A chance to rub elbows with the best – and spend some time with Tiger Woods – has brought many top PGA Tour players to The Bahamas for the 2022 Hero World Challenge. This unofficial event features 20 players, with three reigning major champions and the best available players from the world rankings joined by two sponsor exemptions. Woods was scheduled to compete, but he has been sidelined by plantar fasciitis, Sepp Straka was tapped to take his place. That means 18 of the world's top 30 players will be in action this week, led by No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion. He will be joined by fellow 2022 major champs Justin Thomas (PGA) and Matt Fitzpatrick (U.S. Open), as well as former major winners Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and Shane Lowry. Viktor Hovland returns as the defending champion after going 18 under to beat Scheffler by one stroke last year. Morikawa lost his chance to take over the world's No. 1 ranking with a victory in 2021 by blowing a six-stroke lead after 54 holes.
The Hero World Challenge field is studded with stars, so you'll have to dig into the odds to find value. More than a dozen players are 20-1 or shorter, and Caesars Sportsbook lists Rahm as the 5-1 favorite in its latest 2022 Hero World Challenge odds. Not far behind are Scheffler (15-2), Xander Schauffele (9-1) and Tony Finau (9-1). Hovland (12-1), Thomas (12-1) and Fitzpatrick (14-1) also are among the top contenders in the Hero World Challenge 2022 field. Before locking in any 2022 Hero World Challenge picks or golf bets, you need to see the PGA Tour predictions, best bets and sleeper picks from SportsLine 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.
McDonald is having a profitable 2022-23 season in every category, and he nailed this month's Houston Open, backing Finau at 25-1. The expert has been on the money on his matchup plays and cashed in huge on Brendan Steele (80-1) as the first-round leader at the Zozo Championship. Anyone who followed McDonald's advice has cashed in huge.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2022 Hero World Challenge field and is locking in his best bets, best value and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.
Top 2022 Hero World Challenge expert picks
IOne surprising pick from McDonald for this week: He is fading Burns (16-1), despite how strongly he played at this point last season. The now-26-year-old opened last season with a victory at the Fortinet and tied for third at the 2021 Hero World Challenge. He went on to win two more times before the end of May. The problem is, he has one top-10 finish since. The Louisiana native has always leaned on his putter, but the rest of his game has been so out of sorts that his flat stick can't rescue him. Burns is 226th in greens in regulation in 2022-23.
Meanwhile, the Albany course seems tailor-made for a player like Rahm, and he showed that in his only two appearances there. The Spaniard won his Hero World Challenge debut in 2018, then fell just one stroke short of Henrik Stenson the following year to finish as runner-up. He didn't play last year but comes in as the favorite after winning two of the past three DP World Tour events. The 28-year-old was fourth in total driving on the PGA Tour last season and eighth in greens in regulation (75 percent). That led him to rank fourth in scoring average (68.036). See who else to pick at the Hero World Challenge here.
How to make 2022 Hero World Challenge golf picks
Before this week's PGA Tour event at Albany, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2022 Hero World Challenge. He is targeting an overlooked star to win who brings excellent value given his course history. The expert says this golfer is the best in the field in terms of strokes gained and should continue to excel on this seaside course. You can only find out who it is, and see the rest of McDonald's picks and PGA Tour analysis, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Hero World Challenge picks should you target? Which golfer brings excellent value in this stacked Hero World Challenge 2022 field? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald's top picks for Hero World Challenge 2022, all from the expert who nailed this month's Houston Open, and find out.
Hero World Challenge odds, field, top contenders
See full Hero World Challenge picks, predictions, best bets here
Jon Rahm 5-1
Scottie Scheffler 8-1
Tony Finau 9-1
Xander Schauffele 11-1
Justin Thomas 11-1
Viktor Hovland 12-1
Matt Fitzpatrick 12-1
Tommy Fleetwood 16-1
Sungjae Im 16-1
Cameron Young 18-1
Jordan Spieth 18-1
Tom Kim 18-1
Collin Morikawa 18-1
Sam Burns 18-1
Shane Lowry 20-1
Max Homa 25-1
Billy Horschel 30-1
Corey Conners 35-1
Tiger Woods 40-1 (withdrew due to plantar fasciitis)
Kevin Kisner 60-1
