Eric Uribe
There’s a reason why the Players Championship is considered by many the fifth major of the PGA. It’s not an official major, but the stakes sure make it feel like it. The stakes for the 2022 event are a cool, hard $20 million in prizes — including $3.6 million for the first-place finisher. Speaking of which, we have betting predictions for the 2022 Players on who that top winner might be. Keep reading on for expert betting advice!
The Players takes place between March 10 and 14. Therefore, it’s now or never if you’re going to make a bet on the eventual winner. Odds are available for players across the playing field, but the golfers featured below happen to be the top favorites to win, per the most popular online sportsbooks:
Who Is Playing At The 2022 Players Championship Preview?
Rather than asking who’s playing at the 2022 Players, it might be better to say who’s not. That’s because 48 of the top-50-ranked players will take the field at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach (you think the world’s best want to miss out on $20 million?). The only players that are eligible to play at The Players but won’t are Harris English, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, and Tiger Woods.
Of course, two of those missing names are notable, especially to casual bettors. Mickelson is a somewhat surprise omission. He’s only missed out on the Players twice before during his esteemed career — 1994 (due to a broken leg) and 2003 (birth of his child). He’s a no-go for 2022 in the wake of his controversial comments about the Saudi-backed super league, which has him on a playing “sabbatical” of sorts. Woods, on the other hand, hasn’t played an official PGA event since his horrific car accident a year ago, so it’s no surprise he’ll be missing in Ponte Verda, Florida.
Recent winners at The Players include Justin Thomas (2021), Rory McIllroy (2019), Webb Simpson (2018), amongst others. But repeat champions at TPC Sawgrass are incredibly rare since the event was established in 1974. In the almost five decades since, only six players have ever won the Players Championship more than once. Worse for Thomas, no one has ever won the tournament in consecutive years. No one! Both these factoids are worth knowing ahead of laying bets on the 2022 edition!
Best Bets To Win 2022 Players Championship
The Players’ tournament is notoriously hard to predict. That’s because the course has proven to not favor any particular style of play. Past winners span from power players (McIllroy, Woods) to precision swingers (Matt Kuchar, Webb) to complete surprises (Craig Perks in 2002 comes to mind; it would be his only career win on the tour). So if you’re making bets to win the 2022 Players Championship at golf betting sites, it would be wise to make several to “safeguard” yourself against this unpredictability. That’s the exact approach we’re taking and the three players below have our betting confidence the most:
Rory McIlroy
We know, we just told you that repeat winner at TPC Sawgrass is incredibly rare. So why are we picking McIlroy? Well, because he’s proven his 2019 win wasn’t a fluke. Outside of that performance, McIlroy has placed within the top-10 at The Players on three other occasions. Want to know what was a fluke? McIlroy missing the cut here a year ago. Don’t let that fool you, McIlroy is one of the best bets in 2022. He’s as close to a lock as you can find for a player to be in the championship hunt, which is where our betting confidence in him stems from.
Collin Morikawa
When you have a player that’s ascending to superstar heights in front of our very eyes — as Morikawa is with two major championships before turning 25 — it’s never a bad idea to attach yourself to the “jet pack” per se. That’s our rationale for picking Morikawa, the number-two-ranked player in the world. Here’s one more: experience. He played in the Players for the first time a year ago, struggling to a 41st place finish. But now that he knows what to expect out of TPC, we expect a huge jump in play from Morikawa, which could result in an outright win with his talent.
Daniel Berger
Both Morikawa and McIlroy are high on the favorites list. But we know we have bettors that like “going against the grain” with their betting choice. If you want a low-risk, high-reward play at this event, look no further than Beger. The 28-year-old has four career wins and a pair of strong finishes at The Players before (top-10 finishes on two occasions). At his current betting price, Berger offers more “bang for your buck” than any other option in the field. Take him (or another “flyer” choice) to round out your trip of bets.
How To Watch 2022 Players Championship
Mark your calendars for March 10 through 14 right now. All four days will feature the world’s best golfers competing for that $20 million pool of money. To watch the 2022 Players, you’ll need to have access to The Golf Channel and NBC. Days one and two of The Players will air on The Golf Channel from 1 pm to 7 pm EST. Day three airs between 2 pm and 7 pm on NBC, then the finale is 1 pm to 6 pm on the same network. Betting on this event will be a great tune-up before The Masters, which begins on April 7.
How To Bet On 2022 Players Championship
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