Jordan Spieth is talking about smoking chicken.
He said he’s average at it. “Probably a 15 handicap,” he thought. But he knows his way around his smoker.
After all, he says the activity reminds him of what he’s going through with his golf swing.
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“I was just kind of thinking,” Spieth said Monday, “I was smoking chicken in the fall on a big smoker I have and it got up to 155 quickly and then takes awhile. I was like, man, this kind of feels like — I was working on stuff and I was — it kind of feels like what I’m trying to do in the swing. I go play and it’s a little bit out of the barriers that we call sustainable. Kind of outside the margins that we call OK.
“So, I don’t know, I kind of was just thinking about it one day and came to me.
“But yeah, it seems to be — I don’t know how — if it’s that way for everybody and just seemed that way for me right now where, you know, it’s there, it’s there. It’s like close. It’s matching what I want to do. It feels good and it’s producing right stuff.
“And then, you know, if it just gets — it’s just not quite consistent enough yet to be able to be contending week in and week out.
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“But I know what to do and how to get there. It’s just I have to stay the course and just trust that it will happen.”
Could it this week, at the PGA Championship? The question is one of the biggest heading into the year’s second major. Should it, Spieth would become the seventh men’s golfer to complete the career grand slam — and bring PGA Championship bettors a good return, as he’s currently listed around 80-1.
Then again, to continue with the theme, Spieth might just be blowing smoke. Remember, this will be his 10th attempt at the slam, after winning the 2015 Masters, the 2015 U.S. Open and the 2017 Open Championship. (The PGA was moved to May in 2019.)
With that, members of our staff have each made a to-win selection to assist you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook. It’s an enjoyable endeavor for us. Deploy it as you wish.
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On to our analysis.
2026 PGA Championship picks to win
Josh Berhow
To-win: Cameron Young, +1,200. I can’t remember a major where I last thought the list of potential winners was so slim, but that’s where I landed here with the top three. The way Rory, Scottie and Cam Young are playing, I can’t get myself to look further down the odds list. I’ll pick Cam, whose Sunday 74 at the Truist was nothing more than an outlier.
James Colgan
To-win: Brooks Koepka, +4,000. A major championship on a big, burly, Northeast golf course? Yep, sounds like an ideal setting for Koepka, whose game has shown some sneaky signs of life.
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Dylan Dethier
To-win: Cameron Young, +1,200. It’s Cameron Young. It’s Cameron Young! The secret’s out. Look, it’s been fun to watch Young put his best stuff on display, from the Ryder Cup to the Players to the Masters to Miami a couple weeks ago. But I do feel a twinge of the-band-I-like-just-went-platinum. I was listening to Young’s old stuff, just so you guys know. Anyway, if you give me any old-school Northeast golf course right now, I will give you Cameron Young as a surefire contender. A tie for fourth at Oakmont was a sign of things to come. That Ryder Cup statement was too. Here comes Cameron.
Jack Hirsh
To win: Cameron Young, +1,200. Cameron Young got his first PGA Tour win at a classic Donald Ross course, so I wouldn’t be shocked if one of the game’s two hottest players got another one at Aronimink. Would feel like a very satisfying peak to this heater he is on.
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Jessica Marksbury
To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +450. This is a pattern for me, it seems — picking the World No. 1 to win a major. But apparently I’m in the minority in this Cameron Young-hyped group! Scheffler needs no introduction here, but I’ll lay out a few creds anyway: He’s the defending champ, his worst finish of the year is a tie for 24th, and his past three finishes were runner-ups (Masters, RBC Heritage, Cadillac Championship). C’mon, that’s gotta light a fire! He’s winning this week.
Nick Piastowski
To-win: Ludvig Aberg, +2,000. Over his past six tournaments, Aberg has posted five top 10s, and he’s ranked third this year on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: total. He’ll win a few majors. This week, he wins his first.
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Josh Schrock
To-win: Cameron Young, +1,200. You can make the case that Cam Young has been the second-best golfer in the world since he switched golf balls and caddies almost a year ago. Hit the shots down the stretch to win at TPC Sawgrass and just ran over the field at Doral. Had the lead on Sunday at the Masters and watched Rory zip by him. Much like when McIlroy blew the 2011 Masters and responded to win the next major, I think Cam’s time comes at Aronimink.
Josh Sens
To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +400. This is the Occam’s razor equivalent of golf handicapping. He’s still the best player in the world. In his past five majors, his worst finish is a tie for seventh. He is guaranteed to contend. He will probably win. He is the favorite for a reason.
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Johnny Wunder
To-win: Jon Rahm, +1,600. He’s still in my heart and mind the main contender to dethrone Scottie. The trick is getting him to cook in the majors, which typically comes down to the putter. If his putting is just serviceable and he strikes it normal, he’s a serious threat. He’s going to win a major this year.
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