Another year means another venue for the CJ Cup as it heads to Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Previously held in South Korea at Nine Bridges, the tournament was moved to the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic and found a new home in Las Vegas. After playing at Shadow Creek and The Summit Club over the last couple of seasons, the PGA Tour will make its way to the low country. 

Despite the change in venue and time zone, Congaree Golf Club is another golf course molded by the hands of golf architect Tom Fazio, who is responsible for many courses on the PGA Tour, including Caves Valley, Corales Resort and Spa, and the aforementioned Summit Club. He even had some say in the renovation ahead of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club — the site of the 2022 Presidents Cup.

The drama is high entering the final round on Sunday. Rory McIlroy holds the solo lead at 13 under, and should he be able to hold on for the victory, it would be all but guaranteed he rises back to No. 1 in the OWGR. However, the lead is far from safe as Jon Rahm is lurking one shot behind along with Kurt Kitayama and KH Lee. A thrilling finish seems to be in store on Sunday at Congaree. 

All times Eastern; streaming start times approximated

Round 4 – Sunday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 12 – 5:30 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

Another year means another venue for the CJ Cup as it heads to Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Previously held in South Korea at Nine Bridges, the tournament was moved to the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic and found a new home in Las Vegas. After playing at Shadow Creek and The Summit Club over the last couple of seasons, the PGA Tour will make its way to the low country. 

Despite the change in venue and time zone, Congaree Golf Club is another golf course molded by the hands of golf architect Tom Fazio, who is responsible for many courses on the PGA Tour, including Caves Valley, Corales Resort and Spa, and the aforementioned Summit Club. He even had some say in the renovation ahead of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club — the site of the 2022 Presidents Cup.

Through two rounds of action, we’re trending toward two of the biggest stars in the game potentially dueling for the win this weekend. Former world No. 1 Jon Rahm surged to the top of the leaderboard on Friday to secure a tie with Kurt Kitayama at 11 under. Just two strokes behind, however, is Rory McIlroy, who remains in contention after a solid outing to kickstart his tournament on Round 1 on Thursday. 

All times Eastern; streaming start times approximated

Round 3 – Saturday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 1-6 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

Round 4 – Sunday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 12 – 5:30 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

Another year means another venue for the CJ Cup as it heads to Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Previously held in South Korea at Nine Bridges, the tournament was moved to the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic and found a new home in Las Vegas. After playing at Shadow Creek and The Summit Club over the last couple of seasons, the PGA Tour will make its way to the low country. 

Despite the change in venue and time zone, Congaree Golf Club is another golf course molded by the hands of golf architect Tom Fazio, who is responsible for many courses on the PGA Tour, including Caves Valley, Corales Resort and Spa, and the aforementioned Summit Club. He even had some say in the renovation ahead of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club — the site of the 2022 Presidents Cup.

It makes perfect sense that Rory McIlroy will headline this field. The world No. 2 has dominated Fazio designs throughout his career and will have an opportunity to steal the top spot from Scottie Scheffler in the Official World Golf Rankings with a strong showing. Jordan Spieth will also be making his first start of the 2022-23 season after a splendid Presidents Cup that saw him command a perfect 5-0-0 record. In total, 15 of the world’s top 20 players will be making their way to South Carolina to play in what will be the strongest field of the PGA Tour’s final fall swing.

All times Eastern; streaming start times approximated

Round 1 – Thursday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 12-6 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

Round 2 – Friday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 12-6 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

Round 3 – Saturday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 3-6 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 1-6 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

Round 4 – Sunday

Round starts: 8:15 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Golf Channel
TV Coverage: 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Peacock

Radio: 12 – 5:30 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio

After a dramatic finish to the Zozo Championship in Japan, the PGA Tour heads back stateside for the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina. Hosted at Congaree Golf Club, the Tom Fazio design welcomes 15 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Rankings including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.

