After helping launch The Match golf series in 2018, and competing in the first two installments, Tiger Woods will return for The Match 2022 on Saturday. The 15-time major champion will team up with Rory McIlroy to take on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas over 12 holes at Pelican Golf Club in the Tampa area. Set to tee off Saturday evening, The Match 7 will be the first of its kind to take place in primetime with a 6 p.m. ET start time. 

Given that Woods’ current form is well behind that of the other three, his pairing with McIlroy is listed as a +105 underdog (bet $100 to win $105). The latest Match 7 odds from Caesars Sportsbook have the Spieth and Thomas duo as -125 favorites (bet $125 to win $100). Before locking in any Match 7 bets, be sure to see Match VII picks and predictions from SportsLine’s proven golf expert, Mike McClure. 

McClure, a DFS professional, knows golf inside and out. His proprietary model has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, it’s up over $9,500 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure’s model included Justin Thomas in its best bets to win the 2022 PGA Championship. That bet hit at +1600, and for the entire tournament, McClure’s best bets returned almost $800. At the 2022 Masters, McClure’s model was all over Scottie Scheffler’s first career major championship victory heading into the weekend.

In addition, McClure was all over Brooks Koepka defeating Bryson DeChambeau as a +110 underdog in The Match V. This same model has also nailed a whopping eight majors entering this event. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, with The Match 7 set to tee off on Saturday evening, McClure has scoured the golf odds and locked in his top pick. Head to SportsLine now to see McClure’s best bet for The Match VII. 

Why Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy can win The Match VII

The Thomas/Spieth team may be the betting favorite, but the Woods/McIlroy duo has the single best golfer in this event. McIlroy is the World No. 1, having achieved that mark after winning the CJ Cup in late October. With the Irishman also winning the Tour Championship to close out last season, he’s won back-to-back PGA Tour events, so there’s no hotter golfer in the world than McIlroy. Meanwhile, neither Spieth nor Thomas has finished better than 40th at any full-field PGA Tour tournament this season.

The experience with this kind of event also benefits Woods and McIlroy as the former is the only of the four golfers to compete in The Match before. The format is much different than a typical PGA Tour event, and the newcomers will have to adjust to things such as interviews between shots, off-the-cuff side bets and on-course smack talk. Woods has experienced all of this twice before, and he could also help prepare McIlroy for the different environment. See which side to back at SportsLine.

Why Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas can win The Match 7

Golf is primarily an individual sport but with the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup held in alternating years, this pair of young Americans have had plenty of opportunities to compete as a team. They went a perfect 4-0 while playing as a twosome in the 2022 Presidents Cup and they also played a combined six matches as teammates at the 2021 Ryder Cup and 2018 Ryder Cup, combining to go 4-2 in those matches.

That familiarity should be a significant advantage during this alternate four-ball format (though the exact rules haven’t yet been laid out). And while McIlroy and Woods are neighbors in Jupiter and have gotten closer over the years, you’d be hard-pressed to find a closer pair on the PGA Tour than Spieth and Thomas. They’ve regularly roomed together at certain tour stops and Spieth was the best man in Thomas’ recent wedding. See which side to back at SportsLine.

How to make The Match 2022 picks

McClure has scoured The Match VII odds board and found a critical x-factor that has him jumping all over one side. You can only get his top pick for The Match VII right here.

So who wins The Match VII? Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win The Match 7, and see where the betting value lies, all from the expert that’s nailed eight golf majors, and find out. 

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Since debuting in 2018, The Match has produced a series of made-for-TV golf exhibitions featuring some of the best players in the world alongside other celebrities. And during what has been a tumultuous year for golf, The Match 2022 is turning to four of golf’s biggest stars as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will take on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The quartet of PGA Tour professionals are all friends and have also become four of their tour’s most outspoken ambassadors. Now they’ll tee it up under the lights at the Pelican Golf Club just outside Tampa Bay, Fla., on Saturday for a 12-hole exhibition that should be incredibly entertaining with tee time scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

This will be Woods’ first time playing televised golf since missing the cut at The Open Championship, but the 15-time major champion has maintained that he can still execute all the shots necessary to compete at a high level. Even so, Woods and McIlroy are +105 underdogs while Spieth and Thomas are -125 favorites (bet $125 to win $100) in the latest The Match 7 odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Before locking in any Match 7 bets, be sure to see Match VII picks and predictions from SportsLine’s proven golf expert, Mike McClure. 

