And in the blink of an eye, the season’s unofficial Major, the Players Championship is upon us. Traditionally one of the hardest tournaments to figure out, it is rich in tradition and has a laundry list of household names who have hosted the trophy at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Below, we search for the best value prop bets among the 2022 Players Championship odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Justin Thomas returns to defend his title and continues his excellent ball striking this season. Look for him to be a favorite along with two-time 2022 winner Scottie Scheffler, who is coming off last week’s win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Viktor Hovland continues to be one of golf’s promising stars and finished one stroke behind Scheffler last week and is at +2000 to win the Players Championship, per Tipico Sportsbook. Tying Hovland for second was Billy Horschel and Tyrrell Hatton, the two players making the most significant moves up the Fedex Cup rankings. Both have now cracked the Fedex Cup’s 20 and are at +5000 to win this weekend.
Although tough to repeat here, only one player has lower odds to win than Thomas (+1300) and that would be Jon Rahm (+1200). Right behind the duo are Picked to compete for the title last week, Collin Morikawa is at +1500, followed by Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Scheffler and Hovland, each at +2000.
WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+
2022 Players Championship top-10 picks
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 10:54 p.m. ET
Talor Gooch (+550)
A great opportunity to cash in this weekend. Not only did Gooch finish T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week but fell apart with a 77 on Sunday. His T5 finish at the Players last year shows that he’s a fan of this course and knows how to navigate its numerous twists and turns. He is ranked 18th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Shane Lowry (+425)
Oh, what could have been two weeks ago at PGA National. Lowry ran into a freak downpour as he played the final holes with the lead, only to lose by a stroke to first-time winner Sepp Straka. Lowry finished with rounds of 68 and 69 to grab 8th place at the 2021 Players Championship and should be fresh after taking last week off.
Also see: Players Championship odds, picks and predictions
Hideki Matsuyama (+300)
Last week, Hideki finished inside the top 20 in brutal conditions at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where his incredible play over the weekend should be noted. His history at the Players has been erratic to say the least, finishing inside the top 10 in 2019 and 2016 but missing the cut in 2018 and 2021.
Last season, a disappointing opening nine Thursday proved too much to come back from and he would miss the cutline by one stroke. It should be noted that Hideki led after the first round in 2020, shooting a mind-blowing 9-under while hitting 15 of 18 greens and not missing a putt inside 10 feet.
The tournament would go on to be canceled due to COVID-19, so maybe he’s back to win it all this week. Either way, we like him as a T10 contender.
Daniel Berger (+350)
A T9 finisher at the Players last year, Berger was nearly perfect at The Honda Classic a couple weeks back but hit a wall Sunday and struggled with below average ball-striking, eventually finishing fourth after losing a five-shot lead coming into Round 4 at PGA National.
It was Berger’s second top-5 finish of the year. Last year’s T9 finish in his second start was due to a hot putter, which is going to be key this weekend on Sawgrass’ lightning-fast greens.
Brooks Koepka (+425)
Koepka should be in consideration this weekend. A top-3 finish at the WM Phoenix Open and a 16th at the Honda Classic tells us that he’s back to being one of the world’s best golfers and possibly 100% healthy for the first time this season. He traditionally has putted well and hasn’t missed the cut in his past four tournaments at TPC Sawgrass.
Other T10 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Zach Johnson (+2000)
- Kevin Kisner (+1300)
- Justin Rose (+900)
- Chris Kirk (+750)
- Sungjae Im (+450)
- Cameron Smith (+380)
- Dustin Johnson (+380)
2022 Players Championship top-20 picks
These four golfers are worth a T20 wager.
- Henrik Stenson (+1200)
- Tom Hoge (+400)
- Tony Finau (+280)
- Louis Oosthuizen (+240)
[tipico]
2022 Players Championship matchups (72 holes)
The suggested play is the golfer in bold.
- Shane Lowry (+100) vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Talor Gooch (+100) vs. Billy Horschel
- Hideki Matsuyama (-120) vs. Dustin Johnson
2022 Players Championship bonus prop bet
Will there be a playoff? Yes: (+350)
Will this be the third weekend in a row without a playoff? There’s too much parity on the Tour. Let’s hope to watch some extra golf Sunday.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and soon IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Golfweek:
- Thursday tee times
- ‘He’s done everything for the game’ – Tiger Woods to be honored, immortalized with World Golf Hall of Fame induction
Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]