PGA Championship Odds and Picks 2022: Race Tightens Up Top

Esten McLaren

Last Updated: May 18, 2022 11:44 AM EDT • 5 min 8 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

The 2022 PGA Championship is set for Southern Hills Country Club this week, and we preview the year's second major with a look at the odds and our top PGA Tour picks.

The PGA Championship returns to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK, for the first time since Tiger Woods' victory in 2007. Woods is in the field for his second event of 2022 after making a miraculous return to competitive golf at the Masters. Last year's PGA Championship winner, Phil Mickelson, was scheduled to play his first PGA Tour event since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January but withdrew late last week.

https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1525223898375143426

Woods is among those in the field looking to topple world No. 1 and reigning Masters champ Scottie Scheffler for the Wanamaker Trophy.

Here's a look at our top picks to win the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills CC.

2022 PGA Championship Info

When: Thursday, May 19 - Sunday, May 22Where: Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, OKHow to watch: ESPN and CBSDefending champion: Phil Mickelson (Kiawah Island Golf Resort)

2022 PGA Championship Odds

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TQFGH/1/

PGA Championship Odds Analysis

The opening odds for the last five PGA Championship winners have ranged from +1400 to +15000. The low point was for Brooks Koepka's second consecutive win of the major and the high was for when Mickelson became the oldest major winner in PGA Tour history last year.

While value has risen and fallen since the 2022 PGA Championship odds were first posted, our top-rated sportsbooks are now mostly in unison. Scheffler opened at +4000, but now has odds ranging from +1100 to +1200. Cameron Smith, a two-time winner this year, opened around +5000.

Among those who've gone in the other direction is Bryson DeChambeau. The former U.S. Open champ opened at +1800 to win the 2022 PGA Championship but is now offered as high as +13000 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Southern Hills Course Profile

Par: 70Length: 7,481 yardsGreens: Bentgrass

Southern Hills Country Club played to 7,131 yards and a par of 70 in 2007. But like most PGA Tour venues, it's since been lengthened to challenge today's longer hitters. The Perry Maxwell/Gil Hanse design is now expected to play to 7,481 yards and a par of 70.

Creeks meander throughout the course and bunkers guard the sloped greens. Southern Hills demands long carries off of most tees and when approaching the greens.

Woods recorded a two-stroke win in 2007 at -8, with only five golfers finishing under par after 72 holes.

https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1523678362098876416

PGA Championship Key Stats

Strokes gained: Off-the-teeSG: tee-to-greenSG: around-the-greenPar 3 efficiency: 200-225 yardsBogey avoidance

We're tailoring our key stats for the PGA Championship to the updated design's increased length. We'll also target bogey avoidance with scoring opportunities expected to be few and far between.

The PGA Championship has produced several longshot winners, with five winners since 2010 opening with odds of +6000 or greater to win. While some of these, like Collin Morikawa in 2020, had much lower odds by the week of the tournament, this is still the major in which to be targeting those a little further down the odds board.

2022 PGA Championship Picks

Patrick Cantlay (+2200 viaBetMGM)Shane Lowry (+3500 via BetMGM)Tiger Woods (+7000 via BetMGM)Cameron Young (+8000 via PointsBet)Max Homa (+8000 via DraftKings)Harold Varner III (+12000 via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Who Will Win the PGA Championship?

Cantlay (+2200)

Patrick Cantlay's odds to win the PGA Championship finally started to dip this week with DraftKings now offering a market-low of +1600. The reigning FedEx Cup champion bounced back from a disappointing T-39 finish at the Masters with a playoff loss to Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage. That was his second playoff loss of the year to date with his only win coming in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with partner Xander Schauffele.

A seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, Cantlay hasn't had much success in majors. He had back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Masters and PGA Championship in 2019.

Southern Hills sets up as a quality course fit. Cantlay's 16th on Tour in bogey avoidance, and is also averaging 0.71 SG: off-the-tee and 1.52 SG: tee-to-green per round this season. His lack of major success is being held against him by most sportsbooks. Cantlay's fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) but shares just the seventh-best odds at BetMGM.

Lowry (+3500)

The winner of the 2019 Open Championship, Shane Lowry finished T-8 or better in two of the last three PGA Championships and tied for third at the 2022 Masters. He has moved from No. 44 to 27 in the OWGR this year with three top-10 finishes and no missed cuts through nine events. He hasn't missed the cut in a major since the 2019 Masters and hasn't failed to reach the weekend at the PGA Championship since 2016.

