After two rusty performances to begin his return, Will Zalatoris rattled off a T34 finish at The American Express and a T13 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

Golf futures: A pair of major championship bets

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated Feb 16, 2024 3:29 PM ET

The first major championship of the 2024 PGA Tour season isn't until April, but it's never too early to start thinking about golf futures. Every major sportsbook already has odds up for all four major championships this year, so we're looking to get down some major futures on golfers whose odds will likely move over the next few months.

Will Zalatoris

Zalatoris is a major championship machine due to his elite ball-striking. The 27-year-old already has six top-10 finishes in majors through just 10 career starts, but his odds are still high because he missed most of last season after undergoing back surgery.

Well, Zalatoris is back on the PGA Tour for the 2024 season, and he's quickly rounding back into form. After two rusty performances to begin his return, Zalatoris rattled off a T34 finish at The American Express and a T13 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. He's currently tied for fourth at The Genesis Invitational at the time of this writing.

If Zalatoris is fully healthy and playing well by the time major season rolls around, he'll be closer to 20/1in the outright market. We're jumping on him before that happens.

Masters: +4000 Caesars
PGA Championship: +4000 DraftKings
U.S. Open: +4000 DK

Joaquin Niemann

It's easy to forget about the LIV Golf crowd if you aren't following the tournaments, but Joaquin Niemann is playing some of the best golf of his life right now.

The Chilean finished fifth at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in November, won the ISPS Handa Australian Open in December, finished T4 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January and won the LIV Golf season opener at Mayakoba in February. Niemann doesn't have a strong major championship resume, but he's still just 25 years old and is only going to get better.

Because he moved to LIV Golf, Niemann has fallen down the Official World Golf Ranking and isn't qualified for all four majors this year. He should be able to crack the field at the PGA Championship, though, and he's as low as +5000 at other books. Scoop up the 80/1 while you can.

PGA Championship: +8000 DK

Jack Dougherty

Jack Dougherty has been writing professionally since 2015, contributing to publications such as GoPSUSports. com, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press, and Sportscasting. com

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