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Justin Thomas’ fairytale May came to an end on Friday evening in Forth Worth, Texas, where he followed up an opening-round 71 with a 72 to miss the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge by two strokes.

The newly-minted PGA Champion previously finished T5 at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas two weeks ago before winning his second PGA at Southern Hills in Tulsa last Sunday. Then he immediately travelled back to Fort Worth to compete at Colonial.

It was a three-week whirlwind that the missed cut ended, and it also ended Thomas’ PGA Tour-best made cut streak, which you can read all about here.

Tournaments

But there’s a literal silver lining to JT’s first MC in over a year. Having had no time off between his Southern Hills triumph and practice for the Charles Schwab, the missed cut meant he could head home and finally celebrate his second PGA Championship title.

On Friday night, Thomas shared a photo of himself on Twitter doing just that.

In the photo, Thomas is relaxing on the couch in a backwards hat with his left arm draped around the Wanamaker trophy, the prize awarded to the PGA Championship winner, and his right arm raising a beer, with a hard-earned smile splashed across his face.

Along with the photo, Thomas wrote, “Cheers to an eventful 3 weeks on the road. Might have ended with an MC but hey, at least I still get to bring this home.”

The beer Thomas is enjoying appears to be a Modelo, but that is uncertain. What is certain is that the now two-time major champion is going to get to relax and enjoy this Memorial Day weekend with his friends, family and, of course, his sparkling new trophy.

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Though 27-year-old Chilean Mito Periera started the final round with a three-shot lead, the leaderboard tightened down the stretch, with a number of players in the mix to claim the Wanamaker Trophy at Southern Hills.

But how is the PGA Championship winner determined if there is a tie at the end of regulation play?

Each of the four major championships employ different rules when it comes to ties, and at the PGA Championship, ties are decided via a three-hole aggregate playoff.

That means, whoever is tied at the end of regulation play will play three pre-determined holes, and the player with the lowest score will be the winner. If players are still tied after the aggregate holes, the format moves to sudden death until someone wins.

At Southern Hills, the aggregate playoff holes are Nos. 13, 17 and 18, which should provide ample drama. In the event sudden death is needed, the players will play 18 again, then 13, 17 and 18 again if needed, and repeat the cycle until someone emerges victorious.

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TULSA, Okla. — Every Moving Day has its own personality, and Saturday’s at Southern Hills was melancholy. The weather was grey and the course was hard and the big names sputtered while an odd cropping of golfers rose to the top.

The personality of a Moving Day can be found in its sense of triumph and tragedy. As the leaderboard sorts itself out, some dreams approach reality while others fall by the wayside. This one felt especially so. Let’s run through it:

Tragedy: Tiger’s WD

The day’s biggest news is also its worst, so let’s get right to it: It’s unfortunate that Tiger Woods withdrew after Saturday’s third round. On Friday he was celebrated as a hero after making the cut. On Saturday he grimaced his way through a nine-over 79.

News

It’s not the wrong decision to WD, nor does it mean anything concrete about his future, but it’s sad because of what it represents. The sport’s biggest figure simply isn’t ready for 72-hole golf tournaments. But that was true whether or not he played on Sunday morning.

Triumph: Mito’s rally

The day’s best news came from the final pairing. Mito Pereira played the biggest round of his life on Saturday, and he showed up. If the zero-time PGA Tour winner was nervous, he did a pretty good job of hiding it. He played his first seven holes in two under par, giving him a four-shot lead as his competition stumbled. He played his next five holes in four over par, though, bringing him back to the field. He rallied with three birdies from 13 on in, including a 27-footer at No. 18 to post a rock-solid 69. Respect.

Tragedy: Rory’s 11th hole

Sigh. Rory McIlroy’s Thursday round of five-under 65 is now officially ancient history. He began Saturday at four under par, in prime position to make a charge at the lead. But suddenly he went double bogey-bogey-bogey at 6-7-8 to drop to even par, ten shots off the pace.

Still, a back-nine charge wasn’t out of the question, particularly after a birdie on No. 9. But he missed left of the flag at the par-3 11th, committing one of Southern Hills’ cardinal sins, and things only got worse from there. McIlroy walked off the 11th with a triple-bogey six. He’s nine back now and, well, it doesn’t look good.

Triumph: Fitzpatrick’s rise

When the going gets tough, Matt Fitzpatrick is usually lurking somewhere. And even though he faltered off the start with bogeys at No. 1 and No. 2, he logged six birdies against just a single bogey the rest of the way to climb into a share of second place. What’s left? A spot in the final pairing alongside Pereira, and a chance to change his entire career.

