2022 PGA Championship Odds and Picks (Golfers Look to Survive Southern Hills)

The second major golf tournament of the year, the PGA Championship, is here.

The best golfers in the world descend upon Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The defending champion, Phil Mickelson, will not be back to defend his title due to a myriad of reasons, but Tiger Woods will make his second appearance this year after playing in The Masters Tournament back in April. Woods won the PGA Championship the last time it was held here in 2007.

Let's start off with the top 10 odds to win, via WynnBET Sportsbook, and then I'll dive into how you should handicap the course. As always, I'll finish with my top three picks to win.

Odds to Win the PGA Championship

• Jon Rahm +900
• Scottie Scheffler +1000
• Rory McIlroy +1400
• Justin Thomas +1400
• Jordan Spieth +1500
• Collin Morikawa +2000
• Patrick Cantlay +2000
• Xander Schauffele +2000
• Hideki Matsuyama +2000
• Cameron Smith +2200

Other notable golfers in the field include Dustin Johnson (+2200), Viktor Hovland (+2800), Will Zalatoris (+3300), and Tiger Woods (+9000).

How to Handicap Southern Hills

It's going to be tough to narrow down what style of golf fits best at Southern Hills this year. Not only do we have no shot link data to look at due to the last event held back in 2007, but the course has undergone renovations since then, and now it plays close to 500 yards longer.

What we do know, is that the greens are smaller than the PGA Tour's average. We also know that the bermuda rough will cause issues for golfers all weekend. Finally, play around the greens is extremely important, especially considering how tough the small greens will be to hit.

With that being said, lack of statistical data is causing us to stick to general stats when figuring out who to bet on this week.

5 Key Stats for the PGA Championship

• Ball Striking
• Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green
• Proximity from Rough
• Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green
• Strokes Gained: Putting

Picks to Win the PGA Championship

Xander Schauffele +2000

I swore I'd stop betting on Xander Schauffele at major tournaments, but he's in such good form that I can't resist this week. He won the Zurich Classic in dominating dorm alongside Patrick Cantlay, and then followed it up with a T5 at the AT&T Byron Nelson this past week, which included shooting a 61 on Sunday.

His stats are solid all around, and he has no flaring weaknesses. He ranks fourth in Tour in ball striking, 23rd in strokes gained: approach, 27th in proximity from the rough, 32nd in strokes gained: around-the-green, and 59th in strokes gained: putting.

All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together for his first major victory.

Matt Fitzpatrick +4000

I'm staying away from inaccurate drivers of the golf ball this week given how tough it's going to be to stick it close from the long bermuda rough. This is where Matt Fitzpatrick comes in. He ranks 46th in driving accuracy, but even more important than that, he's fantastic around the greens.

He ranks 19th in both strokes gained: around-the-green strokes gained; putting. His only real weakness is driving distance, but that shouldn't hurt him too much at Southern Hills. Also, if the event sees some wet conditions over the weekend, like the forecast says it will, that's when the Englishman thrives.

Fitzpatrick is also coming off a T2 finish at the Wells Fargo, which means his form is promising.

Daniel Berger +6300

Daniel Berger must just be the best value bet on the board this week. He ranks seventh in total strokes gained this season, but yet is 63/1? Not only that, but his 20th ranking in driving accuracy is going to help quite a bit at Southern hills, and his short game is amongst the strongest in the field. He ranks first on Tour in sand save percentage, and is sixth in scrambling.

Berger isn't a guy you want to bet on at an event that turns into a birdie fest, but with the winner at Southern Hills likely scoring in the single digits under par, Berger has a lot working in his favor.

You can track Iain's bets on Betstamp here.

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