The second major championship of the 2022 golf season takes place this week.
Southern Hills Country Club plays host to the PGA Championship on Thursday through Sunday.
Many of the big names will be in this week’s field, including Tiger Woods. However, all eyes will remain on Scottie Scheffler, winner of The Masters in April.
Will Michigan sports bettors continue to ride Scheffler’s hot streak?
PGA Championship rundown
The PGA Championship is one of four annual major championships in golf. It is a four-day tournament featuring the best golfers in the world.
- Dates: May 19-22, 2022
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Course: Southern Hills Country Club
- Par: 70
- Length: 7,556 yards
- TV and streaming: CBS, ESPN, ESPN+
- Prize pool: $12 million in 2021
- First-place share: $2.16 million in 2021
- Defending champion: Phil Mickelson*
*Is not competing this week
Rahm, Scheffler PGA Championship favorites
Heading into the weekend, it is Scheffler and Jon Rahm finding themselves as the betting favorites.
Most list these two atop their PGA Championship markets, while Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Colin Morikawa are also among the top contenders.
Scheffler is No. 1 in the world rankings and on the run of a lifetime. He has won four of his last seven tournaments, including The Masters.
That was Scheffler’s first major championship, but he has finished in the top 10 in both of his previous PGA Championship appearances. He was fourth in 2020 and eighth in 2021.
Scheffler’s major championship performances have been outstanding. Over his last seven, he has finished 19th or better in all seven. That also includes five top-10 finishes and one victory.
Rahm sits second in the world rankings behind Scheffler. He is coming off a win at the Mexico Open, his first of 2022.
The Spaniard holds one major championship in his career (2021 U.S. Open) and finished eighth in the 2021 PGA Championship. His 27th-place finish at The Masters last month snapped a streak of four straight majors finishing in the top 10.
Tiger Woods teeing it up in PGA Championship
Still going through the recovery process from his rollover accident a year ago, Tiger Woods will look to win his 16th major championship this weekend.
Tiger is not finding himself amongst the favorites listed at to win the Wanamaker Trophy. However, the last time Southern Hills held the PGA Championship in 2007, Woods was the winner.
Even if Woods is a long shot, he’s still earning a large number of wagers nationwide.
“Tiger Woods (+6600) is our biggest liability to win the PGA Championship. If Tiger were to win, it would be the biggest losing result in BetMGM history. Tiger missing the cut would be a good outcome for the sportsbook,” Jason Scott, VP of Trading for BetMGM, said.
Woods played in The Masters last month, finishing 47th overall after having not played in a PGA event for two years. Currently ranked 818th in the world, Woods has won the PGA Championship four times in his career. He also finished second in the tournament in 2018.
Defending champ Phil Mickelson not competing
While Tiger will be in the field, defending champion Phil Mickelson will not.
Just a year after one of the most memorable major wins in history, Mickelson can’t be found on the tour.
Last year, Mickelson became the oldest major champion in history at 50 by beating the PGA Championship field by two shots.
It was Lefty’s sixth major championship in his career and second PGA Championship.
But, just 12 months later Mickelson has become a black sheep in the golf world following controversial comments on the Saudi-backed Super Golf League.
In an excerpt from Alan Shipnuck’s unauthorized biography on Mickelson, he quoted the following from the golfer when discussing Greg Norman’s rival league.
“We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates,” Shipnuck attributes to Mickelson.
Soon after Mickelson announced he was taking a break from golf. He didn’t play in The Masters, and withdrew from this week’s major last Friday. His last tournament was the Saudi International on Feb. 6.
Ryan Brehm representing Michigan
The state of Michigan has one representative this weekend.
Mount Pleasant native and Michigan State alum Ryan Brehm is in the field for the PGA Championship.
Ranked 286th in the world rankings, Brehm earned his spot in the major by winning the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year. It was his first PGA Tour victory.
Brehm is seen as a very distant longshot to win this weekend. Oddsmakers list him at to walk away with the Wanamaker trophy.
This will be just the second major championship for Brehm. He played in the 2017 U.S. Open, where he finished 53rd.
BetMGM Michigan offering PGA Championship winner’s insurance
BetMGM Michigan is offering up some insurance if you bet on a player to win the PGA Championship.
If your selected player doesn’t win, but finishes in the top 5, BetMGM will match your wager in bonus bets, up to $25.
Just be sure to opt-in to the promotion.
Caesars Sportsbook MI with winner’s insurance, event boosts
Caesars Sportsbook MI is offering up a similar promotion.
Bet $10+ on a PGA Championship tournament winner prior to the start of the event on Thursday. If your pick doesn’t win, but finishes in the top 5, you will get a bonus bet equal to 200% of your wager. The maximum bonus bet received will be $50.
Only your first bet on the PGA Championship winner will count.
Caesars also has a number of boosts for this week’s event:
- Wire-to-Wire PGA Championship Winner – Now +1500
- Hideki Matsuyama Tournament Winner – Now +3000
- Tony Finau Tournament Winner – Now +4500
