- World no. 1 Jon Rahm is the +1100 odds on favorite to win the 2022 PGA Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass this weekend.
- Brooks Koepka is the biggest liability at several of the top golf betting sites.
- Collin Morikawa has the highest betting handle to win the tournament at BetMGM with 16%.
World no. 1 Jon Rahm is the odds on favorite to win the 2022 PGA Players Championship at +1100 odds:
A look at THE PLAYERS Championship Odds ⛳ pic.twitter.com/AxKGEdU9mz
— BetMGM ? (@BetMGM) March 9, 2022
However, Brooks Koepka at +3000 and Collin Morikawa at +1400 are the most popular bets at online sportsbook BetMGM.
According to the said betting site, Koepka has 9% of the total tickets and 10% of the total betting handle while Morikawa has 8% of the betting slips and 16% of the total money wagered. Patrick Cantlay is the third most popular bet with 5% of the tickets and 5% of the handle.
Koepka is Biggest Liability
Golf’s “fifth major,” THE PLAYERS Championship, starts tomorrow. Here are the players who are the biggest liabilities for sportsbooks if they win (at least until people start live betting):
PointsBet: Brooks Koepka
FanDuel: Koepka
BetMGM: Koepka
DraftKings: Collin Morikawa— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) March 10, 2022
Four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka isn’t just the most popular bet at BetMGM but he is also the biggest liability at that online sportsbook. Likewise, Koepka is the biggest liability at the other top golf sportsbooks like PointsBet USA and the FD Sportsbook.
Koepka has two Top 20 finishes in this tournament – a T16 in 2017 and a T11 in 2018 but missed the trip last year. He’s also found success in like courses – a T2 at Concession last year and TPC Southwind in 2020. Koepka placed 16th at the Honda Classic two weeks ago and finished third in the Waste Management Phoenix Open two tournaments earlier.
Statistically, there are some concerns about his driving statistics. In five events this year, he’s lost strokes off the tee in three tournaments. Despite that, Koepka has gained at least 0.67 strokes on approach in two out of his last three starts so that’s probably the reason why bettors are favoring him to win the tournament.
Morikawa Second Best Odds to Win
A look at THE PLAYERS Championship Odds ⛳ pic.twitter.com/AxKGEdU9mz
— BetMGM ? (@BetMGM) March 9, 2022
Morikawa’s +1400 odds to win the 2022 Players Championship are second only to Jon Rahm’s +1100. Last year’s Open Championship winner is the biggest liability at the DK Sportsbook and has the biggest share of the betting handle at BetMGM with 16%.
In his relatively short professional golf career, Morikawa has proved to be a big-time player that excels in big events. Morikawa doesn’t just have two Majors under his belt but he also has wins at Concession, Muirfield Village Golf Club, and The Summit Club which has close correlations to TPC Sawgrass.
Although he finished T41 here last year, Morikawa finished T-2 at the Genesis Invitational just two weeks ago and finished T5 in the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the start of the year. This season Morikawa ranks 4th overall in strokes gained: approach and 8th in strokes gained: off the tee which are two stats that could lead to success in this tournament.
