Eight years ago, Rory McIlroy won his second PGA Championship and his fourth major overall. That prompted Jack Nicklaus to say McIlroy could win “15 or 20 majors”, but the Irishman still sits on four entering the 2022 PGA Championship. Golf’s second major, the 2022 PGA Championship which kicks off Thursday in Southern Hills , will provide another chance for McIlroy to land that elusive fifth major, an accolade that only seven other living golfers can claim. The two best players in the world, No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Jon Rahm, lead the 2022 PGA Championship odds at 11-1 according to Caesars Sportsbook. A total of nine golfers are 20-1 odds for the PGA Championship in 2022 or less, including Justin Thomas (14-1), McIlroy (14-1) and Jordan Spieth (20-1). Before you make any picks for the 2022 PGA Championship, you need to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.
The esteemed golf insider has been in the game for many years and knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, and he’s tuned into major championships.
In his latest set of predictions for SportsLine, he nailed the Masters for the third time in four years. Johnson backed Scheffler, who played too well to ignore. “Scheffler is in a race where he’s been tough to beat, and I see that continuing at Augusta National,” he said before the 25-year-old picked up his fourth win of the season. He also qualified Woods’ unlikely victory at Augusta in 2019 and Dustin Johnson’s victory in 2020, when he broke a tournament record of 20 under 268.
At the PGA Championship, the last two winners have been surprises, with Mickelson, 50, winning last year and Collin Morikawa winning the 2020 title in his second big start. But Johnson backed the winner the previous two years, as Koepka won in 2018 and then joined Woods as the only consecutive PGA winners the following year. “It’s a course where he can attack and play well,” Johnson said of Koepka ahead of the 2019 event. Koepka took a seven-stroke lead in the final round and held on in the raging wind of Bethpage for his fourth major title.
Now Johnson, the first “Inside the PGA Tour” producer and longtime ABC Sports golf producer who has worked with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, has released his very confident picks for the 2022 PGA Championship. founder of GOLFstats, the best database of golf statistics in the world, will surprise you. You can see them here.
The 2022 PGA Championship’s Top Expert Picks
A shocking choice from Johnson: the expert loses Cameron Smith, even though he has won two victories this season and was in contention at the Masters. The 28-year-old hasn’t been quite the same since his triple bogey on the 12th hole at Augusta knocked him out. He missed the cut in his final stroke play event, the RBC Heritage, and tied for 21st at the Zurich Classic with Marc Leishman. Southern Hills is a ball-hitter’s course, and Smith hasn’t done well in places like this. “I just don’t think Southern Hills will suit his eyes,” Johnson told SportsLine.
On the other hand, Johnson isn’t backing down from Scheffler, even at his low odds. Scheffler was the 24th golfer in the world at this time a year ago, but ended 2021 strong and has been a blazing run in 2022. He has won four of his last seven individual events, including the Masters, which was his first major victoire. The No. 1 player in the world is also the No. 1 player in the FedEx Cup standings and is almost at the top of the pack. The point difference between Scheffler and the No. 2 golfer in the FedEx Cup standings is bigger than the difference between the No. 2 and the No. 122.
The expert is also interested to see what Rahm can do in Southern Hills. Rahm held the world No.1 spot for 36 weeks until Scheffler overtook him, but the Spaniard got back on track with a victory at the Mexican Open earlier this month. It’s been a turbulent season for Rahm, who has as many top-five finishes (three) as he has finished outside the top 25. His PGA Championship resume doesn’t look much different, as he has two top 10 finishes in five career starts, but also has two finishes outside the top 50.
How to make picks and bets for the 2022 PGA Championship
Johnson is also high on a massive long shot in Southern Hills that sits around 100-1. His excellent tee-to-green game should fit Southern Hills like a glove. You can only see who it is on SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills? And which epic long shot is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Sal Johnson’s full rankings, picks and analysis for the 2022 PGA Championship, all from the insider who’s tuned into what it takes to win a major championship.