US PGA Championship 2025 First Round Leader Tips: Cantlay to come out hot on Thursday

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley is knee-deep this week here at Betfred Insights and returns with his First Round Leader tips for the second major of the year. You can read Jamie's full in-depth preview and US PGA Championship 2025 Golf Tips here. 

He's hoping to take advantage of a potential draw bias in the morning at Quail Hollow. Check out his US PGA Championship 2025 FRL Tips below...

US PGA Championship Odds

Fortunately, the wet, stormy weather that has blighted the build-up to the PGA Championship looks set to clear before play starts on Thursday. It will be replaced by sunshine and light winds in the opening round, but one side of the draw looks likely to experience calmer conditions, something I’m hoping to take advantage of to find this week’s first-round leader at Quail Hollow.

The event begins in clear, bright and warm weather tomorrow, accompanied by a mere 4-7mph breeze for much of the morning. It will remain sunny and get warmer in the afternoon, though the wind will become more of a factor, gusting at highs of 18mph.

This has me favouring those early starters, and I have three selections who all tee off in the morning.

1 pt Patrick Cantlay each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 45/1

Start time: 08:00

Patrick Cantlay’s long game is in excellent shape, and with some strong first-round form in recent starts, he looks a lively contender to be this week’s first-round leader from his morning tee time.

Cantlay hasn’t missed a cut across his 10 starts this season and has recorded six top-25s. Three of those have resulted in top-five finishes, the best of which came last week, when 4^th in the Truist Championship.

Few players are hitting the ball as well as him, ranking 8^th in approach and 11^th off-the-tee over his last five starts. He’s also starting well, ranking 17^th in first-round performance in the previous three months—opening with an under-par round in five of his last six starts.

Cantlay’s form at Quail Hollow isn’t as strong as you’d expect, recording a best of 21^st in 2023. He began that week with a four-under 67 to sit 7^th after the first round and having claimed a share of a major championship first-round lead as recently as last year’s US Open, I expect him to be among the frontrunners on Thursday.

1 pt Corey Conners each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 60/1

Start time: 08:11

Corey Conners is another strong ball striker who often performs well on these challenging, lengthy layouts. He’s becoming a frequent performer in major opening rounds, and with some positive results at Quail Hollow, he has every chance of hitting the front tomorrow.

Conners has only finished outside the top 25 once in his previous eight starts, recording four top-10s—including an 8^th-place finish at Augusta. This form has been engineered by his long game, ranking 11^th in approach and 20^th OTT in this field over his last five events.

He ranks 9^th in first-round performance since February and hasn’t opened with an over-par round since his second start of the season in the Sony Open. He went particularly well in the first round at The Masters, shooting a 68 to sit 2^nd thru 18 holes, and this has become somewhat of a habit of late, sitting inside the top 20 after the opening round in four of his last five major appearances.

Conners was the first-round leader in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in 2021 and finished 2^nd in this same market at Oak Hill in 2023. He could replicate that this week at a course where he’s finished 8^th and 13^th on his last two visits.

1 pt Maverick McNealy each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 70/1

Start time: 08:44

Maverick McNealy’s improved approach play has taken his game to a new level in 2025. As a strong putter who possesses the power to tackle this long, receptive course, he can get off to a hot start on Thursday morning.

McNealy has already recorded five top-10 finishes this year—just one fewer than he did in all of 2024. His best result came courtesy of a 2^nd-place finish in the Genesis Invitational, and he’s twice finished 3^rd in his last four starts, while he also impressed on his Masters debut, finishing 32^nd.

He ranks 22^nd in this field tee-to-green over his previous 20 rounds and has shown an ideal combination of power and accuracy off the tee. However, it’s his approach play that has been the most eye-catching aspect, ranking 30^th this year—an 88-place improvement on his ranking for 2024.

McNealy missed the cut on his only previous trip to Quail Hollow, but that came in 2021 when he wasn’t playing at the standard he is now. He did produce his best major finish to date in this event last year, finishing 23^rd and after starting that week with a five-under 67 to sit 5^th after round one, he has previous of making a quick start in this tournament.

You can find all Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips over on our dedicated golf Insights hub.