Tragedy: JT’s fade

Saturday began with McIlroy and Justin Thomas as the biggest names on the leaderboard who’d actually done it before. But neither of their rounds ever really got started. Thomas looked out of sorts with his irons, struggling to get proper looks at birdie en route to a 74 that matched McIlroy. Now he’s seven shots back, though only four back of second place. He’s not out of it, but he didn’t look in it on Saturday.

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Triumph: Webb’s finish

The low round of the delay belonged to one Webb Simpson, all thanks to his final seven holes. He played those in five under including a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch from 12-14 that catapulted him from T64 into a share of 10th. If he just shoots another one tomorrow, he’ll make things interesting…

Tragedy: Willy Z’s start

Thirty-six hole leader Will Zalatoris came out of the gates a little sketchy, making bogey on four of his first seven holes to go from one shot up to five shots back. His putter, which had been best in the field through two rounds, suddenly turned balky, costing him 2.9 shots on Saturday’s front nine alone. Credit where it’s due, though: Zalatoris rallied with a back-nine 34 that has him in a share of second, right where he needs to be.

Triumph: The Young and restless

That would be Cameron Young, who sits in fourth place after a rousing 67 in which he demonstrated impeccable touch on the greens. His eagle putt at No. 17 put the finishing touches on a round that singlehandedly brought him into contention. If you don’t know Young, you will soon: He’s the early favorite for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and owns three runner-up finishes this season already.

Tragedy: Bubba’s back nine

The back nine played nearly 1.5 shots easier and most contenders took advantage — but not Bubba Watson, whose back-nine 39 sent him from second to seventh.

Triumph: Stewart Cink’s contention

Nobody can match 50-year-old Phil Mickelson’s victory from last year, but Stewart Cink turned 49 on Saturday and celebrated with a back-nine 34.

“Surely I was inspired by seeing what Phil did and that he hung in there and that he was himself and just made it happen,” Cink said.

Tragedy: Big names, big numbers

A stable of big-name golfers shot high numbers to fade from contention, including Collin Morikawa (74), Jordan Spieth (74), Tony Finau (74), Viktor Hovland (75), and Jon Rahm (76).

It is called Moving Day, after all. And for some players to move up, others have to go the opposite direction.

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TULSA, Okla. — Tiger Woods bent over as best he could, peering down the line of a slippery five-foot putt for par. He can’t crouch like he used to. He can’t putt like he used to, either. But he picked his spot. He committed to his stroke. And the ball rolled into the middle of the cup, setting off a roar from the crowd ringing the 18th green.

A day earlier the same green was the sight of a Woods triumph. He’d rallied from the wrong side of the cut line with his five-iron, his putter and his doggedness, playing the final six holes in two under par to earn a weekend tee time. He’d earned a Friday evening ovation with a gritty 69. Even if Woods wasn’t going to contend for the win, he’d inspired the golf-watching public with his refusal to go away.

A day later, I couldn’t help but wonder: How was this the prize he’d earned?

Instruction

Woods plucked the ball out of the cup. He smiled as he shook hands with playing partner Shaun Norris and his caddie. He looked both in the eye. And then he began a painful march up the hill toward the clubhouse to sign his scorecard: nine-over 79, good for a share of last place.

Jordan Spieth was coming off the 10th tee as Woods trudged up the hill. Spieth looked like he was going to say hello, as Tour friends do, until he saw the look on Woods’ face. He gave a curt head-nod instead. Both kept walking.

Other sporting greats shift their focus as their bodies stop cooperating. They use their brands to sell sneakers or cars. They go from the field to the booth. Some use their accumulated capital to retire to a life, ironically, on the golf course. But professional golf, for better or worse, allows you to keep coming back. Woods may have softened and he may have more perspective, but he’s still defining success the same way he did a quarter-century ago: through his performances in 72-hole stroke-play golf tournaments.

Saturday morning dawned angry in Tulsa. An early thunderstorm moved tee times back some 40 minutes, though not enough for Woods to sleep in. An 8:30 a.m. tee time usually means he’s up before 5, starting the engine.

Woods is one of the great sweaters in sports, and he’d been in a full lather Thursday and Friday under the Oklahoma sun, with temperatures pushing 90. On Saturday, the wind had flipped, bringing colder air from the north. When Woods began his warmup at Southern Hills, it was 50 degrees, gusty and damp. It would stay that way.

These were the worst possible conditions for Woods. The early morning came on the heels of a late Friday finish and he struggles to get his body to cooperate when it’s cold. But early tee times and adverse conditions are inevitable features of major championship golf. It was unlucky, to some extent, that Woods got unseasonably bad conditions on Saturday at Augusta and Saturday at Southern Hills, but still — everybody else did, too. This is what he’s signed up for.

As Woods’ warmed up, television cameras captured his leg crumpling underneath him as he descended into a practice bunker. It was a visceral reminder of just how fragile this entire arrangement is.

