Here we go.
It’s time for the second major of the year, the 2022 PGA Championship. While this tournament may seem like any other week on the PGA Tour, it’s anything but. In fact, there are more questions entering this week than answers. Many more.
For instance: How will Tiger Woods’ body and game hold up in his second major?
Or, how about this one: When will Phil Mickelson return to the PGA Tour as he has withdrawn from the PGA Championship and won’t be defending his title? Or will he be taking his talent to the new Greg Norman tour?
Both were listed in the field this week. Woods is +6600 and Mickelson was at +12500 before his WD.
Use Bonus Code TODAY For $1,000 Risk-Free Bet At BetMGM
Oh, there’s more.
Will Scottie Scheffler continue his torrid streak and win back-to-back majors? After all, he’s the only one with the chance for the grand slam.
Will we get another ‘Best player to never win a major’ moment and will that player finally break through?
So many questions…so few answers. But we will try to sort it all out.
Odds To Win The PGA Championship (BetMGM)
Jon Rahm +1200
Scottie Scheffler +1200
Justin Thomas +1400
Rory McIlroy +1400
Jordan Spieth +1800
Collin Morikawa +2000
Cameron Smith +2200
Patrick Cantlay +2200
Dustin Johnson +2500
As always, shop around the betting market for the best odds on your plays.
Welcome All The Big Guns Back To Action
If you’re one of the top-ranked players in the world, you’re taking your game to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK.
After all, it is a major.
This field represents a Who’s Who of the PGA Tour. Here’s a look at the field by the numbers.
There are 17 former PGA Champions in the field. There are 34 major champs. Three World Golf Hall of Fame members are teeing it up. There are four Ryder Cup captains here. In all, the top 70 players who have earned the most PGA Championship points are here (through the Wells Fargo Championship). And, finally, the top 20 finishers from the 2022 PGA Professional Championship event have also qualified.
It’s certainly not going to be a cakewalk with this talent-laden field.
To illustrate that point, take into consideration the favorites to win this week–Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler–are at an enticing +1200.
Not bad odds at all.
Look Down The Board A Little For The Winner
For us, it’s all about being in the moment. Many of the players at the top of the odds list have a major in hand. They will certainly go into this week looking to add to their resume.
Another major would solidify their place in the sport…as if having a major on your resume doesn’t already put a player into an elite class.
But what if you’re a great player but are still looking for that first major. Is this a good week for you to possibly cash in?
If your name is Patrick Cantlay, at +2000 this week, the answer could be yes. Cantlay, with the exception of Scheffler, is one of the hottest golfers around.
The numbers don’t lie. He’s coming off a Player of the Year season in 2020-2021 where he was all-worldly.
He had four victories in 24 starts. Add in a second, a third and seven top-10s and you’ve got a season to remember. And to put an exclamation point on that Player of the Year season, he ended the year with $7.6 million in winnings and won the last two events, both playoff tournaments, where his worst score over his eight rounds was a 69.
And to prove he’s not resting on his laurels, he’s playing solid golf this wraparound season. He’s got a victory (teaming up with Xander Schauffele) and two seconds in 10 starts and stands fifth in the world golf rankings and fourth in the FedEx Cup points race.
About the only thing he’s missing is, you guessed it, his first major. Why not this week when everyone else is focusing on Tiger and Phil and a couple of other ‘major’ stories. After all, Cantlay’s been under the radar for most of his career.
A victory this week will put all of that to rest and that spotlight shining on him will be turned up to full wattage.
Another Under-The-Radar Player To Watch
With all of the big names jockeying for position on Sunday with a chance to win the title, we’ve got a name that may surprise people: Will Zalatoris at +3500. If you’re considering backing him to win, FanDuel was dealing Zalatoris at +4100.
Sure, he’s never won a major. In fact, he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour. But he’s been oh so close so many times.
He was T-8 in last year’s PGA Championship (along with the likes of Rahm, Scheffler and Collin Morikawa) and he was T-6 in the year’s first major (the Masters) as he finished with a final-round 65 to vault up the leaderboard.
He’s 19th in the FedEx Cup points race so he’s going to want to keep climbing that ladder. And he’s 28th in the world golf rankings.
A win here would rocket him up both of those standings as well as kill two birds with one stone: Making his first PGA Tour victory a major title.
And Then There’s Phil And Tiger
With so many questions surrounding these two (even more than usual), we can’t see a good reason to back them. Sure, everyone said the same thing last year before Mickelson went on to win a major at 50-plus years of age.
But that was before his dustup with Greg Norman’s mega-money tour and him stepping away from the game for a couple of months. And now we won’t have to worry about him this week as he’s staying away for his second straight major. That brings up yet another question: Where and when will he return to the PGA Tour?
Then there’s Woods. Sure, he made the cut at the Masters and we saw a lot of his swings. Many were good…until he got to the weekend when he plummeted down the leaderboard and wound up in 47th place (52 players made the cut) following rounds of 78 and 78 on the weekend.
He’s had a month to work on his game and his stamina but this is another major and it’s going to feature a daunting layout as well as a stacked field and that is always quite the challenge for anyone…let alone a player like Woods attempting a comeback after his horrific car crash in 2021.
Also read: PGA Championship Betting Guide
About the Author
