Scottie Scheffler has a shot at reclaiming the world’s No 1 ranking at this week’s 2022 Houston Open, which tees off Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course. A victory this week would move Scheffler back ahead of Rory McIlroy, and the Texas native has reason to feel confident. He held the 54-hole lead at Memorial Park last year, and he comes off a tie for third at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba last week. Russell Henley, who won that tournament by four strokes and is the 2017 Houston Open champion, also is scheduled to be part of the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open field. Sam Burns, a three-time winner last season, also returns to action for the first time since the CJ Cup. This is the third year of the tournament at Memorial Park, and Carlos Ortiz won the inaugural one at 13 under, while Jason Kokrak went 10 under last year.
Scheffler is listed as the 11-2 favorite in the latest 2022 Houston Open odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Nine golfers are priced shorter than 30-1, led by Burns (14-1), Tony Finau (14-1) and Aaron Wise (18-1). Hideki Matsuyama (20-1), Henley (22-1), Maverick McNealy (22-1), Taylor Montgomery (22-1) and Jason Day (25-1) also are among the favorites in the Houston Open 2022 field. Before making any 2022 Houston Open picks or PGA Tour predictions, you need to check out the best bets and sleepers from SportsLine golf insider Patrick McDonald.
After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour.
He takes a measured approach to his outright selections and finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on those plays, having hit Cameron Smith (22-1) at the Tournament of Champions, Hudson Swafford (250-1) at The American Express, Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational and Justin Thomas (66-1) live at the PGA Championship.
McDonald has hit seven of his 11 matchup plays over the past three weeks and is up more than 14 units on those picks this season. At the Bermuda Championship, he backed winner Seamus Power +100 over pre-tournament favorite Denny McCarthy. For the Zozo Championship, he predicted that winner Keegan Bradley would beat Corey Conners, one of the favorites. McDonald also nailed a first-round leader at the Zozo, backing 80-1 Brendan Steele. Anyone who followed McDonald’s advice has cashed in huge.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2022 Houston Open field and is locking in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all his PGA picks and predictions.
Top 2022 Houston Open expert picks
One surprise from McDonald this week: He is fading McNealy again, as he doesn’t expect his run of strong results to continue much longer. McNealy is just too reliant on his hot putter, and despite four straight top-20 finishes, he hasn’t been in true contention for his first victory. “McNealy’s name is still too high on the odds board,” McDonald says, “and should be passed over for others in his price range.” The 27-year-old is fourth in strokes gained putting but 135th in greens in regulation and 138th tee to green, and that isn’t a recipe for long-term success.
On the flip side, McDonald knows Finau’s approach is proven, and he expects the four-time tour winner to rebound from his missed cut from last week. Finau went 3 under par at Mayakoba to miss the cut on the number, and the only other time he has missed the weekend since March came at the U.S. Open. He ended last season with four top-10’s in his last five starts, including consecutive victories, and he was 3-1-0 at the Presidents Cup six weeks ago. Memorial Park rewards ball-strikers, and Finau was fifth in greens in regulation (71.25 percent) last season. See who else to pick at the Houston Open here.
How to make 2022 Houston Open golf picks
Before this week’s PGA Tour event at Memorial Park, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2022 Houston Open. He has several outright plays, including a huge longshot who would bring a monster payout of 200-1. You can only find out who it is, and see the rest of McDonald’s picks and PGA Tour analysis, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Houston Open picks should you target? Which golfer priced at a massive 200-1 could pull off a stunning victory this week at Houston Open 2022? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top picks for Houston Open 2022, all from the expert who ended last season up 42 units on outright plays, and find out.
2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open odds, field, top contenders
See full Houston Open 2022 picks, best bets, and predictions here.
Scottie Scheffler +550
Sam Burns +1200
Tony Finau +1600
Aaron Wise +1600
Taylor Montgomery +2000
Maverick McNealy +2000
Hideki Matsuyama +2200
Russell Henley +2500
Jason Day +3000
Denny McCarthy +3500
Sahith Theegala +4000
Matthew NeSmith +4000
Andrew Putnam +4000
Joel Dahmen +4500
Keith Mitchell +5000
Emiliano Grillo +5000
Davis Riley +5000
Taylor Pendrith +5000
Alex Noren +5000
Adam Hadwin +5000
Taylor Moore +5000
Si-Woo Kim +5000
Sebastian Munoz +6500
Patrick Rodgers +6500
Mackenzie Hughes +6500
Dean Burmester +6500
Alex Smalley +6500
Sepp Straka +8000
Lee Hodges +8000
Justin Lower +8000
Wyndham Clark +8000
Will Gordon +8000
Greyson Sigg +8000
Harris English +8000
Adam Schenk +8000
Ryan Palmer +10000
Robby Shelton +10000
Nick Taylor +10000
Luke List +10000
Justin Suh +10000
Justin Rose +10000
Francesco Molinari +10000
Davis Thompson +10000
Cameron Champ +10000
Brandon Wu +10000
Brendan Steele +10000
Beau Hossler +10000
Stephan Jagger +10000
Adam Long +10000
Aaron Rai +10000