With the 2022 PGA Championship getting underway in less than 24 hours, all of the best golfers in the world will be putting their final practice and preparations in ahead of teeing off in the 104th PGA Championship on Thursday. Southern Hills Country Club takes centre stage, hosting the event for the first time since 2007 when a certain Tiger Woods triumphed here in Oklahoma.
We have some exclusive PGA Championship betting tips for SportsLens readers which you can check out by clicking the link. We have also outlined who we think has the best chance of leading after Round 1 with some amazing prices for our readers to back.
But this article is all about finishing inside the Top 10 come Sunday evening. Who do you think will have a great week in Oklahoma and be there or there abouts after 72 holes? Without any further ado, here is who we fancy to be inside the Top 10 of the leaderboard come end of play on Sunday.
PGA Championship Preview
This week is the turn of the second major of the year; The PGA Championship. All of the world’s best golfers are heading to Southern Hills Country Club this week in a bid to win the Wanamaker Trophy, in what should be an entertaining, fun-filled week at the beautiful parkland golf course.
With a tournament the sheer magnitude of this one, not many professional golfers will want to miss it. Hence why the field is so stacked with talent ahead of the 104th hosting of the PGA Championship. Names such as world number one and reigning Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler, 15-time major championship winner, Tiger Woods and four-time major champion and two-time winner of this event, Rory McIlroy, all feature in sunny Oklahoma this week.
Taking a look at the course itself, Southern Hills Country Club is a thing of beauty. It was originally designed in 1936 by Perry Maxwell, with Gil Hanse renovating the course in 2019. It is a par 71 and is almost 7,500 yards in length. Southern Hills really is a masterpiece. 15-time major champion, Tiger Woods, won here when Southern Hills last hosted the PGA Championship over a decade ago.
With this week bringing us the second major of the year, there is a truly staggering amount of money up for grabs, as you may well expect. The prize pot accumulates to a tasty $12 million, with the winner taking home a tidy $2,160,000. Not bad for four days work!
Now we are focusing on who we believe has the best chance of a great run this week in the PGA Championship, which could well end in a Top 10 finish come Sunday night. Here is who we are backing to play some stellar golf and go close to winning this week at Southern Hills.
As a valued SportsLens reader, we have teamed up with several bookmakers to provide you with the best betting offers and golf free bets ahead of the second major championship of the year this week. Check out the best PGA Championship betting offers and free bets by clicking here!
PGA Championship Round One Leader betting tips
Odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to chance
PGA Championship Tip 1: Jordan Spieth to finish in the Top 10 @ 21/10 with Bet UK
Fresh off the back of a win just a few weeks ago and a second place finish just last week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Jordan Spieth comes to Southern Hills this week somewhere near his superb best.
The former world number one and three-time major champion is going for the golf grand slam this week, looking to add the Wanamaker Trophy to his trophy cabinet that already consists of a US Open, Claret Jug and Green Jacket.
Spieth had been struggling for a long period of time with his game, with two of his best assets, his driving and putting, both going missing. However, the 28-year-old has turned that around and looks in a great place ahead of this weeks PGA Championship.
His best finish in this tournament was when he came second back in 2015, also coming in third place in 2019. The course is one that could suit the eye of Spieth, so if he brings his form from the past month to Oklahoma this week, he not just has a chance of finishing inside the Top 10, but a big chance of winning the whole event.
Certainly one of the leading market contenders and one of the most in form players in the world right now. Definitely worth backing at a great price of 21/10 with Bet UK.
PGA Championship Tip 2: Cameron Smith to finish in the Top 10 @ 3/1 with Bet UK
Australia’s number one, Cameron Smith, is yet to win a major championship. At the tender age of just 28, the world is his oyster, having only really broken onto the golfing scene in the past few years.
Now ranked as the 4th best golfer in the world, Smith is a name you simply cannot ignore when it comes to predicting who will win the PGA Championship this week. Smith oozes consistency, with four Top 10s in The Masters as well as finishing inside the Top 10 in the US Open in 2015.
Southern Hills is a course that will suit Smith, who can shape the ball both right and left and has an abundance of skill in his arsenal.
Already this year, Smith has won the Sentry Tournament of Champions on -34, as well as winning the ‘fifth major’ in March when he triumphed at TPC Sawgrass in The Players Championship.
Smith has a great week at Augusta in April in the first major of the year and will be looking to bring that form with him to Oklahoma this week. Here a SportsLens, we think he has every chance of finishing inside the Top 10 come Sunday night.
Certainly in with a big chance of a Top 10 finish at a great price of 12/5 with Bet UK.
PGA Championship Tip 3: Dustin Johnson to finish in the Top 10 @ 11/4 with Bet UK
Our final tip to finish inside the Top 10 of the 104th PGA Championship is former US Open and The Masters champion, Dustin Johnson.
‘DJ’ comes to Southern Hills this week in indifferent form, having played reasonably well at Augusta last month but poorly in his two starts since in the RBC Heritage and AT&T Byron Nelson respectively.
However, the 37-year-old is still one of the best players in the world on his day and makes the game of golf look effortless when he’s on song. Johnson has finished inside the Top 10 of major championships on 21 occassions in his career, which shows he has the winning formula for the big events on the PGA Tour roster.
Of these 21 Top 10’s, six of them came in the PGA Championship. Although ‘DJ’ hasn’t yet won the Wanamaker Trophy, he has come close on several occassions, finishing second in both 2019 and 2020.
If the American Ryder Cup hero brings his A-game to Southern Hills this week, do not be surprised to see his name floating about at the top of the leaderboard throughout this week.
Certainly capable of winning the event for the first time and likely to finish inside the Top 10, therefore very backable at a price of 11/4 with Bet UK.
Finish Inside The Top 10 – PGA Championship Odds
| Golfer (To finish in Top 10) | Highest Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 7/5 |  |
| Jon Rahm | 13/8 | |
| Justin Thomas | 9/5 | |
| Rory McIlroy | 2/1 | |
| Jordan Spieth | 21/10 | |
| Collin Morikawa | 23/10 | |
| Patrick Cantlay | 23/10 | |
| Dustin Johnson | 11/4 | |
| Xander Schauffele | 11/4 | |
| Cameron Smith | 3/1 | |
Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.
Other notable mentions
Although Spieth, Johnson and Smith are our biggest fancies to have a great week and finish inside the Top 10 at Southern Hills, here are some other notable players who we think have a good chance of having a strong week at a great price:
Jason Day @ 7/1, Will Zalatoris @ 10/3, Joaquin Niemann @ 4/1, Viktor Hovland @ 3/1 and Justin Thomas @ 2/1. All prices are with Bet UK.
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