Rory McIlroy vs. Scottie Scheffler: PGA Championship Matchup Bets

Iain MacMillan | May 14, 2025

Rory McIlroy is favored against Scottie Scheffler in a head-to-head matchup bet at the PGA Championship. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Predicting which golfer is going to win a tournament in a field of 156 competitors is extremely difficult to do, but that's not the only way to bet on golf. One of the more popular ways to bet this week’s PGA Championship is on head-to-head matchups.

All you need to do to win these bets is predict which of two golfers is going to finish further up the leaderboard than the golfer he’s matched up against. If you want to dip your toe into the matchup world, I have three that I love for this week’s major at Quail Hollow.

PGA Championship Head-to-Head Bets

Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook

• Rory McIlroy (-118) vs. Scottie Scheffler
• Ludvig Åberg (+105) vs. Collin Morikawa
• Patrick Cantlay (-105) vs. Joaquin Niemann

Rory McIlroy (-118) vs. Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the top two favorites this week, and all eyes will be on them. McIlroy is aiming to win a second straight major while Scheffler is seeking his first major outside of the Masters.

BetMGM has McIlroy as a slight favorite to beat Scheffler this week, which makes sense when you consider the one major advantage the Northern Irishman has over the American this week: course history. McIlroy has won four PGA Tour events at Quail Hollow in his career, while Scheffler has never teed it up at this course in individual stroke play. The only time he played here was at the 2022 Presidents Cup, and Scheffler failed to live up to expectations, going 0–3–1.

That course experience is enough to give McIlroy the edge in this matchup.

Ludvig Åberg (+105) vs. Collin Morikawa

People are staying away from Ludvig Åberg because of his poor recent form, finishing T54 at the RBC Heritage and T60 at the Truist Championship. Even with that being the case, I can’t overlook how perfectly this course fits his game. His distance off the tee is going to give him a significant advantage on the field, especially against the likes of Collin Morikawa, who ranks 156th on the PGA Tour in driving distance this season.

Let’s also remember that Åberg has stepped up his game at majors. He missed two straight cuts before finishing solo seventh at the Masters this year, so don’t be surprised if he brings his best stuff this week. I love getting him at plus-money against Morikawa.

Patrick Cantlay (-105) vs. Joaquin Niemann

Patrick Cantlay is quietly coming into this event in fantastic form. He finished T4 last week at the Truist Championship, including gaining +1.71 true strokes with his approach play. He’s also sneaky long off the tee, which is going to allow him to keep pace with the top golfers in the field.

Joaquin Niemann has everything you want in a golfer who can compete at Quail Hollow this week, outside of his past play at major championships. He has never finished better than T16 at a major, including finishing T29 at the Masters last month despite being a popular dark horse leading into the event.

Give me Cantlay in this head-to-head matchup.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!