US PGA Championship 2026: Dave Tindall's each-way picks from 35/1 to 100/1

---

Introduction to the US PGA Championship

Sixty-four years on from Gary Player winning the 1962 US PGA Championship at Aronimink, the tournament returns there for a second time.

This was the third of Player's nine major wins as he beat future Masters champion Bob Goalby by a shot. Jack Nicklaus was tied for third.

Originally a Donald Ross design (1928), the course underwent a renovation by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2018.

It's now a par 70 measuring a fraction under 7,400 yards. The bentgrass greens are fast and undulating - the same attributes faced at Augusta National although they're not as quick.

The only two par 5s come at 9 (605 yards) and 16 (555 yards) while the final three of the four par 3s measure 242, 216 and 229 yards respectively although tees are likely to be moved forward at various points.

The official website says of the course: "Aronimink rewards precision over power, with rolling fairways, strategic bunkering, and classic green complexes that demand thoughtful shot-making.

"It's a course that challenges every part of a player's game."

Padraig Harrington described the rough as "extremely gnarly" after heading there for an early practice round last week.

---

Russell Henley each-way (10 Places) @ 35/136.00

Some ante-post bets generate the response 'what on earth was I thinking?' as the player in question arrives at the big day in awful form and at a much bigger price.

But occasionally they work out and hopefully some of you read my US PGA ante-post preview in January which tipped Cam Young for this at 80/181.00. Yes, that price really was there.

Young is definitely on my shortlist here - he is a win-only Exchange pick for Steve Rawlings - but he's now 12/113.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook. I also think this course looks ideal for defending champion Scottie Scheffler, the 9/25.50 favourite.

Rory McIlroy, a 15/28.50 shot, could easily follow up his Masters victory and let's not forget that he and Scheffler have won four of the last five majors between them.

But most years witness at least one new major winner (JJ Spaun 2025, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman 2023, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cam Smith 2022 etc) so let's look further down the betting at some contenders capable of winning who are available at decent odds in the 10-place market.

First up is Russell Henley at 35/136.00 (1/5 Odds, 10 places).

A very simplistic argument is that he's made the top 10 in five of the last seven majors. If majors are soap operas, Henley is becoming one of the regular cast members.

His latest strong performance at this level came via tied third at last month's Masters where he finished just two shots back from winner McIlroy.

That's quite a turnaround for a player who didn't manage a single top 10 in his first 32 majors.

Henley has been part of the world's top 10 for a while although his position there has been questioned. Perhaps that opinion is based on the old Henley.

The current one is a different animal though and Aronimink could be a great fit. It calls for placement off the tee much more than past US PGAs which were set up for bombers.

Henley ranks second in Driving Accuracy this season while 11th for Approaches from 150-175 yards is another plus as players will be hitting from that range much more than usual due to doglegs putting a cap on drives and often leaving that number.

We're on a Donald Ross course and Henley has a great record on the design legend's layouts.

In his last seven starts on Ross tracks he has six top 10s and that includes seventh in the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst.

While he hasn't played this course, the 37-year-old also has some location form having finished 10th on his last start in Pennsylvania - the 2025 US Open at Oakmont.

Lots of elements are in his favour but vastly improved confidence at this level may just be the one that gets him over the line.

As he said after being in the thick of Sunday contention at Augusta: "I feel like I handled it well, kind of like, I can do this."

---

Bet 2: Tyrrell Hatton each-way (10 Places) @ 40/141.00

If we're continuing the majors soap opera theme, Tyrrell Hatton is cast as the angry guy who is actually a nice bloke as his character becomes better known.

Hatton, it may surprise some, did actually finish tied 10th in two of his first four US PGAs (2016 and 2018).

In fact his majors record in the previous decade was pretty good: two top 10s in both 2016 and 2018, with another in 2019.

He then didn't make an impression for four years and that certainly stuck with him. "I think my major record would have been pretty abysmal up to that point, if I'm honest," he said recently.

"That point" was last year's US Open at nearby Oakmont when he posted fourth and it's worth noting that he also had a 14th and a 16th in the 2025 majors.

Add in his third at last month's Masters and Hatton has now made the top four in two of the last three majors.

I really like him to build on that record at Aronimink and part of the reason comes from this quote from his fellow Englishman, Justin Rose.

Rose won the 2010 AT&T National at Aronimink and was runner-up there in the 2018 BMW Championship. In between he won the US Open at Merion in 2013.

Aronimink and Merion are less than 10 miles apart and at that 2018 BMW Championship Rose was asked why he played so well on them. His reply: "I like traditional golf courses and this style of course. Reminds me of how I grew up playing, heathland and parkland golf, a mixture of that."

Hatton was raised playing those very same style of courses - he's a winner at Wentworth - so has the game to thrive at Aronimink. He played that 2018 BMW and closed with a 64 when 29th.

In his latest four starts on Ross courses, the Liverpool fan has a fourth in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, eighth at the Wyndham Championship, 15th in the US PGA at Oak Hill and 26th in the US Open at Pinehurst.

Since his top three at Augusta, he's added fifth at LIV Golf Mexico City and 17th at LIV Golf Virginia so has ticked over nicely.

And any thoughts that the negative LIV publicity has affected him, Hatton put to bed last week.

"I deleted X off my phone 2½ years ago, and I deleted Instagram almost two years ago. It's nice to not have social media and the negativity that kind of comes with that. So I definitely don't miss it." Wise move.

Hatton, who is about to become a father for the first time in a few weeks, can hopefully start the celebrations early with victory or, at least, a serious challenge.

---

Bet 3: Matt McCarty each-way (10 places) @ 100/1101.00

I looked at JJ Spaun, Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa for the final place in the staking plan.

But with 10 Places to go at (there's also a 12 Place market) I fancied having a player at a three-figure price.

And, on form, the one that leaps out is Matt McCarty.

The left-hander impressed when making the top 25 at Augusta and he hasn't put a foot wrong since.

McCarty was 12th at the RBC Heritage, 10th in the Zurich Classic pairs event, ninth in the Cadillac Championship and 10th in last week's Truist Championship.

Three of those are Signature events so he's been flying high in elite company.

The 28-year-old won the 2024 Black Desert Championship in just his third start on the PGA Tour and that followed promotion via three wins on the Korn Ferry earlier that year.

McCarty also made the top 15 on his US Masters debut in 2025 so he's clearly a hugely promising talent.

Stats-wise, he ranks 26th in Driving Accuracy, 45th in SG: Putting and is 9th for Approaches from 150-175 yards. All bode well for this test.

Donald Ross form? He made two starts on the designer's courses in 2025 and finished eighth (Wyndham) and 19th (Rocket Classic).

One potential negative is that this is his seventh week in a row.

That was put to him at last week's Truist Championship but he had a good answer to what is perceived as an unusually long streak.

"It's just a little bit more effort taking care of the body at the end of the day. [I'm] only two years removed from Korn Ferry Tour playing 14 out of 15 weeks so, it kind of feels a little bit more normal for me."

In other words, let's focus on him being in the groove rather than be put off by ideas of tiredness.

---

Now read Steve Rawlings' US PGA Championship preview

---

*You can follow me on Twitter @DaveTindallgolf

---