Many of the PGA Tour's best golfers head to Hogan's Alley this week for the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge, which tees off Thursday at Colonial Country Club. A particularly strong post-major field will take on the course in Fort Worth, Texas where longtime area resident Ben Hogan won five times. Dallas native Jordan Spieth isn't a threat to his childhood idol's record on the course yet, but he seeks a second win to go with his 2016 victory and a trio of runner-up finishes. Joining Spieth, who ranks ninth in the world, are five other players in the top 10. No. 1 Scottie Scheffler looks to bounce back from a missed cut at the PGA Championship, while fifth-ranked Justin Thomas is poised for a victory lap after his win at Southern Hills. No. 4 Collin Morikawa, seventh-ranked Viktor Hovland and No. 10 Sam Burns also are among the top contenders in the 2022 Charles Schwab field.
Scheffler (10-1), Thomas (12-1) and Spieth (12-1) are the favorites in the latest 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge golf odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Morikawa (15-1), PGA runner-up Will Zalatoris (20-1) and Hovland (20-1) also are among the top choices at Caesars. Burns is priced at 28-1, 2020 Charles Schwab winner Daniel Berger is 35-1 and defending champion Jason Kokrak is listed as a 40-1 long shot. Before making any 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge picks or PGA Tour predictions, you really need to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.
The esteemed golf insider has been around the game for many years and knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour.
Before last week's PGA Championship, Johnson predicted that if Thomas made his putts he could definitely win. Thomas had his best week of the season on the greens, gaining more than 1.5 strokes putting to rank second in the field. The result? He beat Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win his second major, and his second PGA Championship.
In his previous set of predictions for SportsLine, Johnson nailed the Masters for the third time in four years. He backed Scheffler, saying he was "on a run where he has been hard to beat, and I see it rolling on at Augusta National." The 25-year-old got his fourth victory of the season.
Now Johnson, the first producer of "Inside the PGA Tour" and longtime ABC Sports golf producer who worked with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, has released his highly confident 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge (see tickets at StubHub) picks and predictions. The picks from the founder of GOLFstats.com, the world's top golf statistics database, will definitely surprise you. You can only see them at SportsLine.
Top 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge expert picks
One shocking choice: Johnson is fading Scheffler, who might need some time to regroup after his disastrous run at Southern Hills last week. The world's No. 1 player had nine bogeys and a double-bogey over his 36 holes and was on the sideline for the weekend. Scheffler took a lot of time off after his Masters win, and Johnson wonders if that was the best thing for him in the midst of such a scorching run. "He looked rusty at the Byron Nelson, then looked utterly lost at the PGA," Johnson says of Scheffler, and the expert isn't banking on much from him this week.
On the other hand, Johnson expects Spieth to rebound this week on a course he loves. The three-time major champion has finished in the top 15 in eight of his nine runs at Colonial. In his worst finish, he went 5-under par to tie for 32nd in 2018. He finished second to Kokrak last year, shooting a final-round 73 to lose the lead. Spieth has a win and a runner-up in his last three tournaments, and a T-34 at the PGA Championship shouldn't deter him this week. Spieth is eighth in strokes gained tee-to-green and T-24 in greens in regulation this season, so he should score well.
The expert also knows Morikawa has been even better off the tee, and he expects the two-time major champ to go low. Morikawa was the runner-up to Berger in 2020 and was 14th last year at Colonial, going 20-under over his two appearances. He is 13th in greens in regulation (69.8 percent) and 16th in driving accuracy (68.2), and he hits everything close. He is fourth in fairway proximity (29 feet, 4 inches) and sixth in proximity to the hole (34 feet, 4 inches). His only issue has been his touch around the greens, but this course doesn't present many challenges there.
How to make 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge golf picks
Johnson is very high on a massive long shot at Colonial who comes in at around 100-1. "Here is a guy who could really surprise us all and win this week." Johnson says of this veteran, and you can cash in huge if he pulls off the stunning result. You can only see the Johnson's expert picks at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge this week in Fort Worth? Where do Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa finish? And which massive long shot is a must-back? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sal Johnson's full leaderboard, picks and analysis for the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge, all from the insider who is tuned in to what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, and find out.
