Just as the weather is starting to heat up, so is the Golf Digest expert panel. We just went back-to-back. Actually, Ryan Noonan, our newest panel member, did, hitting on the Fitzpatrick brothers at the Zurich and then Cameron Young last week at Cadillac. Our own Stephen Hennessey hit on Young, too. Don’t let us get hot.
In the hopes of a three-peat, Noonan is going right back to Young, while two of our other experts are all in on a two-time major champ who has incredible history at Quail Hollow.
RELATED: Truist Championship picks 2026: Rory McIlroy’s secret weapon at Quail Hollow
The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, Ryan Noonan of Betsperts, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line.
Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2026 Truist Championship:
Truist Championship picks 2026: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions
Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Xander Schauffele (12-1, FanDuel) — The price is going to be horrible, but it’s finally time for Xander to get across the finish line. He’s third in ball-striking, has plenty of top results at Quail Hollow, including a win, and the putter has started to stabilize over the past two months. His time will come soon.
Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Rory McIlroy (+700, Bet365) — Twelve starts at Quail Hollow, four wins and nine top 10s. Needless to say, Rory McIlroy will be there on Sunday afternoon. Enjoy the sweat.
Read The Line’s Joe Idone and John Haslbauer chat with golf writer Alan Shipnuck about the future of LIV and all things Rory McIlroy:
Watch the full Preferred Lines betting show powered by Read The Line.
Ryan Noonan, Content Manager 4for4/Betsperts: Cameron Young (10-1, FanDuel) — Yes, again. Cameron Young won going away last week, but he genuinely could’ve posted a 21 or 22 under to double up most of the field if he did anything on the par 5s. In fact, Young’s 25 percent birdie-or-better rate on Doral’s par 5s was the worst rate in the field last week. For any regression work done to capture Young’s variance on the greens last week, the positive regression I’m expecting on the par 5s essentially neutralizes it. Over the past 50 rounds, Young’s par 5 birdie-or-better rate is 52.7 percent. That’s nearly a shot per round better if he regresses to his 50-round baseline. There’s more meat on the bone here, folks. Quail Hollow demands distance, strong long-iron play, and elite putting, and Cameron Young has it in spades.
Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest managing editor: Adam Scott (33-1, FanDuel) — The Aussie gained more than 11 strokes on the field over the weekend at Doral, a similar type of distance-heavy venue. Everyone was talking about Justin Rose’s resurgence earlier this year, but it’s time for this elder statesman to nab another big-time win.
Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Ben Griffin (47-1, DraftKings) — I’ve seen enough over the last few weeks to be all the way back in on Benny Booms. Can he win a siggy? No Scottie in the field helps. Most didn’t think Griffin would ever win big on the PGA Tour before he ripped off three wins and made the U.S. Ryder Cup team, so he’s used to proving people wrong.
Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Xander Schauffele (12-1, FanDuel) — Xander Schauffele has been trending towards a win over the last few months, with four straight top-25 finishes. He also has back-to-back runner-ups at Quail Hollow in his last two starts at the Truist.
Past results: We have our FOURTH winner of 2026, and our first stretch of back-to-back winners. Ryan Noonan and Stephen Hennessey both correctly picked Cameron Young to win the Cadillac Championship at +1250, giving Noonan his third win of 2026 (and his second in a row with the Fitzpatrick bros. at 12-1 at Zurich) and Hennessey his second, his first coming at the Farmers (Justin Rose 60-1). Noonan also nailed Nico Echavarria’s victory at the Cognizant at 60-1. Hop on the train while you can.
Listen to Golf Digest’s weekly betting podcast, “The Loop,” (below) where we interview the industry’s leading experts (and sometimes tour pros) to help you make your bets and pick your fantasy lineups. And be sure to subscribe to “The Loop” wherever you get your podcasts!
Truist Championship picks 2026: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win
Mayo: Gary Woodland (80-1, FanDuel) — Woodland’s weekend at Doral is somewhat concerning. Juxtaposed with his numbers from the first two rounds, you’d think he let me hit all his approach shots. If that iron play persists, he’s DOA, but it’s been good enough over the past two months so I can give him a pass. The driver remains elite, and he’s putting quite well in 2026; gaining on the greens in eight of nine starts. He’s even gained with his putter at Quail Hollow in four of his past five appearances.
