Anyone who knows anything about golf knows that it’s always golf season! But the biggest excitement in the golfing world is the four majors—the Masters, the US Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship.
We’re coming up to the start of the first tournament this year, kicking off in April. There’s much anticipation about who might be victorious here, given the Scheffler-Rahm-McIlroy triangle that’s been the battle of the 2022 golfing world.
Any golfing fan who’s worth their salt knows that things can change on a dime. But thanks to the highly accurate SportsLine Projection Model, we can get some super accurate projections for upcoming tournaments.
Some aren’t surprising at all, but there’s always a spanner in the works, which keeps things interesting.
Here are our own golf tournament updates of the majors—who’s playing, what the projections suggest, and what exciting possibilities await.
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament is the first of the four major golfing tournaments of the year. Running from April 6th to the 9th, this year’s is the 87th edition of the iconic tournament. Of course, it’s played at its traditional home, Augusta National Golf Club.
This year’s lineup of invitees includes 78 pros and 7 amateurs. The top contenders are the battling trio of Scottie Scheffer, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy, who’ve been clamoring around each other since last year.
Reigning champion Scheffler is in good form and is expected to defend his 2022 title vigorously. As it stands, he’s behind Jon Rahm on the projected leaderboard, with odds of 8-1 on the SportsLine Projection Model.
Rahm is the firm favorite for the win this year, with odds of 15-2. He’s currently behind Scheffler in the world rankings, but things could change. The Spaniard has had a good year so far, so it’s not unreasonable to think that he could take that into the Masters.
Rory McIlroy finished behind Scheffler in last year’s tournament, so he’s got a bone to pick, and he’s in good form so far this year after a great 2022. Patrick Cantlay is also up there, with a great projection—don’t discount him as we go into the tournament.
PGA Championship
Following the Masters is the PGA Championship, and of course, the predictions here will depend on the outcome of the Masters. It runs from May 18th to 21st at the beautiful Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
One of the biggest factors of interest at the moment in the golfing world is the split between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The PGA of America announced recently that they would allow LIV players to take part, so the tournament promises to be a spectacular battle with emotions running high on both sides.
US Open
The US Open will be played from June 15th to 18th at Los Angeles Country Club. It’s the 123rd US Open to be held, which is a great distinction. Last year’s tournament was won by Matt Fitzpatrick, his first win, and beating out Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris for the prize.
Interestingly, although Fitzpatrick is playing the Masters, he’s not a contender for the title at the US Open. Instead, the top three players on the predictions once again are the terrible trio, Scheffler, Rahm, and McIlroy.
According to oddschecker.com, Rahm shows the best odds of winning, with a score of +900. Fitzpatrick features quite a bit lower down, at +2800, behind players like Justin Thomas, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Jordan Spieth.
Of course, let’s also remember that Fitzpatrick won at Brookline, a course he’d previously claimed the US Amateur title on, back in 2013. This year, he’ll be playing on a course he’s much less familiar with, leaving the field wide open for other golfers to swoop in.
It’s hard to say how the current contenders may change as we get closer to the week of the tournament. Much depends on who’s on form at the time, and someone may just surprise us.
British Open
The last major tournament for the year, the 151st British Open, will be held from July 20th to 23rd at the Royal Liverpool Golf Course. Cameron Smith will be defending his title this year at +1800.
Coming in ahead of him in the predictions are the usual three. Interestingly, Rory McIlroy is up top for this tournament, at +800 pre-tournament odds, with both Rahm and Scheffler following with +1000 and Justin Thomas at +1600 before Smith makes an appearance.
McIlroy remains the only golfer of the lot to have won a British Open title already, which gives him a slight advantage, even if it is only psychological.
Of course, each of these players will come out raring to go, so there’s no discounting the others just because they’ve yet to win the title.
As always, these predictions may change as the year goes on. We’ll see how these golfers are doing closer to the time and if anyone has shown up to contend with them by the time the British Open comes around.
***
This year promises to be a cracker of a golfing year. And that excludes all the other golf tournaments that take place during the year! Focus on just these four, and there’s also the swell of drama, excitement, and adrenaline in the air.
With the split between the PGA and LIV Golf, the golfing world is looking a little different from what it has before.
But it’s pleasing to see that LIV players are still being offered the chance to take part in the PGA Championship, and hopefully, things will move forward amicably… Albeit it with a bit more competition and drama than in years past.
But at the heart of it, all is the sport, and it remains a gentleman’s sport. We can look forward to hours of exciting play, scoping what’s-in-the-bag for each player, golfing accessories, and possibly one or two upsets in the major tournaments… Time will tell!
Whether you’re planning on catching the tournaments on TV or grabbing a spot in the crowd, get ready for an action-packed year of golf.
About the Author
Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer and businessman. When he’s not on the course working on his own game or mentoring young golfers, he writes in-depth articles for his website, Golf Influence.
