Stats
PGA Championship 2023: If this historic streak in majors continues, you can already rule out most of the field at Oak Hill
Christian Iooss
If you're looking for some last-minute gambling advice ahead of the 2023 PGA Championship, first of all, check out what our red-hot experts have to say. But you also might want to consider a certain current—and historic—streak in majors. Because if it continues this week, you can already rule out most of the field at Oak Hill.
The 2022 season marked the first time that all four men's major champions (Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Smith) were under the age of 30. But it's a "young gunz" streak that started with Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa winning the final two majors of 2021, and has continued with Rahm capturing the 2023 Masters.
That's seven consecutive twentysomethings winning major championships in a row. And yes, as stats guru Justin Ray points out, that is rather unusual:
As Ray clarified in follow-up tweets, it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison if you go back too far. After all, the Masters, one of the game's current four majors, wasn't established until 1934. So in the modern era of pro golf, this streak is unprecedented.
So does anyone over the age of 30 even stand a chance? Of course, but this trend doesn't bode well for those golfers. Then again, if you're someone who likes to bet on things that "are due," this streak could sway you the other way.
Another thing going in the "old" guys' favor? Defending PGA champ Justin Thomas is now 30. Just saying. That being said, the top two players in the world and the tournament's co-favorites, Rahm and Scheffler, both have a ways to go before hitting the big three-oh.
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