McClure, a DFS professional, knows golf inside and out. His proprietary model has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, it’s up over $9,500 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure’s model included Justin Thomas in its best bets to win the 2022 PGA Championship. That bet hit at +1600, and for the entire tournament, McClure’s best bets returned almost $800. At the 2022 Masters, McClure’s model was all over Scottie Scheffler’s first career major championship victory heading into the weekend.

In addition, McClure was all over Brooks Koepka defeating Bryson DeChambeau as a +110 underdog in The Match V. This same model has also nailed a whopping eight majors entering this event. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, with The Match 7 set to tee off on Saturday evening, McClure has scoured the golf odds and locked in his top pick. Head to SportsLine now to see McClure’s best bet for The Match VII. 

Why Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy can win The Match VII

Tiger and Rory know each other well as long-time Nike brand ambassadors and the two shared a special moment as they played their Thursday and Friday rounds together at St. Andrews in the 150th Open Championship. And it was an acknowledgment from McIlroy on the course that Woods claims brought on the waterworks in what is likely his last competitive round at the Birthplace of Golf.

Woods and McIlroy also both live in the Jupiter area and are recent business partners in TMRW Sports, a technology-driven sports company. And while Woods hasn’t been able to play much competitive golf since a serious car crash left him with chronic pain in his legs, he was clear throughout last week at the Hero World Challenge that he still had every shot in the bag. Meanwhile, McIlroy is the No. 1 player in the world and is coming off three wins on the PGA Tour in 2022. See which side to back at SportsLine.

Why Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas can win The Match 7

Well known as two of the closest friends on the PGA Tour, Thomas and Spieth have been regular partners at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup over the years and they certainly know each other’s game well. At the 2022 Presidents Cup, the pairing combined to go 4-0 as a team and they also played together twice at the 2021 Ryder Cup and four times at the 2018 Ryder Cup, combining to go 4-2-0.

They regularly travel together on tour and have combined to win 28 tournaments and five major championships despite the fact that both are still in their 20s. Thomas is currently No. 8 in the Official World Golf Ranking while Spieth checks in at No. 14. However, like Woods and currently McIlroy, both are former world No. 1s and both are coming off strong seasons on the PGA Tour. See which side to back at SportsLine.

How to make The Match 2022 picks

McClure has scoured The Match VII odds board and found a critical x-factor that has him jumping all over one side. You can only get his top pick for The Match VII right here.

So who wins The Match VII? Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win The Match 7, and see where the betting value lies, all from the expert that’s nailed eight golf majors, and find out. 

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The 2022 Presidents Cup will feature 24 of the world’s best golfers competing at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. The Americans have dominated the Presidents Cup over the years, winning eight straight against the International team. Davis Love III is Team USA’s captain and he’ll field a team that features PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay. Trevor Immelman will guide the International team which features Adam Scott, who’s making his 10th Presidents Cup appearance, Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im.

According to the latest 2022 Presidents Cup odds from Caesars Sportsbook, the Americans are listed as the -650 favorites (risk $650 to win $100) to repeat. The International team is listed as a +650 underdog, while a tie would return +1700. Betting on which team will win is just one way to approach this event, which will also have plenty of golf props available as play unfolds through Sunday. Before locking in your 2022 Presidents Cup picks, be sure to see the best bets and predictions from SportsLine’s Mike McClure. 

McClure built SportsLine’s proprietary golf model, which has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up over $9,500 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure’s model included J.T. Poston in its best bets to win the 2022 John Deere Classic. That bet hit at +5500, and for the entire tournament, McClure’s best bets returned almost $1,100. At the 2022 Masters, McClure’s model was all over Scottie Scheffler’s first career major championship victory heading into the weekend.

In addition, McClure’s best bets included Collin Morikawa winning outright at the 2021 Open Championship, even though he was listed as a massive 40-1 longshot. The model was also all over Jon Rahm’s (10-1) first career major championship victory at the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, but the model still projected him as the winner.

This same model has also nailed a whopping eight majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, McClure has evaluated the 2022 Presidents Cup odds and locked in his best bets. Head to SportsLine now to see the top picks and predictions for the Presidents Cup 2022. 

Top 2022 Presidents Cup predictions 

McClure’s 2022 Presidents Cup best bets include backing Justin Thomas to be Team USA’s top point scorer at +700 odds. In Team USA’s 2019 victory in Australia, Thomas finished with a 3-1-1 record, earning the most points for the American side with 3.5. He boasts a 6-2-2 overall record in Presidents Cup play and the 29-year-old played well down the stretch last season, which culminated in a top-five finish at the Tour Championship.

Thomas has had success at Quail Hollow in his career, winning his first major title at the PGA Championship in 2017. Plus, the two-time major champion finished last season ranked third in strokes gained: tee-to-green (1.589), third in putting average (1.718) and fifth in one-putt percentage (42.84%), all of which will come in handy in this team format. He’s also shot lower than 70 seven times in his career at Quail Hollow, so Thomas is a great bet at these odds to be Team USA’s top point scorer in Presidents Cup 2022 prop bets. See all of McClure’s 2022 Presidents Cup picks here.

How to make 2022 Presidents Cup picks

McClure has analyzed the 2022 Presidents Cup format from every angle. He’s locked in a pick on which team will win and an additional 2022 President Cup prop bet that returns a huge payout over 6-1. Anyone who tails this prop bet could hit it big. You can only see them here. 

So who will win the Presidents Cup 2022? And which prop bets should you be all over? Check out the 2022 Presidents Cup odds below and then visit SportsLine to see McClure’s best bets for the Presidents Cup 2022, all from the expert who’s up over $9,500 on his golf picks since June 2020.

2022 Presidents Cup odds, teams

See full Presidents Cup 2022 picks, best bets, and predictions here.

Team USA -750
International Team +700
Tie +1800

Team USA roster 
Scottie Scheffler
Patrick Cantlay
Xander Schauffele 
Justin Thomas
Jordan Spieth 
Collin Morikawa 
Sam Burns
Tony Finau 
Billy Horschel 
Max Homa
Cameron Young
Kevin Kisner 

International Team roster 
Adam Scott
Hideki Matsuyama
Sungjae Im
Tom Kim
Corey Conners
K.H. Lee
Mito Pereira
Sebastian Munoz
Cameron Davis
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Taylor Pendrith
Si Woo Kim

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The 2022 Presidents Cup will feature 24 of the world’s best golfers competing at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Presidents Cup began in 1994, and the Americans have won 11 of the 13 events. These biennial matches between the U.S. and the International team have proven to be one-sided for the Americans, but we’ve seen some thrilling finishes in recent years. In fact, Team USA has won the Presidents Cup by two points or less in two of the last three events. 

Davis Love III is Team USA’s captain and he’ll field a team that features PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay. The International team features Adam Scott, who’s making his 10th Presidents Cup appearance, Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im. According to the latests 2022 Presidents Cup odds from Caesars Sportsbook, the Americans are listed as the -650 favorites (risk $650 to win $100) to repeat. The International team is listed as a +650 underdog, while a tie would return +1700. Before locking in your 2022 Presidents Cup picks, be sure to see the best bets and predictions from SportsLine’s Mike McClure. 

McClure built SportsLine’s proprietary golf model, which has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up over $9,500 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure’s model included J.T. Poston in its best bets to win the 2022 John Deere Classic. That bet hit at +5500, and for the entire tournament, McClure’s best bets returned almost $1,100. At the 2022 Masters, McClure’s model was all over Scottie Scheffler’s first career major championship victory heading into the weekend.

