McIlroy favourite to add US PGA to his Open victory

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy will be hoping to make it two Major wins on the bounce this year at the US PGA in Valhalla, after winning the Open Championship at Hoylake earlier this summer. Ahead of golf’s last Major of 2014, Coral are offering new and existing customers a free £10 in-play bet, if they stake £10 prior to the competition starting.

At 5/1, McIlroy is the favourite with Coral to claim victory again in the United States, after winning the tournament in 2012. The world number one is in the form of his life at the moment and is looking more and more like the finished article. He demonstrated percentage play of the highest quality at the Royal Liverpool club, and was mature in his decision making, an attribute that will aid him well on a tough course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Value, however, may lie in an each way bet on McIlroy’s training partner Rickie Fowler, who has consistently finished in the top five of every Major this year, and is surprisingly fifth-favourite at 25/1 behind Adam Scott (12/1), Justin Rose (16/1) and Sergio Garcia (18/1). Having ended in eighth place at Firestone in the run-up to the US PGA Championship, he has done his chances no harm at all, and is in the perfect position to pounce.

It is perhaps hard to ignore Spaniard Sergio Garcia’s recent form, after a joint runner-up finish at Hoylake and a second place at Firestone, though he needs to maintain momentum to not let frustration get the better of him. At 18/1, he certainly has a chance and could be worth an each way punt.

When he gets it all together, Matt Kuchar is a terrific golfer, though from one week to the next, no-one knows which version they’re going to see. Odds of 33/1 suggest he is a firm outsider and, while at the moment he seems to have a long way to go to get to McIlroy’s standards, with the Ryder Cup around the corner he will want to impress with a solid tournament.