John Daly of the U.S. plays his shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on May 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
John Daly of the U.S. plays his shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on May 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

No matter how the rest of the week plays out, John Daly can say he spent time atop the 2022 PGA Championship leaderboard. The 56-year-old took an early lead at this year’s second major tournament as part of the first group to tee off at Southern Hills Country Club.

Daly started the PGA Championship with a birdie on the first hole. With consecutive pars, Daly maintained his spot on the leaderboard, shooting one-under through three holes.

The strong start isn’t expected to last for long. Daly has +7500 odds at BetMGM to win the 2022 PGA Championship, putting him well behind the top competitors in the field.

Twenty golfers entered the PGA Championship with +5000 odds or better to win the tournament. A win for Tiger Woods would be among the greatest upsets in the history of the sport, and the golf legend is ahead of Daly with +6600 odds to finish at the top of the leaderboard.

Even making the cut would be an incredible accomplishment for Daly. It was a decade ago when Daly last made the cut at the PGA Championship. Daly tied for 18th place at the 2012 PGA Championship, and he hasn’t advanced to the third round of any major in the last 10 years.

Daly won the 1991 PGA Championship by three strokes. Daly’s second and last major championship victory came at 1995 Open Championship.

Reigning PGA Champion Phil Mickelson is not in the field. He became the oldest golfer to ever win a major last year, doing so at 50 years old.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is favorite at the PGA Championship after winning the 2022 Masters.

John Daly PGA Championship

Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images