2022 Charles Schwab Challenge odds, field, top contenders
Scottie Scheffler 10-1
Justin Thomas 12-1
Jordan Spieth 14-1
Collin Morikawa 16-1
Viktor Hovland 18-1
Will Zalatoris 20-1
Max Homa 25-1
Sam Burns 25-1
Abraham Ancer 30-1
Tommy Fleetwood 30-1
Daniel Berger 35-1
Tony Finau 35-1
Sungjae Im 35-1
Davis Riley 40-1
Jason Kokrak 40-1
Talor Gooch 40-1
Billy Horschel 40-1
Gary Woodland 45-1
Mito Pereira 45-1
Webb Simpson 45-1
Justin Rose 50-1
Kevin Na 50-1
Harold Varner 50-1
Chris Kirk 50-1
Bubba Watson 50-1
Bryson DeChambeau 50-1
Maverick McNealy 50-1
Sebastian Munoz 50-1
Brian Harman 55-1
Tom Hoge 55-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 65-1
Cameron Tringale 65-1
Patrick Reed 65-1
Rickie Fowler 65-1
C.T. Pan 70-1
Ryan Palmer 70-1
Sepp Straka 80-1
Cam Davis 80-1
Erik Van Rooyen 80-1
Kevin Kisner 80-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 80-1
Adam Long 90-1
Troy Merritt 90-1
Joel Dahmen 90-1
Russell Knox 90-1
Doug Ghim 90-1
Patton Kizzire 100-1
Ian Poulter 100-1
Denny McCarthy 100-1
Sahith Theegala 100-1
Matt Jones 100-1
David Lipsky 100-1
Kevin Streelman 100-1
Stewart Cink 100-1
Aaron Rai 100-1
Lucas Herbert 100-1
Matthew NeSmith 100-1
J.T. Poston 125-1
Brendon Todd 125-1
Lucas Glover 125-1
Charl Schwartzel 125-1
James Hahn 125-1
J.J. Spaun 125-1
Kurt Kitayama 125-1
Brandon Wu 125-1
Nate Lashley 125-1
Dylan Frittelli 125-1
Peter Malnati 150-1
Patrick Rodgers 150-1
Emiliano Grillo 150-1
Alex Smalley 150-1
Stephan Jaeger 150-1
Rory Sabbatini 150-1
Pat Perez 150-1
Matthias Schwab 150-1
Carlos Ortiz 150-1
Chez Reavie 150-1
Austin Smotherman 150-1
Nick Taylor 150-1
Taylor Moore 150-1
Min Woo Lee 150-1
Mark Hubbard 150-1
Richard Bland 150-1
Scott Stallings 150-1
Adam Svensson 200-1
Danny Lee 200-1
Garrick Higgo 200-1
Wyndham Clark 200-1
Beau Hossler 200-1
Chad Ramey 200-1
Doc Redman 225-1
Zach Johnson 250-1
Michael Thompson 250-1
Kramer Hickok 250-1
Andrew Putnam 250-1
Brian Stuard 250-1
Adam Schenk 250-1
Vince Whaley 250-1
Brandt Snedeker 250-1
Charley Hoffman 250-1
Luke Donald 250-1
Sam Ryder 250-1
Robert Streb 300-1
Harry Higgs 300-1
Hayden Buckley 300-1
Lee Hodges 300-1
Tyler Duncan 300-1
Paul Barjon 300-1
Trey Mullinax 300-1
Ryan Brehm 400-1
Camilo Villegas 400-1
Kevin Tway 400-1
Martin Trainer 500-1
Bill Haas 500-1
Ty Strafaci 500-1
Nick Watney 500-1
Max McGreevy 500-1
James Piot 500-1
John Pak 500-1
Erik Compton 500-1
