BMW PGA Championship 2025 Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Like their counterparts on Team USA, Team Europe, with the lone exception of Sepp Straka (birth of a child), will be in full force this week at the BMW PGA Championship. While the event is certainly being used as a tune-up for the Ryder Cup, the BMW PGA Championship has long been considered the flagship event of the European and now DP World Tour, so the European Ryder Cup team will not be going through the motions this week.
Rory McIlroy (+650) won his home Open last week at the Amgen Irish Open on the third playoff hole over Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.
McIlroy needed an eagle putt at the last just to reach the playoff.
He won this event in 2014 and has also finished runner-up three times (2018, 2022, 2024) here at Wentworth Club.
Jon Rahm (7-1) is a two-time runner-up (2019, 2022) at Wentworth. Rahm is winless thus far in 2025, having lost twice in a playoff this year on LIV Golf, so one would think the sense of urgency is high to get back into the winner’s circle.
At last, Tommy Fleetwood (10-1) finally won on the PGA Tour, earning a victory at the Tour Championship and winning the FedExCup several weeks ago and cashed a 14-1 ticket for us.
Other members of Team Europe playing this week include Ludvig Åberg (18-1), 2020 BMW PGA winner Tyrrell Hatton (20-1), Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1), Viktor Hovland (22-1), Robert MacIntyre (30-1), 2022 BMW PGA winner Shane Lowry (30-1), Rasmus Højgaard (50-1) and Justin Rose (50-1), who has finished runner-up twice here in 2007 and 2012 to current European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
This week’s field is not limited to the Ryder Cuppers at the top end. Joaquin Niemann (22-1) led LIV Golf this year with five total victories. Aaron Rai (28-1) was runner-up here two years ago.
Several PGA Tour regulars are making the trip across the pond this week, including Corey Conners (35-1), Harry Hall (40-1), two-time and defending BMW PGA champion Billy Horschel (45-1), Hideki Matsuyama (50-1), Si Woo Kim (50-1), Adam Scott (66-1), 2023 BMW PGA champion Ryan Fox (80-1), Michael Kim (80-1) and Min Woo Lee (90-1) amongst others.
Several LIV Golf regulars are also taking part this week with Patrick Reed (45-1), Dean Burmester (60-1), Brooks Koepka (80-1) and Thomas Pieters (80-1) as part of that contingent.
We also cannot forget the DP World Tour regulars, including some recent winners on that Tour, including Marco Penge (35-1), Alex Noren (40-1) and Thriston Lawrence (100-1).
The Event
The BMW PGA Championship was established in 1955 as the British PGA Championship. It was typically played near the end of May but was moved to September in 2019 to avoid conflict with the PGA Championship and has remained in that spot on the calendar ever since. The winner of the tournament is given an exemption into the U.S. Open and the next three British Opens. A who’s-who of European players have victories at his event, including Nick Faldo (1978, 1980, 1981, 1989), Bernhard Langer (1987, 1993, 1995), Colin Montgomerie (1998, 1999, 2000), Seve Ballesteros (1983, 1991), Ian Woosnam (1988, 1997), Francesco Molinari (2018), Rory McIlroy (2014) and Tony Jacklin (1972, 1982).
The Field
The full 144-player field for this week’s BMW PGA Championship is listed here.
The Course
The West Course at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England (about 25 miles southwest of London), has hosted the BMW PGA since 1984. The headquarters of the DP World Tour is located on the grounds of the club.
The course was designed in 1926 by Harry Colt, with Ernie Els and European Tour Design doing two renovations in 2009 and 2016. Wentworth West is a par-72 of 7,267 yards. It is a tree-lined track with tight fairways and some long rough. Creeping Bentgrass greens replaced Bent/Poa Annua in the 2016 renovation. The greens also have many shaved run-offs. The most recent renovations were made with the intent of getting back to the original Colt design by encouraging more shot-making and allowing more shots to roll onto the greens.
The DP World Tour also provides a hole-by-hole flyover of the course:
BMW PGA Championship Recent History
2024: Billy Horschel (-20/268); 22-1*
2023: Ryan Fox (-18/270); 50-1
2022: Shane Lowry (-17/199); 18-1**
2021: Billy Horschel (-19/269); 28-1
2020: Tyrrell Hatton (-19/269); 16-1
2019: Danny Willett (-20/268); 66-1
2018: Francesco Molinari (-17/271); 22-1
2017: Alex Noren (-11/277); 20-1
2016: Chris Wood (-9/279); 66-1
2015: Byeong-Hun An (-21/267); 100-1
2014: Rory McIlroy (-14/274); 14-1
2013: Matteo Manassero (-10/278); 66-1***
2012: Luke Donald (-15/273); 8-1
2011: Luke Donald (-6/278); 15-2****
2010: Simon Khan (-6/278); 200-1
Playoff win over Thriston Lawrence and Rory McIlroy – *
Shortened to 54 holes due to Operation London Bridge – **
Playoff win over Simon Khan and Marc Warren – ***
Playoff win over Lee Westwood – ****
Trends and Angles
- 10 of the last 14 BMW champions had at least one top-10 finish within five starts before the event.
- 6 of the last 7 BMW champions and 12 of the last 14 have had at least one top-10 in the event before their victories.
Selections
Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1, BetMGM)
With six top-10 finishes in his last eight starts, Fitzpatrick is in excellent form.
His short game has returned to his typical elite status as he ranks fourth in putting and seventh in scrambling this year in his limited DP World Tour starts.
Aaron Rai (25-1, DraftKings)
Rai was runner-up here two years ago and finished fourth at Wentworth last year.
He was not able to do quite enough to make the European Ryder Cup team, so perhaps that is a little extra motivation for this week at a course that he clearly likes.
Shane Lowry (28-1, BetMGM)
Lowry was the winner here three years ago.
He watched his fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy win the Masters, The Players, and last week at his home Open, and saw his good friend Tommy Fleetwood win on the PGA Tour for the first time last month. This looks like a good spot for him to have his moment in 2025.
Corey Conners (37-1, Circa Sports)
Conners, a Canadian, certainly does not have to concern himself with tuning up for the Ryder Cup, so he makes his debut in this event.
Last time out, Conners finished with rounds of 67-67-62 after an opening 70, eventually finishing fourth at the Tour Championship.
Angel Ayora (100-1, Bet365)
The 20-year-old Spaniard is a rookie on the DP World Tour, and he comes into this week playing great golf.
He was T-5 last week at the Amgen Irish Open, T-8 two weeks ago at the Omega European Masters and T-13 at the British Masters three weeks ago.
Any potential placement market or matchup wagers will be posted Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks
