Predictions and Betting Tips for the 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

After getting inspired by Phil Mickelson’s win at Kiawah Island, rest assured that the competitors at Southern Hills are fired up for the Senior PGA Championship. Many of the guys in the field are no strangers to this week’s venue, in fact, three of them have won prestigious events held on this very golf course.

On the heels of “Lefty” deciding to tee it up with the big boys at Colonial, Steve Stricker saunters in Tulsa as the heavy favorite to lift the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy. Jim Furyk follows behind, with Bernhard Langer and Alex Cejka rounding out the top four names on the Senior PGA Championship odds sheet. Kevin Sutherland remains sidelined with an injured knee.

I’ll kick off my Champions Tour predictions with a couple of bets I like in the prop markets. If you scope the best golf sportsbooks online, you’ll find odds for top-5 and top-10 finishes, as well as prices for the first-round lead (FRL).

Perhaps the juiciest market of all is the head-to-head matchup selection. Among these potential wagers, here are two that caught my attention thanks to the betting value attached.

Mike Weir has teed it up five times on the senior circuit since the calendar shifted to 2021. He kicked the year off with a T7 in Hawaii and has since added a runner-up and a victory. Mike’s dependable ball-striking this season is worth noting – he’s 12^th in driving distance and 10^th in GIR. However, it’s a spiffy short game that has enabled the left-handed Canadian to start shooting up leaderboards.  

“Weirsy” leads the Champions Tour in sand save % and clocks in 13^th in putting average.

For what it’s worth, Mike tied for 19^th at the 2001 US Open at Southern Hills. 

In this matchup of evenly-priced golfers, there are lots of similarities. Clarke ranks 18^th in GIR and 9^th in putting average; Jimenez is right there with him at 20^th and 10^th, respectively. Both are laid-back and do things in their own way, but there are some distinct discrepancies.

I’ll use the graphic below to illustrate some of the advantages.

These two men have played in the same three events this month: the Insperity Invitational, the Regions Tradition, and the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. Darren has beaten “The Mechanic” on all three occasions.

Laying just -115, Clarke over Jimenez is one of my top Senior PGA Championship picks.

Steve Stricker’s +350 price tag takes all the shine off betting on the Wisconsin native to win. On the flip side, another Wisconsinite is hanging out at a much more appealing number.

Sitting 3^rd in total driving and 4^th in GIR, Jerry Kelly arrives in Tulsa in quite the groove. 8^th or better in five of his six starts in 2021, Kelly’s been able to lean on a reliable short game that continues to put him in contention on the weekend.

On top of his prowess off the tee and with his irons, the 7-time winner on the 50-and-over circuit ranks 4^th in scrambling and 5^th in three-putt avoidance. Kelly’s won at least once in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. It’s only a matter of time until he emerges in 2021.