2022 Hero World Challenge odds: Tiger Woods’ WD shakes up event, but not betting favorite

Jon Rahm putts at 2021 Hero World Challenge

Jon Rahm has a stellar record at the Hero World Challenge.

David Cannon/Getty Images

The 2022 Hero World Challenge features a star-studded (albeit limited) field, even without Tiger Woods playing. And according to the Hero World Challenge betting odds via BetMGM, one of the best players in recent years is the betting favorite. Here’s what you need to know.

2022 Hero World Challenge odds: This week’s favorites

Tiger’s Monday withdrawal from the Hero field definitely put a damper on the tournament, where he was meant to make his first start since July. But it had little effect on the top of the betting odds.

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Jon Rahm, who won the 2018 Hero and finished runner-up in 2019, leads the way as the betting favorite with +500 odds to win. Rahm is also coming off a win at the DP World Tour Championship, making him as good a bet as any to win.

But there isn’t a single player in the field who hasn’t proven himself as an elite player in the past few years. Scottie Scheffler comes in second at +700, with Tony Finau at +900, good enough for third in odds-to-win. PGA champion Justin Thomas and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick rounds out the top 5 at +1200.

2022 Hero World Challenge odds: Long shot of the week

With only 20 players in the field, all of whom can win any time they tee it up, long shots essentially don’t exist this week. So it only makes send to pick the player at the bottom of the pre-tournament odds-to-win standings.

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That players is 29-year-old Sepp Straka. Straka is officially the player oddsmakers think has the least chance to win, to the tune of +8000 odds. The next worse odds are Kevin Kisner at +6600, so it’s not particularly close.

But Straka has shown signs of great play already this season. He finished runner-up at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October and made the cut at the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship. He also captured his first career PGA Tour victory at the Honda Classic in February.

With the more relaxed atmosphere at this week’s event, it might be a perfect opportunity for Straka to come out of nowhere and shock the stars. Should he do so, he could turn a $100 bet into $8,000.

You can see the top 10 in 2022 Hero World Challenge betting odds as of Tuesday morning below, or head over to BetMGM to see the full list of odds and bets for this week.

2022 Hero World Challenge betting odds (Top 10 and ties)

Jon Rahm (+500)

Scottie Scheffler (+700)

Tony Finau (+900)

Xander Schauffele (+1100)

Justin Thomas (+1200)

Matt Fitzpatrick (+1200)

Sungjae Im (+1400)

Viktor Hovland (+1400)

Collin Morikawa (+1800)

Tom Kim (+1800)

Tommy Fleetwood (+1800)

How to bet on the Hero World Challenge

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? We teamed with BetMGM, and the online sportsbook is offering a “Risk-Free Bet” up to $1000 promotion. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.

Kevin Cunningham

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.