Woods’ round didn’t start well. He made a 13-footer for par at No. 1, the sort he’d made all Friday afternoon. But he found the water at No. 2 and made bogey. He found the water again at No. 6 and made triple. TV mics picked up Woods’ commentary:

“That go in the water? I mean, how f—– far is it playing?”

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Farther than Woods had judged, which became an unfortunate theme. Woods missed with driver at 7 and 9 and made bogies. He hit irons 25 yards short at 10 and 11 and made bogies. He found the front bunker at 12 and made bogey. Things somehow got even worse at the par-5 13th, where he was pin-high in two, skulled a chip over the green and made a fifth consecutive bogey. Suddenly he was 10 over for the round, 13 over for the tournament and at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Woods laughed at himself. He shared conversation with Norris, talking about golf and children and life. But grimaces outnumbered grins. It looked like a thankless exercise. Like he was suffering in public. To what end?

“You feel so sorry for him having to go through this,” Norris said post-round. “But then again, you also see the type of person that he is; that he grinds through everything and pushes himself, even all the pain and that.”

I couldn’t help but think back to something Woods said after Thursday’s opening round, when he was asked how bad days with his leg affect his swing.

“Well, I just can’t load it,” he said. “Loading hurts, pressing off it hurts, and walking hurts, and twisting hurts. It’s just golf. If I don’t do that, then I’m all right.”

It’s just golf. Think about that. The same arena that brought Woods his greatest professional triumphs is now the site of unspeakable pain. Is the greatest golfer of the modern era doomed to wince through major championship rounds for the foreseeable future, paying some dark penance for decades of dominance?

Woods’ comeback to get to this point has been remarkable. There’s nothing glamorous about rehab, after all. And there’s something admirable about returning to compete against golfers who are younger, longer, fresher. There’s something noble about grinding to make the cut. But battling to break 80 on a damp, miserable Saturday afternoon is nobody’s idea of a good time.

But battle he did. Woods righted the ship with a par at 14 and then poured in a 35-footer for birdie at 16. He finished with pars at 16 and 17 before the two-putt par at 18. Seventy-nine isn’t any pro’s idea of a good time. But it still beats 80.

Woods didn’t take questions from the media after his round, speaking briefly to one pool reporter before heading for the parking lot. He didn’t make excuses.

“I just didn’t — I didn’t do anything right,” he said. “I didn’t hit many good shots. Consequently I ended up with a pretty high score.”

Nor did Woods confirm that he’d be back for Sunday’s round.

“Well, I’m sore. I know that is for a fact. We’ll do some work and see how it goes.”

Several hours later, as tournament leader Mito Pereira spoke to the press, the news came on the TV screen behind him: Tiger Woods had officially withdrawn.

[Editor’s note: The rest of this piece was written before the announcement — but it all holds true.]

So now what? What are Woods’ paths forward? I count three — though really only one.

News

Door No. 1 is for the optimists. It leads to a world where Woods’ recovery takes a turn for the better. Continued rehab and exercise strengthens his leg and ups his endurance and allows him to play 72 holes’ worth of good golf rather than half that or less. He’s competitive in major championships on guile and memory.

Door No. 2 is for those who think we’ve seen enough. Woods decides putting himself through this agony is too great a sacrifice. He plays St. Andrews and announces he won’t be playing any more competitive golf for the foreseeable future, save for dominating the PNC Championship with his son Charlie.

But Door No. 1 is wishful thinking and Door No. 2 just won’t happen. That leaves us heading through Door No. 3. This is where we look to Woods’ best moments and think that if there were just a few more of those this would be a different story.

Things could be much worse, after all. Woods has made the cut at both majors he’s played. That’s more than could be said for Jordan Spieth or Brooks Koepka or Dustin Johnson or Xander Schauffele. When other pros slink to the bottom of the leaderboard they simply fade from our collective consciousness. When Woods does, well, it leads to pieces like this one.

It’s clear Woods’ thinking is more optimistic. At the beginning of the week he admitted looking back at his Masters performance and playing the what-if game.

“Taking a step back and looking at the overall big picture, it was an accomplishment,” he said. “But that other side of me that says if I would have done things differently, I could have challenged for that thing. And I know that golf course, and I just — maybe next year will be different.”

That’s a man who finished 23 shots off the lead. Who will be 47 at next year’s Masters. Who clearly thinks he has more in the tank.

It’s just golf. Think about that again. This is the area of his life where he’s not sure he can succeed. Golf is the only thing he can’t do.

Perhaps that’s why he’s doing it.

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TULSA, Okla. — It was the most furious Tiger Woods had looked in quite some time.

