Sports Betting Futures Odds: Tiger Stumbles into PGA Championship; Johnson Favored

by Ricky Dimon - 8/7/2018

It's the season's final major; glory's last shot, as they say. Tiger Woods contended all the way to the back nine on Sunday at the British Open, but confidence from that performance may have evaporated with a dreadful weekend at the recent Bridgestone Invitational. Meanwhile, the 2018-19 English Premier League season is getting underway.

All odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook .

PGA Championship

Dustin Johnson (+800) - Johnson is pretty much the favorite at every tournament he enters these days, but he has delivered at a major only once (2016 U.S. Open). Although the world No. 1 missed the cut at last month's Open Championship, he won the RBC Canadian Open and is coming off a third-place showing at the Bridgestone.

Rory McIlroy (+1200) - While Johnson is looking for his first win at the PGA Championship (he has four top-10s), McIlory is already a two-time champ of this tournament (2012 and 2014). The Northern Irishman has bounced back from an MC at the U.S. Open with a runner-up finish at Carnoustie and a T6 at the Bridgestone.

Justin Thomas (+1400) - Thomas lifted the Bridgestone trophy last week, rolling to a four-shot victory at 15-under par. Thus, the second-ranked American has to be feeling great about defending his 2017 PGA Championship title (he won by two strokes over recent British Open winner Francesco Molinari last summer at Quail Hollow).

Jordan Spieth (+2000) - Nobody peaks for majors to a greater extent than Spieth. The 24-year-old was in disastrous form by his standards heading into the British Open only to play in the final pairing on Sunday before stumbling to a T9 finish. Spieth needs a PGA Championship victory to complete the career Grand Slam, so the pressure is on.

English Premier League

Manchester City (-150) - The 2018-19 Premier League season gets underway this week, starting with Manchester United vs. Leicester City on Friday. Manchester City kicks off its campaign with an intriguing showdown against Arsenal on Sunday. No defending champion has repeated since Man U in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Liverpool (+400) - On paper, there is no reason why Man City can't defend its title-aside from the aforementioned trend of defending-champ failures. If the Sky Blues falter, it may be because Liverpool rises to the fore. The Reds have won the EPL title a second-best 18 times but have not lifted the trophy since 1989-90.

Manchester United (+800) - Only United has won it all more times (20) than Liverpool. The Red Devils triumphed on five occasions from 2006 through 2013 but have since cooled off, watching the likes of Man City, Chelsea, and even Leicester City capture titles during this stretch. They were second last season, albeit 19 points out of first.

Chelsea (+1200) - Chelsea rolled to the title in 2016-17 but slumped to fifth last season to miss out on Champions League qualification. Maurizio Sarri has taken over as manager as he tries to make the most of a talent pool that includes Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud, and N'Golo Kante. Tottenham Hotspur is a +1600 fifth choice.

American League Pennant

Boston Red Sox (+200) - The Red Sox basically wrapped up the American League East with their recent four-game sweep of the Yankees. It would also take a borderline miracle for Houston to overtake them for the AL's best record (the Astros currently trail by 7.5 games). Boston also has MVP candidates pretty much all over the field.

Houston Astros (+210) - Houston's World Series title defense is going well so far, currently 30 games over .500 at 72-42. The Astros boast an incredible plus-201 run differential-even better than that of Boston. Right-hander Lance McCullers has an elbow strain that will keep him out until next month, but that is the only red flag.

New York Yankees (+325) - The bad news for New York, of course, is that it will likely be relegated to a one-game wild-card playoff before facing an ALDS date with the Red Sox if it is fortunate enough to win that contest. Still, the Yankees have all the tools with which to navigate a tough path, and Aaron Judge will be back for the playoffs.

Cleveland Indians (+600) - Cleveland's American League title defense went up in smoke last fall when the team blew a 2-0 ALDS lead over New York. The Indians are back in business this season, once again making a mockery of the AL Central with a 10-game cushion ahead of Minnesota. Corey Kluber is putting up Cy Young numbers.

NFL receiving leader

Antonio Brown (+255) - Brown has racked up the most yards among receivers in two of the last four seasons, including with a 1,533-yard performance in 2017. Ben Roethlisberger is back under center for the Steelers, and opposing defense will still have to respect running back Le'Veon Bell, so Brown should be in line for another big year.

Julio Jones (+500) - No one has been as consistent of late as Jones and Brown, with the Falcons' star finishing in the top three among receivers in each of the last four years. He was second the past two seasons and won the receiving title in 2015 by 37 yards over Brown. QB Matt Ryan should be feeling good with his recent extension.

DeAndre Hopkins (+950) - The Clemson connection worked wonders for a while in 2017, including a 224-yard outburst by Hopkins in a 41-38 loss to Seattle on Oct. 29. Even after Deshaun Watson went down with a torn ACL, Hopkins still managed to enjoy three more 100-yard games with Tom Savage, of all people, throwing him the football.

Odell Beckham, Jr. (+1000) - Beckham gained at least 1,305 yards in each of his first three NFL seasons before being limited to just four games last year because of an ankle injury. The former LSU standout has finished in the top 10 of this department three times despite playing a full 16-game slate only once. Health, of course, will be key.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 8:00 PM
Expert:	Scott Spreitzer
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Sports Betting Futures Odds: Tiger Stumbles into PGA Championship; Johnson Favored

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