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AVONDALE, LOUISIANA - APRIL 24: Patrick Cantlay plays his shot from the fourth tee during the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana on April 24, 2022 in Avondale, Louisiana. Chris Graythen/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Chris Graythen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Our PGA Tour experts debate their top picks to win the 2022 PGA Championship this week at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK.

As Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler prepare for the 2022 PGA Championship as the top betting favorites, our PGA Tour experts look just one tier below for a little extra value with their top picks.

Esten McLaren and Jon Metler debate their top 2022 PGA Championship picks for Southern Hills Country Club below.

2022 PGA Championship Info

When: Thursday, May 19 - Sunday, May 22Where: Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, OKHow to watch: ESPN and CBSDefending champion: Phil Mickelson (Kiawah Island Golf Resort)

2022 PGA Championship Odds

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PGA Championship Picks

Metler: Justin Thomas built for this course

Justin Thomas is my best bet for the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. Despite his price of +1200 at sportsbooks such as DraftKings, it is the price of +1600 at PointsBet that has my attention. 

All season long, Thomas has been inching closer to a victory, and his statistics indicate it is only a matter of time before he gets PGA Tour win No. 15, and his second major. Thomas has not won a tournament this season, despite averaging 2.31 true strokes gained: total per round. Scheffler has four wins this season and is averaging 2.27 SG: total. This shows just how close Thomas is to winning and how well he is playing. Another reason I favor Thomas is because of his track record at the WM Phoenix Open.

The skills required to succeed at TPC Scottsdale are closely related to those needed to succeed at Southern Hills Country Club. Thomas has played 28 rounds at TPC Scottsdale, averaging 2.00 SG: total, and the worst finish in his last four appearances was a T-13 in 2021.

https://twitter.com/JustinThomas34/status/1523785986798284801

SEE ALSO: 2022 PGA Championship Longshot Picks

McLaren: Patrick Cantlay offers best value

While you’re right to target an inflated price on Thomas, in terms of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), there’s no better value play on the PGA Championship board than Patrick Cantlay. The fifth-ranked golfer in the world enters this week four spots ahead of Thomas but has consensus odds of +2000 to win at Southern Hills. Worse, he shares just the seventh-best outright odds at BetMGM.

Neither golfer has won a solo PGA Tour event this year, but Cantlay twice lost in a playoff, and he won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with playing partner Xander Schauffele. Thomas’ best finish of the year was a T-3 in a lackluster field at the Valspar Championship.

None of Cantlay’s seven career PGA Tour victories was a major, but his T-3 finish at the 2019 PGA Championship was his best result in any of golf’s four biggest events. A Wanamaker Trophy is the next step for the reigning FedEx Cup champion.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1518315658328608772

SEE ALSO: PGA Championship Fantasy Golf Power Rankings

Metler: Viktor Hovland shouldn't be overlooked

To begin with, let us briefly reflect on Cantlay and how fortunate he was to win the FedEx Cup. As a result of Rahm's withdrawal from the Memorial Tournament, Cantlay earned the victory over Rahm in an event that Rahm was in complete control of. This led to a dramatic swing in the FedEx Cup points, which allowed Cantlay to begin with a two-stroke lead over Rahm at the Tour Championship. Cantlay went on to win by one stroke over Rahm. The final standings heading into the Tour Championship could have been quite different if Rahm had not tested positive for COVID-19 twice.

Moreover, Cantlay has not been the primetime player that one would expect him to be in major championships. Cantlay has missed the cut at two of his last five majors, which isn't something you'd expect to see from the world's fifth-ranked golfer. Thomas is coming off of a T-8 at the Masters and Cantlay did not appear anywhere near the top of the leaderboard throughout the week.

I would rather add Viktor Hovland to the portfolio over Cantlay if I were looking to purchase someone at the +2000 price point. This season, Hovland has won two tournaments on the PGA Tour and one tournament on the DP World Tour. Aside from the wins, Hovland is a much better ball striker than Cantlay, averaging 1.13 SG: approach versus Cantlay's 0.49 SG: approach.

McLaren: Line movement supporting Cantlay

Despite Cantlay's lack of major success and not playing a solo event since his runner-up finish at the RBC Heritage, most sportsbooks rushed to lower his odds on Monday morning. The biggest change occurred at DraftKings Sportsbook, where he was dropped from +2000 to +1600. That's an improved implied win probability of 4.76% to 5.88%.

Now fourth by the odds to win at DraftKings, Cantlay remains a strong value while seventh on the board at BetMGM with +2200 odds. In terms of his approach game, he led the field at the RBC Heritage with 2.17 SG: approach per round.

And speaking of TPC Scottsdale, Cantlay's other playoff loss this year occurred there, and his 3.52 true strokes gained on the field per round over four rounds played are now the most of anyone who has played the event.

Where to Bet on the 2022 PGA Championship

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel SportsbookCaesars SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookPointsBetBetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picksodds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.