In addition, McClure’s best bets included Collin Morikawa winning outright at the 2021 Open Championship, even though he was listed as a massive 40-1 longshot. The model was also all over Jon Rahm’s (10-1) first career major championship victory at the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, but the model still projected him as the winner.

This same model has also nailed a whopping eight majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, McClure has evaluated the 2022 Presidents Cup odds and locked in his best bets. Head to SportsLine now to see the top picks and predictions for the Presidents Cup 2022. 

Top 2022 Presidents Cup predictions 

McClure’s 2022 Presidents Cup best bets include backing Justin Thomas to be the USA’s top point scorer at +700 odds. Thomas brings a wealth of experience to Team USA as he’s set to play in his third Presidents Cup. In Team USA’s 2019 victory in Australia, Thomas finished with a 3-1-1 record, earning the most points for the American side with 3.5. 

He boasts a 6-2-2 overall record in Presidents Cup play and the 29-year-old played well down the stretch last season, which culminated in a top-five finish at the Tour Championship. In addition, Thomas has had success at Quail Hollow in his career, winning his first major title at the PGA Championship in 2017. McClure expects Thomas’ familiarity with the course and format will help him finish as Team USA’s top scorer.  See all of McClure’s 2022 Presidents Cup picks here.

How to make 2022 Presidents Cup picks

McClure has analyzed the 2022 Presidents Cup format from every angle. He’s locked in a pick on which team will win and an additional 2022 President Cup prop bet that returns a huge payout over 6-1. Anyone who tails this prop bet could hit it big. You can only see them here. 

So who will win the Presidents Cup 2022? And which prop bets should you be all over? Check out the 2022 Presidents Cup odds below and then visit SportsLine to see McClure’s best bets for the Presidents Cup 2022, all from the expert who’s up over $9,500 on his golf picks since June 2020.

2022 Presidents Cup odds, teams

See full Presidents Cup 2022 picks, best bets, and predictions here.

Team USA -650
International Team +650
Tie +1700

Team USA roster 
Scottie Scheffler
Patrick Cantlay
Xander Schauffele 
Justin Thomas
Jordan Spieth 
Collin Morikawa 
Sam Burns
Tony Finau 
Billy Horschel 
Max Homa
Cameron Young
Kevin Kisner 

International Team roster 
Adam Scott
Hideki Matsuyama
Sungjae Im
Tom Kim
Corey Conners
K.H. Lee
Mito Pereira
Sebastian Munoz
Cameron Davis
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Taylor Pendrith
Si Woo Kim

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After winning the US Open in dramatic fashion, Matt Fitzpatrick has finally arrived at golf’s top table, but true to his Yorkshire roots, he’s doing it while keeping his feet firmly on the ground

Exclusive interview by Nick Bayly

A major champion, a first victory in the US, and now ranked inside the world’s top 10. How good does life feel right now?
Winning a major title is a dream come true for me. It’s something I’ve worked very hard for for a very long time, and it feels like I’ve been rewarded for all that hard work and patience. I feel like I can retire a happy man.
Looking back, it was always going to be a leap into the unknown when I turned professional after leaving college nine years ago, so to be where I am, and having achieved what I have so far, makes me very proud. Although there is obviously a lot more I want to do in the game in the years ahead, I’m pretty pleased with where I am right now.

Having won the US Amateur at Brookline there was a lot of extra focus on you at the US Open. Did you feel that extra pressure, and do you feel like you put extra pressure on yourself in the Majors anyway?
I do put extra pressure on myself in the big events, it’s only natural, but as each one has come along I feel like I’ve got better at handling them, and that showed at the US Open. I felt very comfortable on the course, and felt like I knew where to hit it and where not to miss it.
The people around me say that I’m different in a major week and while I can’t see it myself it’s something that I knew I needed to work on. I feel that I’m a different player now to how I was in the early part of my career, so hopefully I can relax more in the Majors and it will start to show. With that first one [Major title] in the bag, I feel like a can win a few more of these. I’m targeting six. It might sound greedy, but I really think it’s an achievable goal.