Stewart: Akshay Bhatia (63-1, DraftKings) — Pundits will push the driver narrative this week, and they are right. What will give you an edge is picking players who move the ball right to left. For righties, that’s a draw, but for Akshay Bhatia, that is his patented fade. Complementing his edge off the tee is an approach game that has gained strokes in eight of his last nine starts. One last point, Bhatia is ranked third on the tour for strokes gained putting. For the North Carolina kid, this venue is a great fit.
Noonan: Kurt Kitayama (50-1, BetRivers) — Kurt Kitayama has finished inside the top 20 in four straight Signature Event starts, including back-to-back top 10 finishes at Harbour Town (T-8) and Doral (T-9) the past two times out. I’m not sure he has the juice to win this one, considering how well the top of the board is firing right now, but his game is well-suited for Quail Hollow.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Ryan Gerard (84-1, DraftKings) — CP talked me into Gerard on our Loop podcast this week. His strong PGA finish and North Carolina ties make this number too good to pass up.
Powers, Golf Digest: Ryan Gerard (84-1, DraftKings) — The North Carolina native tied for eighth at last year’s PGA Championship at Quail. After a blazing start to 2026, he’s cooled off considerably, but he’s now made his last four straight cuts and has been super solid off the tee during that stretch. He’s not far away from another spike week.
Lack: Justin Thomas (50-1, BetRivers) — Justin Thomas showed some serious signs last week at Doral, gaining 4.2 strokes off the tee and 2.6 strokes around the green. Thomas has already won a PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and the wide corridors and significant amount of long irons should play right into his strengths.
RELATED: Max Homa replaces Phil Mickelson at PGA Championship; Tiger Woods officially out
Truist Championship picks 2026: Players We’re Fading
Mayo: Si Woo Kim (18-1, Caesars Sportsbook) — Love Si WOOOOOOO for a placement, but the lack of distance combined for negative putting is too much to overcome at Quail Hollow.
Stewart: Ludvig Aberg (14-1, Bet365) — If you love Ludvig Åberg, I am happy to report he’s striping it on the range at Quail Hollow. So why the fade? It is purely a play on scoring average. Åberg’s Round 1 and Round 4 scoring ranks are both outside the top 50 on the PGA Tour. On top of his Sunday slides, Åberg has played here once and missed the cut at the PGA Championship. A wet setup last May that should have favored his length and ball flight.
Noonan: Sam Burns (25-1, BetRivers) — I don’t think Quail Hollow is a bad fit for Sam Burns, but I don’t trust him to be consistent enough for four days to justify his current sub 35-1 price in the outright market. He’s only been competitive this season when gaining around 1.5 strokes per round on the greens, and that’s barely sneaking him inside the top 20. Pass.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Tommy Fleetwood (20-1, BetRivers) — There are better venues for Fleetwood to get PGA Tour win No. 2. He’s at the bottom half of this field in driving distance, and that’s just too important to winning at Quail Hollow.
Powers, Golf Digest: Rory McIlroy (+700, Bet365) — Fading Rory at QH is as dumb as it gets, but it will have been nearly a month since he’s teed it up on Thursday and this feels like merely a tuneup for Aronimink. He’ll top 10, no doubt, but the competitive rust will keep him from winning.
Lack: Sam Burns (25-1, BetRivers) — I simply think that Sam Burns continues to be overpriced in the 25-1 range. Yes, he has had some impressive results this year, namely at the Masters, but I still believe his game is better suited for easier tests.
Truist Championship picks 2026: Matchups
Mayo: Taylor Pendrith (-105) over Kristoffer Reitan (Coolbet) — I love Pendy’s history and form at the course. It’s unfortunate he’s paired with a streaking Reitan, but a first look at Quail Hollow rarely goes well.
Stewart: Rickie Fowler (-110) over Robert MacIntyre (FanDuel) — Rickie Fowler is coming off two straight top 10s in Signature Series events. The 2012 Truist winner has 11 starts at Quail Hollow (four top 10s) and is trending with his approach play and putter. Robert MacIntyre has lost strokes with his iron game against the field in six of his nine starts this season. Until the approach play improves, Bobby Mac is a good H2H target on a venue that significantly favors mid- and long-iron acumen.