Lowry is best on Tour this season in bogey avoidance and 56th in par 3 efficiency: 200-225 yards. He's averaging 1.47 SG: tee-to-green and 0.80 SG: approach per round. He's also gaining strokes on and around the greens.

DraftKings is offering a market low of +2800.

Check out our top-rated sportsbooks here

Woods (+7000)

Tiger's inspirational return to golf at Augusta National, one of the toughest courses in the world to walk, proved that there's still hope for his quest to match Jack Nicklaus' major wins record. Returning to the site of his fourth and most-recent PGA Championship victory is as good of a spot as any to pull within two.

Woods also tied for 12th at the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills. And he has been using the free time away from tournament play to get an advanced look.

https://twitter.com/TaylorMadeGolf/status/1519765779155103744

PointsBet and Caesars Sportsbook are each offering odds of +6000 for Woods to win the PGA Championship.

Young (+8000)

The frontrunner for the 2021-22 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Cameron Young has climbed from No. 134 to No. 38 in the OWGR since Jan. 1. He has three top-10 finishes through 12 events this year, including a pair of runner-up finishes.

Though he's officially in the field, not all books posted odds on Young to win the PGA Championship until Monday. The +8000 found at PointsBet is now the best in the market. Young is 31st on Tour in par 3 efficiency: 200-225 yards, and he trails only Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy in true strokes gained off the tee per round this season.

Homa (+8000)

Lost in a season that has been dominated by Scheffler, Smith, and Woods, Max Homa just picked up his second win of the 2021-22 campaign at the Wells Fargo Championship. It was his third victory since February 2021. He was just 91st in the OWGR before winning the 2021 Genesis Invitational and is now No. 28.

Homa has had next to no success in majors with six missed cuts across his last eight appearances. However, he plays well in low-scoring events and just won the Wells Fargo at -8. We're certainly getting the worst of a number that opened around +12500, but it's still plenty high enough based on his new world ranking.

Varner (+12000)

Harold Varner III, ranked 37th in the world, was in contention early at the Masters before slipping to a T-23 finish. He tied for third at the RBC Heritage the next week to go with a T-6 finish at The Players Championship and a win on the Asian Tour's Saudi International.

Like Young, odds on Varner to win the PGA Championship were just made widely available on Monday. FanDuel's offering the best longshot price for what would be Varner's first PGA Tour win.

Varner's 35th on Tour in bogey avoidance and tied for 20th in par 3 efficiency: 200-225 yards. His driver has been a weakness this season, but he's 45th on Tour in strokes gained: total per round this season.

Recent PGA Championship Winners

(Opening odds)

2021: Phil Mickelson (+15000)2020: Collin Morikawa (+6000)2019: Brooks Koepka (+1400)2018: Brooks Koepka (+2000)2017: Justin Thomas (+3000)2016: Jimmy Walker (+12500)2015: Jason Day (+1500)2014: Rory McIlroy (+700)2013: Jason Dufner (+4000)2012: Rory McIlroy (+1800)

Longshot PGA Championship Winners

Mickelson (+15000) 2021Morikawa (+6000) 2020Walker (+12500) 2016Keegan Bradley (+15000) 2011YE Yang (+12500) 2010

Daily Betting Picks

MLB Best Bets Today NHL Best Bets Today Best Sports Bets Today

Where to Bet on the 2022 PGA Championship

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel Sportsbook Caesars Sportsbook DraftKings Sportsbook PointsBet BetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Written By:
Esten McLaren

Esten is the Senior Publishing Editor for SportsbookReview.com. He has been in the sports betting industry since the legalization of mobile sports betting in New Jersey, and with SportsbookReview prior to the launch of sports betting in Ontario. Esten's previous stops include the USA TODAY network, including GolfWeek. He previously worked in the fantasy sports industry, with FNTSY Sports Network, theScore, and USA TODAY. Esten graduated from the College of Sports Media with a diploma in Radio and Television Sports Broadcasting after acquiring a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Guelph. He has appeared on FNTSY Sports Network, VSiN, and VSiN's Long Shots podcast, where he correctly called Will Zalatoris as the winner of the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Esten is a big proponent of the entertainment side of sports betting and loves to dip his toes into the novelty and alt-markets while chasing long shots with reduced wagers on golf outrights and futures markets. He's also been known to sprinkle some lunch money on touchdown-scorer parlays with two notable hits still funding his bankroll. Esten looks at sports betting much like golf and advises beginner bettors to compete against themselves rather than being concerned with what others may or may not be doing based on social media claims.