You also went out in the last group on Sunday at the PGA Championship, with every chance of winning, but ultimately finished fifth. What was take on that week and how did it set you up for what you were able to achieve at the US Open?
The PGA was a pretty good week for me, regardless of the result. To have that experience, going out in the last group on Sunday in a major championship, was a first for me. I was obviously disappointed not to have got it done, but I learned a lot about myself that week and I was definitely able to draw on that experience when I got into the same group at the US Open. Of course, I didn’t think it would come around quite so quickly, but perhaps that was even more to my advantage to have that experience so fresh in my mind.
The biggest takeaway from the PGA was staying patient. I think Saturday’s third round was one of my best days on a golf course in a long time. I got off to such a poor start, so to be able to battle back and shoot what I did, gave me a lot of satisfaction. That was a big positive despite not coming away with the title. At the end of the day, I didn’t play well enough. I probably had my ‘C’ game on Sunday, not even my ‘B’, and that was never going to good enough.
The US Open required similar, if not more patience, especially with all the wind that we faced. There were so many holes which could bite you, yet there were holes that you could get after. It was defend, attack, defend, attack, and it was about knowing when par was a good score.

A few seasons ago you were complaining that the Majors were in the hands of the big hitters, but you seemed to have transformed yourself into one of those players. How have you achieved that?
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last 18 months to two years working with Mike Walker and my coach and biomechanist Dr Sasho Mackenzie. We did a little bit then, and he gave me this speed stick called The Stack. I’ve been doing that religiously week in and week out. It’s like going to the gym. I’ll be honest, it’s worked wonders for my long game.
I feel like if I’d been leading a major three or four years ago, and I was playing with someone like Will Zalatoris in the final group, I’d be concerned that I’m going to be 20 yards behind him off the tee. But I felt comfortable all day that I was going to be past him. To know that I’d be hitting a club less than him on a lot of approach shots gave me alot of confidence. It certainly gave me a mental boost.

You’ve had ten top-ten finishes in your last 17 starts. What do you feel like has been the key to your consistent play over the last six months?
Statistically speaking, my iron play has been considerably better so far this year than it was last year. I’ve made far fewer mistakes. I feel like I’m getting quite deep into a lot or rounds without having a bogey on the card, so that’s been a positive. My short game is also a lot sharper and when I miss greens I’ve been able to rescue pars, which previously might have been bogeys, so it’s little improvements here and there that are making the difference, nothing dramatic. It hasn’t all come together until now, and the result speaks for itself.

It’s well documented that you pay very close attention to your performance stats. Where does this attention to detail come from?
Yeah, I’ve been doing my own stats for a long time – since I was 14, if you really want to know, so it’s not a new thing for me. But during the first lockdown back in March 2020, I got in touch with Edoardo Molinari, who plays on the European Tour, but has also created his own stats analysis programme that records pretty much anything you want to record.
One element of his programme tracks dispersion, something which I’d not done before, but was very interested in. Say, on your approach to the green you’re aiming four yards right of the flag each time, but you’re pulling it two yards left, there’s a six-yard difference there on your aim. So, while it might look good on your ‘strokes gained approach’ stats, when measured against your actual target you’re still six yards away. Using Edoardo’s programme, I now know what my strokes gained to my target is rather than just strokes gained to the pin. It just made it more specific to my game, seeing my own patterns, and it helps me plot my way around the golf course a bit better.
Over time we’re gradually building up a better picture of my overall game, and although the improvements might be marginal, or sometime barely noticeable, it gives me a better understanding of where my weaknesses – and strengths – lie and what we can work on. It’s certainly helped me structure my practice sessions better, enabling me to focus on the things that need improving rather than spending too much time on things that are already working well.