Woods had just made birdie at Southern Hills’ par-4 10th to sneak one shot inside the cut line. But at the moment of impact with his 8-iron on the 11th tee, he knew he’d made a fatal mistake.

Woods didn’t even watch the ball to its apex. His eyes dropped to the ground. The ball landed long and left, hit the downslope and kicked longer and lefter, settling in the long grass just shy of the penalty area.

Seeing red, Woods stormed over to the right side of the tee. With a swift chopping motion, he slammed the club off the cart path beside the tee. The sound of metal on asphalt was jarring. This was a quick, succinct punishment for an iron that had done him unspeakable wrong. If you’d wondered how much Woods cared about making the cut at the PGA Championship, here was the evidence you needed. Plenty more followed.

Heading into Friday the only chatter surrounding Woods were rumors that he might withdraw. He’d looked unwell as he hobbled through the second nine of his opening-round 74, after all. He was having a tough time turning and shifting weight, two essential elements of the golf swing.

“If that would have been me, I would have been considering pulling out and just going home,” said playing partner Rory McIlroy.

That wasn’t in Woods’ plans.

Neither was the double bogey at 11, however. When he tapped in, one-handed and disgusted, the cut line was hovering at four over par. Woods had just gone from three over to five. Players that fall on the wrong side of the cut line don’t tend to come back.

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Our next bit of evidence as to Woods’ interest comes from Joe LaCava, Woods’ ever-dependable caddie. I asked him about the club-slam on 11.

“He was pretty fired up,” he said. “He knew he was sorta going the wrong direction there.”

As for the charge that followed?

“Same old story. He’s the ultimate grinder. He brought it back.”

If your only measure of success for Woods is winning another major championship, Friday may not have been for you. But if you’re every bit as intrigued by this version of Woods, the 46-year-old made of metal and stubbornness, his race to the Friday cut line was something to behold.

Woods brought it back indeed. He hit it left again on No. 12, a disappointing miss LaCava called a “toe-flip” that left a short-sided bunker shot. He raced that one 14 feet past the pin, but he studied the comebacker and poured it in. His hopes at the weekend — and those of the crowd in the surrounding bleachers — were still alive.

It got even better after that. At 13, Woods needed to skirt a branch on his approach shot so he went for a low hook sand wedge, a creative specialty of his, that landed and spun hard left, coming to a stop some eight feet past the hole. Birdie. Back on the cut line.

Coming home he made the tough shots look easy and the easy shots look tough. A poor chip at 14 left him with another 14-footer. He made that, too. At 15 he found the greenside bunker and skittered it out to three feet. That was Woods’ favorite shot of the day. He described it later with a giant grin on his face.

“That was a tasty little bunker shot there,” he said. “That was a good one. I liked that one.”

Woods had 209 yards left into his approach on No. 16. He hit it to four feet. When he poured in the putt he was suddenly a shot inside the cut line again. The crowd roared. It exhaled, too.

A half-hour later Rob McNamara, Tiger Woods’ right-hand man, stood beside the elevated clubhouse and gazed out over the scene on the 18th green. There was Woods, staring down a 30-footer for birdie, ringed by an amphitheater of fans and media.

I mentioned the rumors I’d heard, how this was quite the development. People had been muttering, I told him, about Woods’ potential WD.

He laughed.

“They don’t understand T-Dub,” he said.

The round was a triumph and an accomplishment, regardless of the fact that Woods got the favorable side of the draw and is T53, 12 shots off the lead held by Will Zalatoris. The fact that he’s entering the weekend at all is impressive enough. Just don’t expect him to admit it.

“Well, you can’t win the tournament if you miss the cut. I’ve won tournaments — not major championships, but I’ve won tournaments on the cut number,” he said. “There’s a reason why you fight hard and you’re able to give yourself a chance on the weekend. You just never know when you might get hot.”

There may soon come a day when Woods booking a weekend tee time won’t be cause for celebration or even note. But we’re not there yet. And even if Woods meant exactly what he said, and he only enjoyed the day because it meant he still technically has a chance to win the golf tournament, well, that’s okay.

There are plenty of others who will enjoy it for him.

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The post Fully Equipped: Scott Fawcett explains why more PGA Tour pros should be hitting driver appeared first on Golf.

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On this week’s PGA Championship Special, Scott Fawcett joins Jonathan Wall and Luke Kerr-Dineen to explain why more PGA Tour pros should be hitting driver.

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Cameron Champ? Cameron Champ! 

If you’ve come to this page before, you’ll know that one of the items I like to check before making a major championship bet is seeing where the public money is going. Yeah, you’ll get a lot of the favorites because those are “name” bets — of course, folks are going to pick the Rorys and the Tigers because that’s whom they know. But every so often you see a Cameron Champ, a name that makes you almost wonder: What does everyone else know that I don’t? 

