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Justin Thomas is now a seasoned veteran on the PGA Tour, having won 14 tournaments and one major championship. Thomas will enter the 2022 Players Championship as the defending champion and if he's able to repeat at TPC Sawgrass, he'll become the first golfer to ever successfully defend his title. However, Thomas will have some stiff competition this week with the likes of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson in the 2022 Players Championship field. 

Thomas enters this week's event full of confidence after finishing T-8 or better in four of his last five starts on the PGA Tour. According to the latest 2022 Players Championship odds from Caesars Sportsbook, Thomas is 14-1 to repeat. With a star-studded Players Championship 2022 field playing an extremely challenging course, you'll definitely want to see the golf predictions and best bets from SportsLine's Mike McClure.

McClure built SportsLine's proprietary golf model, which has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up almost $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

At the 2021 Open Championship, McClure's best bets included Collin Morikawa winning outright even though he was listed as a massive 40-1 long shot. In addition, McClure's model was all over Jon Rahm's (10-1) first career major championship victory at the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, but the model still projected him as the winner. 

This same model has also nailed a whopping seven majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, McClure has set his sights on the 2022 Players Championship and just revealed his top golf prop bets. Head to SportsLine now to see McClure's 2022 Players Championship expert picks. 

Top 2022 Players Championship picks, predictions 

McClure is high on Patrick Cantlay to finish inside the top five at +490 odds. It's hard to find many holes in Cantlay's game right now. The 29-year-old enters the 2022 Players Championship hitting 70 percent of greens in regulation this season. 

His ability to consistently find the green in regulation has Cantlay averaging 5.45 birdies per round, the fourth-best mark on the PGA Tour. Cantlay also ranks first in one-putt percentage (47.78), second in putting average (1.651) and fourth in scoring average (69.612). Those impressive stats, plus his recent form, are among the main reasons why McClure expects he'll secure a top-five finish this week. 

McClure's 2022 Players Championship expert picks also include Louis Oosthuizen finishing inside the top 10 as a sleeper at +650 odds. Oosthuizen has had success at TPC Sawgrass, securing a runner-up finish in 2017. While Oosthuizen has yet to crack the top 10 this season, McClure believes he has all the tools needed to be in the mix at TPC Sawgrass. 

The 39-year-old enters this week's event ranked seventh in greens in regulation percentage (73.53), 17th in scoring average (69.991) and 19th in birdie average (4.47). Plus, Oosthuizen has proven he can play with the world's best players, finishing T-3 or better in each of his last three starts in major championships. It's easy to see why McClure has pinpointed value in Oosthuizen this week at TPC Sawgrass. 

How to make 2022 Players Championship picks

McClure has also locked in a slew of other prop bets for the 2022 Players Championship, including a 70-1 long shot he thinks can win it all. Anyone who backs this long shot could hit it big. You can only see them here.

So what 2022 Players Championship prop picks should you be all over? And which long shot has a chance to stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine to see McClure's 2022 Players Championship best bets, all from the expert who's up almost $9,000 since the restart.

2022 Players Championship odds

Justin Thomas +1400
Collin Morikawa +1400
Jon Rahm +1400
Rory McIlroy +1800
Viktor Hovland +2000
Scottie Scheffler +2500
Patrick Cantlay +2500
Xander Schauffele +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +3000
Dustin Johnson +3000
Daniel Berger +3000
Cameron Smith +3300
Brooks Koepka +3500
Shane Lowry +3500
Matt Fitzpatrick +3500
Jordan Spieth +4000
Sungjae Im +4000
Sam Burns +4000
Will Zalatoris +4000
Billy Horschel +4000
Joaquin Niemann +4500
Tyrrell Hatton +4500
Louis Oosthuizen +5000
Corey Conners +5000
Adam Scott +5000
Talor Gooch +5000
Tony Finau +5500
Paul Casey +6000
Webb Simpson +6600
Max Homa +6600
Cameron Young +6600
Tommy Fleetwood +6600
Abraham Ancer +6600
Gary Woodland +6600
Marc Leishman +6600
Sergio Garcia +7000
Chris Kirk +7000
Russell Henley +8000
Si-Woo Kim +8000
Jason Kokrak +8000
Jason Day +8000
Justin Rose +9000
Alex Noren +10000
Brian Harman +10000
Keith Mitchell +10000
Harold Varner +12500
Seamus Power +12500
Lee Westwood +12500
Patrick Reed +12500
Bubba Watson +12500
Cameron Tringale +12500
Maverick McNealy +12500
Thomas Pieters +12500
Ian Poulter +12500
Aaron Wise +15000
Lanto Griffin +15000
Sebastian Munoz +15000
Jhonattan Vegas +15000
Lucas Herbert +15000
Francesco Molinari +15000
Tom Hoge +15000
Mito Pereira +15000
Ryan Palmer +15000
Mackenzie Hughes +15000
Erik Van Rooyen +15000
Kevin Na +15000
Kevin Kisner +15000
Matthew Wolff +15000
Keegan Bradley +15000
Matt Jones +15000
Luke List +15000
Sepp Straka +17500 
Cam Davis +20000
Dylan Frittelli +20000
Martin Laird +20000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +20000
Emiliano Grillo +20000
Patton Kizzire +20000
Brendon Todd +20000
Andrew Putnam +20000
Joel Dahmen +20000
Sahith Theegala +20000
Cameron Champ +20000
Russell Knox +20000
Denny McCarthy +20000
Matt Kuchar +20000
Adam Hadwin +20000
Charley Hoffman +20000
C.T. Pan +20000
Doug Ghim +25000
Stewart Cink +25000
Brendan Steele +25000
Wyndham Clark +25000
Lucas Glover +25000
Matthew NeSmith +25000
Pat Perez +25000
Chez Reavie +25000
Troy Merritt +25000
J.T. Poston +25000
Carlos Ortiz +25000
Henrik Stenson +25000
Beau Hossler +25000
Garrick Higgo +25000
Taylor Pendrith +25000
Matt Wallace +25000
Zach Johnson +25000
Charl Schwartzel +30000
Adam Long +30000
Hayden Buckley +30000
Sam Ryder +30000
Adam Schenk +30000
Hudson Swafford +30000
Doc Redman +30000
J.J. Spaun +30000
Lee Hodges +30000
Kevin Streelman +30000
Harry Higgs +30000
Brian Stuard +30000
Branden Grace +30000
Kramer Hickok +30000
Henrik Norlander +30000
Brandt Snedeker +30000
Ryan Brehm +30000