2020 has been a year of many firsts, many of them unexpected, and this week there will be another one as instead of being the last Major of 2020 for golfers to compete for, the USPGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California, will be the first.

With the British Open cancelled and the US Open and US Masters moved to September and November respectively, this means that the USPGA Championship will be the first Major of three in the 2020 season. As such, its importance has only magnified in intensity with many of the world’s finest in California this weekend hoping to etch their name onto the trophy that was won last year by Brooks Koepka.

With so many of the world’s finest golfers taking part in the first Major of the year, interest in who will win is set to be huge and of course, plenty of punters will be seeking to place a bet on the tournament. To do this, you may need to sign up with a site and if you are a looking to join one that offers a good deal to new customers, then look no further than the current bet365 New Player Bonus offer that is available right now.

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With the only three Majors slated to take place this year all set to be played in the United States over the coming months (the British Open has been cancelled this year) interest in how players perform in the US will certainly be high and if you fancy a bet on the outcome of the event, then depending on where you live there are some good options for you. Indiana-based punters can use the BetRivers Affiliate Code “HOOSIERBONUS” when signing up for a fantastic starter deal on that site, while the same company offers a great value deal in Pennsylvania too this time with the latest BetRivers Bonus Code.

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Let’s now take a look ahead at this weekend’s USPGA Championship and give you the lowdown on the tournament, course and of course, the golfers we think will be battling it out for the trophy this Sunday evening.

USPGA Championship 2020 Preview

  • Prize Pool – $11,000,000
  • Winner’s Cheque – $1,980,000
  • Field – 156 Players
  • Venue – TPC Harding Park, San Francisco California
  • Length – 7234 Yards
  • Par – 70

TPC Harding Park Information

Harding Park was a regular venue on the PGA Tour for many years but fell out of favour in the 1970s due to poor playing conditions and facilities. That decline only worsened in the 1970s and 80s and by the 1998 US Open at nearby Olympic Club, the course was only fit to serve as a parking lot for that event.

However since then, the San Francisco city and county, which own the public course, have invested a great deal of money to improve the course and facilities. So much so that by 2005, the WGC-American Express Championship was hosted at the venue and won by Tiger Woods.

The President’s Cup then followed in 2009, won by the home team United States, and then the venue was home to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2010, 2011 and 2013. In 2016, it was the venue for the WGC-Match Play Championship, which saw Rory McIlroy claim the trophy.

Designed by Sam Whiting and Willie Watson, for public players, the course is a par 72 test, but this has been redesigned to be a par 70 for the more accomplished PGA Tour players competing in the tournament this weekend.

Who have been the most recent USPGA Champions?

The last two USPGA Championships have been won by the American golfer Brooks Koepka and an American has won in each of the last four years, Before Koepka’s two wins in 2019 and 2018, Justin Thomas was the winner in 2017 and before that Jimmy Walker’s surprise win in 2016 began the period of home-grown talent winning the event.

The last non-American player to win the event was Jason Day in 2015 and in 2014, Rory McIlroy landed the second of his two USPGA titles, taking victory two years on from his first. In between the two wins for the Northern Irishman, American Jason Dufner landed the title in 2013.

Tiger Woods last won this event in 2007, the last of his four wins, while Phil Mickelson landed his sole victory in 2005. Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus are the most successful golfers in the tournaments’ history, each landing five wins in the event, a record Woods could match with a victory this weekend.

Who are our picks to land the win at the USPGA this weekend?

Brooks Koepka is understandably the 10/1 favourite to win the event alongside the in-form Justin Thomas and both of these players are going to be in the shakedown for the trophy on Sunday unless their form deserts them in earlier rounds. Second favourites are European stars Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who are both 14/1 shots and who could well be well-backed by European golf fans to land a big Major trophy on American soil.

Tiger Woods is rated as a 35/1 shot which is incredible given his form over recent times, but just shows you the depth of his talent that the bookies will not right off this machine of a golfer, and rightly so. My tip however is the talented Xander Schauffele at 16/1 who has become one of the most consistently higher performing golfers on tour and who I think is now ready to make the step to becoming a Major winner.

However, if you like a lnger odds bet than that then one player to consider is Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, who is in good form and who at 45/1 represents good each way value, with bet365 paying out the top eight places in the event.