And this is no knock against him. Count me among those who believe he has as good a chance as anyone to win this week’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills. It’s just that the bookmakers don’t — over at BetMGM, Champ’s well down the board, at 150-1 to win. And yet over at oddschecker.com, a site that tracks both odds and which players are the most popular with gamblers, Champ is … tied for the third-most popular bet. With Jon Rahm, the world No. 2.  

So what gives? Champ offers tremendous value if the public is on to something, so let’s zoom in. 

Tournaments

He’s trending: Over his past three events, he tied for 10th at the Masters, tied for sixth at the Mexico Open, and tied for 38th at last week’s Byron Nelson. Over those 12 rounds, he’s shot over par just once — a three-over 75 during the second round at Augusta. 

He’s healthy: Toward the end of last year, Champ suffered a left wrist injury, and the effects may have crept into his swing. No more. “Probably the first four, five events, I played with some pretty decent pain,” he said at the Mexico Open. “It’s got a lot to do with just the bone was healed, there was just a lot of nerve damage. So I had to fight through it and just get the muscle back. I lost all the muscle in my arm pretty much for not using it for four and a half, five months. But yeah, right now, it’s been good; I’ve had no issues. Just sometimes certain shots I might feel it a little bit, but again, it’s rare that it causes me any problems.”

He’s relaxed: Champ rehabbed on a farm, and I’ll let him explain the vibe, which he also shared at the Mexico Open. 

Question: How did you spend that, like how did you occupy the time?

Champ: “We just did stuff on my farm, on my property; I had nothing else to do. I couldn’t touch a club for eight, 10 weeks, 10, 11 weeks, and even at that, it took a little longer for me for the process. But again, it was a good time off, but definitely enjoyed being out here more.”

Question: What’s on the farm?

Champ: “We have cattle, we have horses. My wife rides horses, she got back into that. We got it all, chickens, goats, you name it. Yeah, it’s our little oasis at home, and we love it.

Question: Where is that?

Champ: “We’re in Houston, Texas. We’re about an hour north of downtown. We have about 30 acres right now. We’re about to have a little bit more. Like I said, it’s my little escape from all this.”

Sounds lovely. Our staff also likes a few more to-win bets and sleeper picks. We have made one of each using odds from BetMGM to assist you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook. (And if you’re looking to place any of these bets yourself, we teamed with BetMGM, and the online sports book is offering a new promotion: Make a risk-free bet up to $1,000. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.)

On to those picks.

Expert picks for the PGA Championship

Alan Bastable 

To-win: Daniel Berger, +5,000. Berger’s not long by Tour standards, but he is accurate, and he’s a killer around the greens, which will be essential at the new-look Southern Hills with its slick, difficult-to-hit surfaces. Stellar short games will be a must, and few players are better around the greens than Berger. Last week, Jordan Spieth was asked about the sneaky-best short-game whizzes on Tour. Berger, he said, is “as impressive as anybody.”

Sleeper pick: Cameron Young, +8,000. He’s not playing like a “sleeper” with a T2 and T3 in his past two starts — and on two very different golf courses (TPC Potomac and Harbour Town). But he is a player with whom casual fans are still not familiar. He will win a major, and likely soon. Crazy talent. No real weaknesses. Also, the smartest picker I know has been crowing about Young for months.  

James Colgan 

To-win: Xander Schauffele, +2,500: I have it on good authority that an elite ball-striker is going to win the PGA. Why not Schauffele, to break the major-less streak, at +2,500? The value is just too good to pass up.

Sleeper pick: Davis Riley, +25,000: Riley is striping it as well as anyone in professional golf right now. It’s a long shot, but this is a dice roll I feel good about taking.

Dylan Dethier   

To-win: Sam Burns, +4,000. Don’t let a MC at the Byron Nelson (or the Masters) fool you. This number is too high for a guy who hits it this well and is this good around the greens.

Sleeper pick: I’ll give you two! Keegan Bradley at +10,000 and Cameron Tringale at +25,000. Speaking of high numbers! Good iron players with good hands and (hopefully!) hot putters. 

Connor Federico

To-win: Cameron Smith, +2,000. Sure, this season has been all about Scottie Scheffler, but these odds are too good to pass up for a player experiencing a similar meteoric rise this season. Smith has two PGA Tour wins in 2022, including the Players, and is considered by many to have the hottest putter on the planet. He made the most birdies (22) of any player at Augusta National, and as late at the 11th hole on Masters Sunday, the Aussie was in position to give Scheffler a run for the green jacket. For all intents and purposes, Smith’s the second-hottest player in the world, and he’s getting the seventh-best odds in the field. At 20-1, Smith clearly presents the best value this week at Southern Hills.

