it's Patrick Reed who led the field in strokes-gained approach in the opening round at +3.75. He's not going to have the length off the tee to win this week, but he's going to be a great bet in many matchup bets if he can keep this level of iron play up.

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry gained the majority of his strokes with his play around the greens. While impressive, chipping has the highest level of variance of the four main areas of golf, and if a golfer gets off to a hot start because of a good day chipping, it's much harder to sustain the rest of the tournament.

Xander Schauffele -105 vs. Jon Rahm

Much like Lowry, Jon Rahm gained the majority of his strokes in the opening round with strong play around the greens, gaining 2.58 strokes on the field in that area. He gained only +1.73 strokes with his ball striking, which could be a worrying sign moving forward.

Xander Schauffele didn't have his best stuff today, but he gained strokes in all four major areas, a sign of consistency moving forward. I'm surprised to see him set as the slight underdog in this matchup, so I'll take the American to win this matchup.

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