ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic: Odds, Preview, and Predictions

It's too obvious a story that Brooks Koepka has made 2026's ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic a fascinating one. But it remains the top story anyway. Koepka is dealing with his sagging status as a PGA Tour player by doing exactly what commissioner Jay Monahan was hoping he would do, which is to take any guaranteed start that he can in an effort to prove his superiority over weaker fields, and thus restore Koepka's qualification for the PGA's biggest sweepstakes. It's what any low-ranking tour golfer does.

Koepka's T-125th Official World Golf Ranking owes itself to special circumstances, of course. That doesn't matter to the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, which is happy to have a five-time major champion teeing off at 7:26 a.m. EST on Thursday. 

The tourney's weird angle is that Koepka's odds to win aren't great. He opened the week by leading Oneflight betting boards in wagers placed, but that doesn't mean the 36-year-old's potential mastery of a second-tier field is truly reflected in the Las Vegas numbers. Speculators are unsure if Koepka can shake a downturn that's kept him out of the winner's circle in 2026. But if he brings his A-game to Dunes, the fight is essentially over.

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

The PGA Tour is known for rigging its groups to produce drama and laughs, like combining three jerks into a “frowning foursome” with the surly trio's unlucky marshal as the fourth wheel. Koepka's group at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic is no exception, a first-round tee time and combination that is designed to challenge the LIV Golf alum right off the bat. The morning dew will remind Koepka of his terrible world ranking, although the PGA's bitter streak is tasking three of the event's premier names to deal with it.

Long hitters don't mind playing in the early morning. Dew on the grass will stop drives before they can roll into the rough, and halt rolling approach shots before they reach an impossible spot to putt from. Davis Thompson, a surprising co-favorite to win 2026's tournament, is leading Koepka's 3-ball odds slightly in speculation on a Thursday round winner. Aaron Rai's 2-to-1 underdog odds are a product of his short driving distance. He'll prefer having harder fairways to roll his drives on this Friday afternoon. 

Oneflight's 10:52 a.m. EST group is representative of the trios teeing off in second-tour tournaments, three players whose bad scores over the past year contrast with the media hype that each 30-something once had. The betting odds make Thursday's round look like a potential shootout with all three golfers selling bets about 1.75-to-1. But they have combined to make zero cuts in major tournaments since 2023. 

The betting action is trending Power's way slightly, which doesn't make sense following two more of his missed cuts this spring. The last time Carson Young got an opportunity to play against a weak field at the Club Car Championship, he finished fifth. Ryder finished at 9 under par in the 2026 Valero Texas Open.

Is Mac Meissner this Thursday's leading 3-balls favorite because he's so local, or is there another reason? The South Carolina native is among the only golfers inspiring minus-odds to defeat their playing partners in ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic's opening round. Meissner's 3-ball opponents, Nick Hardy, a 2-to-1 underdog, and the journeyman Robert Streb at 4-to-1 odds, don't have Meissner's homeland appeal.

Look again, and there's more to Meissner's bid in the event than an enthusiastic gallery. He's a prototype of the SEC studs that NCAA men's golf has begun churning out in greater numbers than ever. Meissner has played exceptionally well on Thursdays this year, carding a first-round 65 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Last year's ONEflight winner, Ryan Fox, isn't in the Myrtle Beach field this May. That takes another likely Sunday pick off the betting board. You would imagine Koepka's betting handle rising sky-high for a tournament in which there's no hot hand or previous year's winner for speculators to flock to. 

Koepka's skeptical odds may stem from his sour headlines. On Tuesday, Rory McIlroy rushed to explain an out-of-context quote in which he was said to call Koepka's management decisions “flat-out insane,” according to Vishnupriya Agrawal of Yahoo! Sports. Casual fans might enjoy watching a major championship tycoon win on Sunday, but they don't want to see Koepka lap the ONEflight field.

Meissner's dark-horse odds to win the tournament are tempting, given how many of his competitors are worn down. But when you get a chance to pick the field's top player at prices as inexpensive as Koepka's for Myrtle Beach, it's more tempting to take advantage with a small-unit bet on the kingpin.