Sleeper pick: Cameron Champ, +10,000. This isn’t the same Southern Hills where Tiger won in 2007. This week, the course will play 300 yards longer, and its fairways much wider. Enter the Tour’s longest hitter (323.5 yds/drive). In his past two starts, Champ has been channeling that power into better scoring, with a T10 at the Masters and T6 at the Mexico Open. 

Luke Kerr-Dineen

To-win: Will Zalatoris, +3,300. The only common thread I can find between past winners at Southern Hills is that they’re all properly good ball-strikers. He’s long enough, accurate enough and consistent enough. His putting remains a concern, but that’s also why he’s 33-1. Those odds are long enough for me to take the bait.

Sleeper pick: Keegan Bradley, +1,000. Speaking of good ball-strikers and sketchy putters: Keegan Bradley! The former PGA champ is 12th on tour in SG: Tee to Green, and in the midst of an impressive T8, T4, T2 run. The putter will need to get hot for him to walk away with the trophy, but he could end up in the top 10 even with a cold one.

Jessica Marksbury

To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +1,100. I’m not going to overthink this. Scheffler not only had an impressive practice round at Southern Hills recently, he also says it’s one of his favorite courses. (!!) That’s enough for me! 

Sleeper pick: Marc Leishman, +10,000. Leish has fallen off a bit since his early-season form, and he’s missed the past three PGA cuts. But there’s something about Southern Hills that I think will suit the Aussie to snap that streak.

Zephyr Melton 

To-win: Jon Rahm, +1,200. Jon Rahm was sort of MIA early in 2022, but a win in his latest start is encouraging. The putter is still not cooperating like he’d hoped, but if he can get even average results on the greens in Tulsa, he should be in contention on Sunday. 

Sleeper pick: Y.E. Yang, +100,000. TIL Y.E. Yang is in the field. Let’s go with the legend himself for a DEEP sleeper.

Nick Piastowski 

To-win: Jordan Spieth, +1,800. The form is there, and by all accounts, the course fit is there. He completes the grand slam. 

Sleeper pick: Cameron Young, +8,000. Four top fives this season, two of which have come in his past two starts. He’s a sleeper only because of the odds. 

Tim Reilly

To-win: Jordan Spieth, +1,800. Scheffler has knocked Jordan Spieth off the Texas golf throne with his stellar play these past few months. There has been a lot of talk about how Southern Hills is Scheffler’s favorite course, and rave reviews came from his recent practice round there. I expect Scheffler to find himself in the final pairing come Sunday, but Spieth will be there with him. In a Lone Star showdown, Spieth takes home the Wanamaker to complete the grand slam.

Sleeper pick: Robert MacIntyre, +15,000. I’m not sure he’s ready to get the job done on a major stage, but Robert MacIntyre is one of golf’s up-and-comers who has been playing well of late. With +15,000 odds, I’ll take a flier on someone who I see as a future major champion. Why not now?

Darren Riehl

To-win: Jon Rahm, +1,200. Rahm has finished top-10 in five of the past six majors, including a win at last year’s U.S. Open. He shines at major championships. Yes, Scottie Scheffler is on a heater, is No. 1 in the world and is golf’s current darling, but Rahm is one of golf’s fiercest competitors. He wants the throne back, and a win at Southern Hills, Scottie’s favorite course, will remind everyone that Rahm is still golf’s best player.

Sleeper pick: Matthew Wolff +12,500. Matthew Wolff hasn’t exactly had the trajectory that we anticipated. But recently, it seems he has turned the corner, especially when it comes to his mental game. For +12,500, I will bet that we see flashes of 2020 Wolff at Southern Hills.

Claire Rogers 

To-win: Jordan Spieth, +2,000. Spieth’s finishes since the Masters feature a win and a solo second, so his game is shaping up. The career grand slam has never culminated at the PGA Championship, and I think if anyone can make history at Southern Hills, it’ll be Spieth — assuming he putts well.

Sleeper pick: Richard Bland, +50,000. We had a 50-year-old win the PGA last year, so why can’t a 49-year-old get it done this week? Bland fell just short of earning a Masters invite this year, so I’d love to see him have a great major week at Southern Hills.

Josh Sens

To-win: Patrick Cantlay, +2,200. In his 10 starts since the Ryder Cup, Cantlay has a win and six top-10s. Two of those were playoff losses to guys who aren’t exactly slouches (Spieth and Scheffler). These are decent odds for the best player in the world without a major, a mantle he won’t have for long.

Sleeper pick: Cameron Champ, +10,000. A feast or famine player, Champ has been flashing some strong form lately. Obviously, we’ll need a hot week with the putter. But Champ has such a high ceiling, there’s big potential upside here.