Noonan: Taylor Pendrith (-128) over J.T. Poston (BetOnline) — Both players surprised at last year’s PGA Championship here at Quail Hollow, and both showed signs of life last week at Doral before fading over the weekend. I think Taylor Pendrith’s game is well-suited for this venue, and I think he has sneaky top 20 upside this week.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Nicolai Hojgaard (+100) over Viktor Hovland (Bet365) — Hojgaard has a huge distance advantage over Hovland, and Hojgaard’s iron stats are even better than Hovland’s over the past 36 rounds, so I think this is a great matchup.
Powers, Golf Digest: Ryan Gerard (-130) over Daniel Berger (DraftKings) — Berger is not good enough off the tee to contend here, and I like Gerard to get in the mix in his home state.
Lack: Justin Thomas (-140) over Justin Rose (BetOnline) — This is an easy one for me, even with some juice, as I really believe Justin Thomas can win this golf tournament, and I have some serious questions about Justin Rose. Rose looked very shaky last week with his new McLaren irons, while Thomas put together his best driving performance since his return from injury.
Matchup Results from the Cadillac Championship: Powers: 1 for 1 (McNealy (-128) over Rose); Stewart: VOID (Jake Knapp pre-tournament WD); Noonan: 0 for 1; Lack: 0 for 1; Mayo: 0 for 1; Hennessey: 0 for 1
Matchup Results from the 2026 season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Stewart: 10-2-2 (up 6.88 units); Powers: 11-5-0 (up 4.69 units); Noonan: 8-7-1 (down 0.25 units); Lack: 7-8-1 (down 2.24 units); Mayo: 6-9-1 (down 2.69 units); Hennessey: 6-10-0 (down 4.6 units)
Truist Championship picks 2026: Top 10s
Mayo: Taylor Pendrith (+850, FanDuel) — Like Woodland, flew a bit too close to the sun with his amazing ball-striking Thursday/Friday only to have it go sideways on the weekend. But it was encouraging to see his driving and irons start to spike, even a little. If he can maintain respectable iron play, Pendrith has the prototypical game for Quail: Bomber who hits fairways and can putt. He was fifth here at the PGA Championship a year ago, and T-10 in 2024.
Stewart: Sam Burns (+340, FanDuel) — I don’t think this is a sneaky pick. Sam Burns is going to attract a decent amount of attention in the middle tier on the odds board. In four straight starts, Burns has been solid off the tee, on approach, and with his putter. Sam is too good of a player not to win a Signature Series event in his career. The beauty of this ticket is that he does not have to. I’ll take the 10 places on a guy who fits the putter/bomber narrative. Did I mention his approach play is spiking over his last four starts?
Noonan: Xander Schauffele (+130, DraftKings) — He’s very live to win, and has the best course history of anyone here, gaining an average of 2.75 strokes per round in his past 16 Quail Hollow rounds. Yes, even better than Rory. He rolls out of bed and finishes inside the top 10.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Sam Burns (+340, FanDuel) — Burns has proven he loves Quail Hollow with his Presidents Cup breakout, and his plus-distance and great putting will give him an edge this week.
Powers, Golf Digest: Andrew Novak (14-1, FanDuel) — This is an egregious misprice, in my opinion, on Novak. He certainly isn’t long off the tee, but the iron play has been good enough over the last month to take a shot on another N.C. native. Novak quietly has three top-16 finishes in his last five starts.
Lack: Viktor Hovland (+340, FanDuel) — I actually think Viktor Hovland is playing better golf than his results would suggest, and his ball-striking really turned around at Doral on Sunday. Hovland also has a third-place finish at Quail Hollow in 2021 and a 24th and a 28th in his last two appearances. It’s a great golf course for him.
Top-10 results from the Cadillac Championship: Powers: 1 for 1 (Ben Griffin +500); Everybody else: 0 for 1
Top-10 results from the 2026 season: Mayo: 5 for 16 (up 10.15 units); Powers: 5 for 16 (up 5.75 units); Noonan: 4 for 16 (up 1.3 units); Stewart: 4 for 16 (down 0.15 units); Lack: 3 for 16 (down 1.65 units); Hennessey: 2 for 16 (down 7.65 units)
About our experts
Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME.
Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor and content partner with Golf Digest. Stewart is a co-founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the PGA Tour, LPGA and TGL. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter for the industry’s best betting narratives. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_.
Ryan Noonan is the Betting Content Manager for 4for4 and Betsperts Golf, writing articles and hosting multiple shows under the Betsperts Group umbrella, including Move The Line and our Betsperts Golf Betting Show. Find him on Twitter: @RyNoonan.
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com