A limited but loaded field is set to tee off Thursday at Congaree Golf Club in the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy are among the 15 players ranked in the top 20 who are scheduled to compete. Also among the 78 golfers in the CJ Cup 2022 field are 10 top players from the Korean Tour. The event was originally contested at Nine Bridges in South Korea but has been played in the States since the start of the pandemic. Sungjae Im, a runner-up alongside Scheffler at the Tour Championship at East Lake, is part of that contingent, along with rising star Tom Kim. There are several multiple major champions in the field, including Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morkiawa. U.S. Open champs Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick also are among the top contenders in the 2022 CJ Cup field. McIlroy is the defending CJ Cup champion after going 25 under to edge Morikawa by one stroke at The Summit Club in Las Vegas last year.
Caesars Sportsbook lists McIlroy as the 13-2 favorite in its latest 2022 CJ Cup odds, followed by Rahm (9-1), Scheffler (12-1) and Thomas (14-1). They are the clear favorites, with Fitzpatrick (22-1), Im (22-1) and Viktor Hovland (25-1) not too far behind. Spieth (28-1) and Morikawa (30-1) are among the slightly longer shots in the CJ Cup 2022 field, along with young stars like Sam Burns (28-1), Cameron Young (28-1) and Kim (30-1). Before you lock in any 2022 CJ Cup picks or bets, be sure you check out the PGA Tour predictions, best bets and sleepers from golf insider Patrick McDonald.
After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour.
He takes a measured approach to his outright selections and finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on those plays, having hit Cameron Smith (22-1) at the Tournament of Champions, Hudson Swafford (250-1) at The American Express, Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational and Justin Thomas (66-1) live at the PGA Championship.
At the Zozo Championship, McDonald nailed a first-round leader, backing 80-1 Brendan Steele before he closed with four consecutive birdies to lead by one stroke after Thursday's round. The expert also hit two of his three matchup plays, including tournament winner Keegan Bradley over Corey Conners, one of the pre-tournament favorites. Anyone who followed McDonald's advice cashed in huge.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2022 CJ Cup field and is locking in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.
Top 2022 CJ Cup expert picks
In a surprise prediction, McDonald is fading Kim, even though the phenom won his second tournament just two weeks ago. The 20-year-old went 24 under at TPC Summerlin to win the Shriners, then went to Japan, where he finished T-25 at the Zozo. That's a lot of travel, but even if his youth makes that a non-issue, his skills aren't an ideal fit. Congaree will reward power, and that isn't part of Kim's game. He typically averages about 300 yards off the tee and is 192nd in driving distance so far this season at less than 287. He will have a lot of ground to make up.
On the other hand, the expert knows McIlory has power to spare and that the rest of his game has been locked in for months. The 33-year-old is on the brink of regaining the No. 1 ranking for the first time in two years, and he has been in great form since winning the Tour Championship two months ago. He has three straight top-five finishes on the DP World Tour, and his win at The Summit Club and two at Quail Hollow show his affinity for Tom Fazio designs. He was No. 1 in scoring average and second in driving distance last year and could make short work of Congaree. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2022 CJ Cup golf picks
Before this week's PGA Tour event near Hilton Head, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2022 CJ Cup. He has several outright plays, including a monster longshot that would bring a massive payout of 150-1. You can find out who it is, and see all of the expert's PGA picks, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 CJ Cup picks should you target? Which golfer priced at 150-1 could pull off a stunning victory this week at CJ Cup 2022? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald's top prop picks for CJ Cup 2022, all from the expert who ended last season up 42 units on outright plays, and find out.
2022 CJ Cup odds, field, top contenders
See full CJ Cup 2022 picks, best bets, and predictions here.
Rory McIlroy +650
Jon Rahm +900
Scottie Scheffler +1100
Max Homa +1600
Justin Thomas +1600
Sungjae Im +1800
Matt Fitzpatrick +1800
Shane Lowry +2200
Jordan Spieth +2200
Viktor Hovland +2800
Tom Kim +2800
Sam Burns +2800
Collin Morikawa +2800
Tyrrell Hatton +3500
Cameron Young +3500
Hideki Matsuyama +4000
Taylor Montgomery +4500
Keegan Bradley +4500
Billy Horschel +4500
Aaron Wise +4500
Maverick McNealy +6500
Corey Conners +6500
Brian Harman +6500
Andrew Putnam +6500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6500
Tom Hoge +7000
Russell Henley +7000
Mito Pereira +7000
Keith Mitchell +7000
Emiliano Grillo +7000
Cam Davis +7000
Tommy Fleetwood +8000
Si Woo Kim +8000
Scott Stallings +8000
Sahith Theegala +8000
Rickie Fowler +8000
Jason Day +8000
J.T. Poston +8000
Alex Noren +8000
Adam Hadwin +8000
Taylor Moore +10000
Sebastian Munoz +10000
Seamus Power +10000
Matt Kuchar +10000
Harris English +10000
Denny McCarthy +10000
Davis Riley +10000
Kurt Kitayama +13000
K.H. Lee +13000
J.J. Spaun +13000
Webb Simpson +15000
Wyndham Clark +15000
Sepp Straka +15000
S.H. Kim +15000
Ryan Palmer +15000
Luke List +15000
Kevin Kisner +15000
Chris Kirk +15000
Alex Smalley +15000
Trey Mullinax +18000
Gary Woodland +18000
Brendon Todd +18000
Lee Hodges +20000
Byeong Hun An +20000
Brendan Steele +20000
Troy Merritt +25000
Justin Suh +25000
Danny Willett +30000
Chez Reavie +30000
Lucas Glover +40000
John Huh +40000
Yoseop Seo +50000
Yongjun Bae +100000
Sanghyun Park +100000
Sanghun Shin +100000
Chanmin Jung +100000
Yeongsu Kim +100000