Jonathan Wall 

To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +1,100. This one feels too easy. Hottest golfer on the planet. Just shot 64 at Southern Hills — his favorite course. I’d be shocked if Scheffler isn’t in the mix on Sunday afternoon. It’s the chalkiest pick on the board, but I’m taking it anyway.  

Sleeper pick: Justin Rose, +12,500. Rose finished T12 the last time the PGA Championship was contested at Southern Hills, in 2007. For whatever reason, he’s embraced Perry Maxwell designs during his career. Wins at the U.S. Open (Merion) and Colonial were contested on courses that feature Maxwell’s fingerprints. Is it a stretch? Maybe. Then again, I’m searching for value at a major. 

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There are horses for courses.

That phrase takes on new meaning this week as we turn our attention to the 2022 PGA Championship.

With a stable full of thoroughbreds in the field at Southern Hills, in Tulsa, Okla., you can play conventionally and try to pick an outright winner.

Or you can take a page from the horse track and shoot for a trifecta on Chirp Golf.

Let us explain.

Chirp Golf, which is an affiliate of GOLF.com, is a free-to-play mobile game that features weekly contests, including a $5,000 Jackpot Pick’Em and other live shot-by-shot prediction games. One of those games is a Trifecta contest that calls for users to pick three players: a favorite, a contender and a long shot.

Tournaments

Nearly 1,000 users have already signed up for this week’s Trifecta, a healthy sample size that gives us a sense of where public opinion is leaning.

In the “favorites” category (players ranked 1-20 in the world), Scottie Scheffler has the most support among Chirp contest entries so far, with 26 percent of the vote, followed by Jordan Spieth (12.86 percent) and Jon Rahm (10.06 percent).

Among the “contenders” (ranked 21-60), Max Homa is the current people’s choice. He’s got 18.78 percent of the vote, followed by Will Zalatoris (15.66 percent) and Shane Lowry (15.46 percent).

As for long shots (ranked 61 or higher), look no farther than Sebastian Munoz. He’s got 17.43 percent of the votes, followed by Matt Jones at 8.40 percent and (you might need to Google this name) Rikua Hoshing, who has 8.20 percent of the take. (It’s still early, but Tiger Woods, currently ranked 818th in the world, owns only 6.74% of the long-shot vote)

Want to join the fun? Download the Chirp App here.

Need guidance from our experts? Below you’ll find PGA Championship Trifecta picks from three GOLF.com staffers. (For more PGA betting advice from our staff, click here for picks to win, or click here for sleeper picks.)

Lifestyle

James Colgan, assistant editor:

Favorite: Xander Schauffele (rank: 10). An elite ball striker, entering the week hot, at a venue that should suit his eye? So long as Xander keeps his chipping in check, yes sir!

Contender: Will Zalatoris (30). Another elite ball striker who grows closer by the day to a breakthrough win. It may surprise you to learn that Zalatoris ranks first on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach in 2022 and second in SG: Tee-to-Green — and already has four (!) top-10 finishes in majors. It’s only a matter of time until Zally nabs a big one, why not at Southern Hills?

Long shot: Davis Riley (130). This will be Riley’s third-career major start in the heart of an impressive rookie season. This could be the week he vaults into the mainstream golf conscious.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor:

Favorite: Jordan Spieth (8). The form is there, and, by all accounts, the course fit is there. This is the week Spieth completes the career grand slam

Contender: Cameron Young (38). Four top 5s this season, including two in his last two starts. He’s a “mid-tier” pick only because of the odds. The public has yet to give him the props he deserves.

Long shot: Cameron Champ (102). A big hitter with a big upside.

Lifestyle

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor:

Favorite: Scottie Scheffler (1). I know, I know. Not exactly a stretch. But there’s no reason to think that Scheffler won’t get the job done this week. He’s World No. 1, loves Southern Hills, and is on a heater like few others. Sometimes it’s ok to choose the obvious

Contender: Adam Scott (39). At 100/1, he’s not the darkest of dark-horse picks, but he’s the kind of player that Southern Hills should favor from tee to green. If he gets the putter going, he should have a good chance to finally claim the second major his sweet swing deserves.

Long shot: Matt Jones (74). A second and a third on the Aussie’s resume already this season. Plus, the PGA has historically been Jones’ best-performing major, with a T21 in 2015. He was T30 at last year’s PGA, and my money’s on him delivering an even better performance this year.

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Prior to the 2022 PGA Championship, Tiger Woods talks about Phil Mickelson not defending his title and provides an update on how he’s feeling heading into the week.

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Phil Mickelson is a major champion. Again. Let that sink in. The 50-year-old Mickelson, ranked 115th in the world, without a top 10 in his past 16 starts and without truly contending in a major championship the past four years, did the near-unthinkable on Sunday — he won the 103rd PGA Championship on the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, S.C.