As a player, you seem like someone who is never quite satisfied, and that you will always pushing to find that bit extra. Is that a fair assessment?
No matter how good your achievements are, I think you can always be striving for more. There will always be guys that are having success and I suppose that competition is what motivates me. With so many players out there playing well week-in and week-out, you can never be content with your own game, no matter how good it is. I really want to be the best golfer I can possibly be, and if I give 100 per cent – there isn’t much more I can ask of myself.

Billy [Foster] once described you as ‘the ultimate professional’ and ‘Bernhard Langer’s love child’. What did he mean by the Langer reference?
It was nice to hear the first part, but I guess what he really means by the Langer bit is that I might be prone to over-analysing things and get overly obsessed with details! I’m very lucky to have Billy. He’s got so much experience, and has been there, done it and got the T-shirt.

How great was it to have Billy on the bag for your major breakthrough and for you to help him to his first major win as a caddie?
I am so pleased for him. He’s had quite a few near misses over the years, so I was just delighted that we were able to get the job done. He was almost more emotional than I was at the end there, but it just showed how much it meant to both of us. He has been just an asset over the last 3-4 years since we started working together, and I’m just so lucky to have someone with that much experience to guide me through these tournaments.

What will being able to call yourself a major champion do you for going forward. Do you feel like the shackles are off?
It’s funny, after Shane [Lowry] won the Open, he told me that he got some abuse at a tournament soon after when he wasn’t playing very well and he said that it didn’t bother him at all, because I knew he’d won a major. And I think I’ll be drawing on that one a lot when things aren’t going my way.
But once you’ve got one, you know you want to go and win more now, there’s no doubt about that. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully more will come.

How much are you looking forward to teeing it up at St Andrews as a major champion?
It will be great. I love playing St Andrews. It’s a great golf course. It’s going to be interesting, obviously, with the length and everything. And now I’m a bomber, I’ll probably be driving most of the greens! Yes, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve got two weeks off now, which I couldn’t be happier about. I’ll get my head around a few things, and then we’ll go to St Andrews.

You seem to have cut back on your schedule over the last two seasons. Is that to help you fresh?
Yes, I have deliberately played fewer events over the last couple of years, and that has really helped to keep me fresh. When Billy came on to my bag, he stressed the need to take more breaks. Looking at my schedule in years gone by, I was playing as many as 32 events, and last year I think played 28 or 29. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it is. It’s an extra week or two to work on the game, and it’s an extra week or two of rest. It all adds up over the course of a season, and it certainly made a big difference to my performances.

You’ve recently joined Skechers as a tour ambassador. What attracted you to the brand and what specific performance demands do you have from a golf shoe?
The big thing that attracted me to Skechers is that it is solely a footwear company – that’s all they do and they are renowned for making quality products. Things weren’t quite working out the way I wanted with my previous brand, and after speaking with my trainer we decided to make a switch.
I’ve been wearing and testing Skechers GO GOLF shoes for some time now, and I’m really pleased with the comfort and performance that I’m getting from my Pro 5s out on the golf course. I like the way they look, as they’re perhaps a bit more athletic than previous models, and it’s been any easy transition to make.
The service they offer on tour is first class, and they’re happy for me to work with them, sharing ideas and passing on insights that hopefully can help improve future products and help players at all levels of the game.

 Do you switch between spikeless and spiked models depending on course conditions?
No, I purely play in spiked shoes. I slide around too much at impact if I wear spikeless. Nothing against those models, but my foot pressures are all over the place, so they just don’t provide enough stability for me. If I’m practicing at golf courses at home in Florida or back in the UK, I’ll wear SoftSpikes – plastic cleats – as they’re kinder to the greens, but when I’m on tour its metal spikes only.  I get through three two or three pairs of golf shoes a month. That might sound like a lot, but the amount we play and walk around the course, shoes can scuff up pretty easily and not look their best, so I guess it’s in both our interests to have fresh pairs ready to go. I mainly wear white shoes, but I’ll mix and match depending on what I’m wearing.

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