McIlroy plays the role of defending champion despite his victory occurring hundreds of miles away last year at The Summit Club in Las Vegas. The world No. 2 hopes to win back-to-back titles at two different venues, much like he did this past summer at the Canadian Open. If McIlroy is able to accomplish this, not only will he another tally another one in the win column, but he will also have a strong chance to reclaim the world No. 1 title if Scheffler struggles.

The two faced off most recently at the Tour Championship where Scheffler faltered on the final day of competition and relinquished the FedEx Cup crown to McIlroy. The world No. 1 then experienced a poor Presidents Cup showing at Quail Hollow Club where he garnered a 0-3-1 record. The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year will look to get back on track in his first start of the 2022-23 season.

The Texan is not the only one making his season debut this week; Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rahm will be kicking off their campaigns at Congaree as well. Rahm is coming off a victory at the Open de España and Fitzpatrick nearly secured a DP World Tour title of his own at the Italian Open. The two Europeans should be in contention while Spieth and Thomas look to make runs after experiencing a brilliant Presidents Cup in Charlotte.

Let’s take a closer look at this week’s 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina with odds provided via Caesars Sportsbook.

Event Information

Event: 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina | Dates: Oct. 20-23
Location: Congaree Golf Club — Ridgeland, South Carolina
Par: 71 | Yardage: 7,655 | Purse: $10,500,000

2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina field, odds

• Rory McIlroy (13/2)
• Jon Rahm (9-1): Don’t look now, but Rahm learned how to putt. The former world No. 1 struggled in the early parts of 2022 with the flat stick in hand but has clearly turned a corner in recent months. Rahm has averaged +1.61 strokes gained putting over his last 15 rounds worldwide, and lapped the field in his victory at the Open de España. Coming off a down year (for his standards), if Rahm can wield the putter in such a manner, he could realistically repeat his 2021 when he captured his lone major title and was by far the best player in the world.
• Scottie Scheffler (12-1)
• Justin Thomas (14-1): The two-time major champion has captured at least one victory in seven straight seasons, but his total as of late seems light. While his two most recent triumphs were of great importance — the 2021 Players Championship and 2022 PGA Championship — Thomas is too strong of an iron player to go through another campaign raising only one trophy. Congaree should be an ideal fit as it boasts wide fairways, tight runoffs and will put an added emphasis on approach play where few, if any, are better.
• Sungjae Im (22-1)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1): The U.S. Open winner came into 2022 swinging — both literally and figuratively — as speed training and added distance propelled him to a career season. Despite not playing in the U.S. since the Tour Championship, the Englishman has been getting his fair share of reps in across the pond. Playing four times in the last six weeks, Fitzpatrick arrives at Congaree off a missed cut at Valderrama where he was unable to put together a solid defense effort of his 2021 crown. He owns the skillset needed to pick apart this par 71, so it will just be a matter of whether he can bounce back from disappointing play his last time out.
• Viktor Hovland (22-1)
• Jordan Spieth (28-1)
• Cameron Young (28-1)
• Sam Burns (28-1): It was a Presidents Cup debut to forget for Burns who garnered an 0-3-2 record at Quail Hollow Club for Team USA. On the heels of a career season that included three trips to the winner’s circle, the 26-year-old was unable to find his bearings in his first team event as a professional. Long off the tee and electric on the dance floor, Congaree should be a get-right spot for the Louisiana native.
• Tom Kim (30-1)
• Shane Lowry (28-1): The Irishman probably should have nabbed at least one victory during his 2021-22 PGA Tour campaign but quickly rectified his inability to close in the states with a win at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Having the best statistical season of his career, I am interested to see how the 35-year-old will back things up, especially in a Ryder Cup year. The last time Lowry played in South Carolina, he finished T3 at the RBC Heritage where some final-round short-game troubles were his undoing.
• Collin Morikawa (30-1)
• Max Homa (30-1)

Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter and Patrick McDonald to preview the 2022 CJ CUP. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina expert picks

Who will win the CJ Cup, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that’s nailed eight golf majors and is up over $9,500 since June 2020.