That was the opening paragraph in the story from our Josh Berhow after the final round of last year’s PGA Championship, and it sums up things well here. Phil Mickelson was a major champion. Again. But let that sink in.

Over a year later, it still stuns, doesn’t it? For our purposes, Lefty was also a bit down the toteboard entering the event, at 250-1, according to golfodds.com. And he rewarded his faithful handsomely. It also re-emphasized a valuable point:

Underdogs sometimes have their day. Sometimes a 50-year-old, ranked 115th in the world,  without a top 10 in his past 16 starts and without truly contending in a major championship the past four years, can do the near-unthinkable.

So who could be this year’s Mickelson when the PGA Championships tees off Thursday at Southern Hills? Our staff is looking at a few. They’ve each made a long-shot bet using odds from BetMGM to assist you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook. (And if you’re looking to place any of these bets yourself, we teamed with BetMGM, and the online sports book is offering a new promotion: Make a risk-free bet up to $1,000. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.)

On to the picks.

Staff sleeper picks for the PGA Championship 

Alan Bastable 

Sleeper pick: Cameron Young, +8,000. He’s not playing like a “sleeper” with a T2 and T3 in his past two starts — and on two very different golf courses (TPC Potomac and Harbour Town). But he is a player with whom casual fans are still not familiar. He will win a major, and likely soon. Crazy talent. No real weaknesses. Also, the smartest picker I know has been crowing about Young for months.  

James Colgan 

Sleeper pick: Davis Riley, +25,000: Riley is striping it as well as anyone in professional golf right now. It’s a long shot, but this is a dice roll I feel good about taking.

Dylan Dethier   

Sleeper pick: I’ll give you two! Keegan Bradley at +10,000 and Cameron Tringale at +25,000. Speaking of high numbers! Good iron players with good hands and (hopefully!) hot putters. 

Connor Federico

Sleeper pick: Cameron Champ, +10,000. This isn’t the same Southern Hills where Tiger won in 2007. This week, the course will play 300 yards longer, and its fairways much wider. Enter the Tour’s longest hitter (323.5 yds/drive). In his past two starts, Champ has been channeling that power into better scoring, with a T10 at the Masters and T6 at the Mexico Open. 

Luke Kerr-Dineen

Sleeper pick: Keegan Bradley, +1,000. Speaking of good ball-strikers and sketchy putters: Keegan Bradley! The former PGA champ is 12th on tour in SG: Tee to Green, and in the midst of an impressive T8, T4, T2 run. The putter will need to get hot for him to walk away with the trophy, but he could end up in the top 10 even with a cold one.

Jessica Marksbury

Sleeper pick: Marc Leishman, +10,000. Leish has fallen off a bit since his early-season form, and he’s missed the past three PGA cuts. But there’s something about Southern Hills that I think will suit the Aussie to snap that streak.

Zephyr Melton 

Sleeper pick: Y.E. Yang, +100,000. TIL Y.E. Yang is in the field. Let’s go with the legend himself for a DEEP sleeper.

Nick Piastowski 

Sleeper pick: Cameron Young, +8,000. Four top fives this season, two of which have come in his past two starts. He’s a sleeper only because of the odds. 

Tim Reilly

Sleeper pick: Robert MacIntyre, +15,000. I’m not sure he’s ready to get the job done on a major stage, but Robert MacIntyre is one of golf’s up-and-comers who has been playing well of late. With +15,000 odds, I’ll take a flier on someone who I see as a future major champion. Why not now?

Darren Riehl

Sleeper pick: Matthew Wolff +12,500. Matthew Wolff hasn’t exactly had the trajectory that we anticipated. But recently, it seems he has turned the corner, especially when it comes to his mental game. For +12,500, I will bet that we see flashes of 2020 Wolff at Southern Hills.

Claire Rogers 

Sleeper pick: Richard Bland, +50,000. We had a 50-year-old win the PGA last year, so why can’t a 49-year-old get it done this week? Bland fell just short of earning a Masters invite this year, so I’d love to see him have a great major week at Southern Hills.

Josh Sens

Sleeper pick: Cameron Champ, +10,000. A feast or famine player, Champ has been flashing some strong form lately. Obviously, we’ll need a hot week with the putter. But Champ has such a high ceiling, there’s big potential upside here.

Jonathan Wall 

Sleeper pick: Justin Rose, +12,500. Rose finished T12 the last time the PGA Championship was contested at Southern Hills, in 2007. For whatever reason, he’s embraced Perry Maxwell designs during his career. Wins at the U.S. Open (Merion) and Colonial were contested on courses that feature Maxwell’s fingerprints. Is it a stretch? Maybe. Then again, I’m searching for value at a major. 

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