Truist Championship: Odds, Preview, and Predictions

The PGA Tour is cramming a healthy number of Signature Series events into the spring of 2026, although it's undeniable that this week's Truist Championship will have a different vibe than similar events following the Masters Tournament. Rory McIlroy, the Green Jacket wearer himself, will be taking the links at Quail Hollow Golf Club as a betting favorite over last week's Cadillac Championship winner Cameron Young.

Rory can't help but step into the favorite's role prior to any tournament he plays in. But is Rory practiced enough to keep up with the streaking Young, or any alternative contenders who have spent more time on the links lately? One positive for McIlroy is that his Truist Championship record is the “best of anyone who has played at least five times in Charlotte,” according to Skratch on Facebook.

PGA organizers think the Truist Championship's fine field justifies its $20,000,000 purse. Not to mention the wonderful links at Quail Hollow, which will test the putting strokes of everyone on the leaderboard. There's rain in the forecast on Thursday, potentially dousing the gala's first pairs at about 8 a.m. EST.

Note: The above data was collected on May 6, 2026, and may have changed since writing.

Gamblers are tempted to pick McIlroy's 1-to-1.5 odds to beat Matt Fitzpatrick head-to-head in the first round. After all, they've been waiting a while to make bets on their favorite Irishman. Fitzpatrick's game remains so impressive - without as much hype to go along with it - that his 1-to-1 underdog odds are superior. 

Fitzpatrick was in the 60s in three of his last four opening rounds at the Truist, which contrasts with his inconsistent overall form in Charlotte's tournament. McIlroy should make a great matchup pick by Friday.

The pairing of Cameron Young with Justin Thomas is a trope that the PGA Tour can't help but produce. Protocol demands that star golfers are paired with other stars on Thursday and Friday. But when one player is sizzling and the other one isn't, matchup odds appear that wouldn't make sense in other seasons, such as Young's 1-to-2 market to outplay the underdog Thomas.

Thomas has two major titles to hold over the 2026 Players Championship winner's head. The 33-year-old Kentucky native played well enough at Sawgrass to finish eighth. But he landed a whole 13 strokes behind Young's performance at Doral last weekend. What's more, Young has improved his putting very significantly over the past year, giving him a chance to outdo several major champions on a track such as Quail Hollow.

Speaking of improvements, Jordan Spieth has developed a fuller long game over the years, now ranking T-40 on the PGA Tour in average driving distance ahead of players like Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick. It can help Spieth to drive through doglegs at Quail Hollow Golf Club, where he struggled to a missed cut at the PGA Championship last year. The lighter rough of a PGA Tour setup allows a less-strong athlete such as Spieth to birdie from lies from which he bogeyed holes last May.

Spieth and Sepp Straka's pairing comes with a “pick'em” choice of deadlocked betting odds. Straka could be considered a better 1-to-1 matchup bet on Thursday, having become the fourth international player in seven years to lift Charlotte's trophy in 2025. Is the relatively unknown Straka's line inflated, or muted? Straka's forgotten odds to repeat at the Truist Championship are selling at a measly 45-to-1.

When the PGA Tour is in charge, Quail Hollow vibes more like a resort course than a major tournament layout. Straka's score of 264 that won last year's Truist Championship was the tournament's highest since 2022. Quail Hollow's greens don't bite as badly when golfers can hit comfortable drives with fairway woods before flicking high, soft wedge approaches to flags.

Who's at their best when a torture track becomes a drive-and-flick? McIlroy, who won the Truist by five shots in 2024, loves the Carolina course so much that he doesn't care how hard or easy it's playing. If you are hoping to find a less-expensive Truist Championship wager before Thursday, look elsewhere within the last three years' final leaderboards for an overlooked pick to win.

Xander Schauffele would not be substantially trailing McIlroy and Young in betting action to win Sunday if he had traded two runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024 for one Truist Championship title, which would have put him back in golf's headlines this week. Schauffele finished 11th last spring, furthering the same theme. If he had made one more birdie in 2025, reporters would be fawning over his three straight top-10s. Schauffele's 12-to-1 bet to win Charlotte's elusive crown is a hidden gem of a market.