All of the familiar PGA Tour faces will be on hand when the 2022 Masters tees off Thursday at Augusta National. The 2022 Masters field is loaded with the PGA Tour's elite, from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to reigning U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm and four-time major winners Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka. Five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama are both trying to go on Thursday, but who should you prioritize in your 2022 Masters fantasy golf rankings? Rahm is the 10-1 favorite in Caesars Sportsbook's latest 2022 Masters odds, with Justin Thomas the 14-1 second choice.
Scheffler is 16-1 along with 2020 winner Dustin Johnson and Players Championship winner Cameron Smith. McIlroy (18-1), Koepka (20-1) and Jordan Spieth (20-1) are among many other stars expected to contend. Can Scheffler keep up the pace that has seen him win three tournaments since February and be an anchor for your 2022 Masters fantasy golf picks? Or will Woods (50-1) or Matsuyama (40-1) surprise everyone and put you in a better position as one of the 2022 Masters fantasy golf sleepers? Before you consider any fantasy golf rankings or make any bets on the Masters 2022, be sure you check out the Fantasy golf projections from fantasy expert Riley Gates at SportsLine.
Gates is a writer for 247Sports and has covered a range of sports for nearly five years. He has followed golf closely for much longer and has a profound knowledge of the sport. He also knows what it takes to win, on the course and in fantasy sports.
At this year's Valspar Championship, seven of his picks finished in the top 12. They included Sam Burns, who claimed the title at Innisbrook for the second straight year. "I don't understand why Burns has such high odds," Gates told SportsLine before the event. "Burns has back-to-back top-15 finishes and appears to have snapped out of his slump." The 25-year-old went out and shot 17 under, then prevailed in a playoff for his third career victory.
Gates has been on fire all season. Nine of his top 10 picks finished in the top 20 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and at the Honda Classic, eight of his picks finished in the top 16. The expert also was on the money at Phoenix, where his five top selections all ended up in the top 10. He nailed his picks at the Sentry, with four of his top seven picks posting top-five finishes, and he duplicated that at the Hero World Challenge. Anyone who has followed Gates is way up.
Now, Gates has ranked his top 2022 Masters golfers. You can only see them here.
2022 Masters fantasy golf picks
Gates has seen Justin Thomas rising back to the top and is banking on a breakthrough from the former world No. 1. The 28-year-old was the most dominant player in golf in 2017, when he won his only major at the PGA Championship and was the FedEx Cup champ. He had a forgettable 2020-21 season, but he has five top-10 finishes already this year. He is second on tour in scoring average (69.617), second in strokes gained tee-to-green (1.757) and sixth in greens in regulation (72.4 percent). Thomas has finished in the top 25 in the Masters five straight times.
On the other hand, the Fantasy expert is fading Jon Rahm this week. The Spaniard was at the top of his game last year and spent most of it as the world's No. 1 player. He still has the iron play to succeed (first in greens in regulation) and has finished in the top 10 in five straight majors, including his U.S. Open title last summer. However, his numbers this year don't add up to success at Augusta National. He is 130th in scrambling, 170th in strokes gained around the green and 136th putting, all critical numbers for the Masters.
How to set 2022 Masters fantasy golf rankings
For the 2022 Masters at Augusta National, the fantasy expert is backing an epic long shot. Gates says this golfer, who will be trying to atone for a missed cut at Augusta last year, "seems to always be in the mix." You can only see who it is at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 Masters Tournament? Who are the top PGA Tour players to target for your fantasy golf picks, and which epic long shot is a must-use? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Masters fantasy golf picks, all from the fantasy expert with his finger on the pulse of the game.
