CJ CUP in South Carolina 2022 Betting Preview/Prop Picks
19 October 2022
The PGA Tour is back in the United States for the CJ CUP in South Carolina. This is the sixth year of the tournament and the third in the U.S. after the first three were held at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island in South Korea. The Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville, South Carolina, hosts this year's tournament.
Rory McIlroy returns to action for the first time this season to defend his CJ CUP title. McIlroy's victory kicked off last season's run to his third FedEx Cup title, which included wins at the RBC Canadian Open and TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP. The four-time major winner knocked off Collin Morikawa by one stroke, finishing at 25-under par.
The tournament was held at Shadow Creek and The Summit Club in Las Vegas the last two seasons after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the tournament in South Korea.
The Field
For the second-straight week, the field will be limited to half a typical PGA Tour event with 78 players teeing it up. The field is determined by the Top 60 players from the previous season's FedEx Cup standings, winners of the KPGA and Genesis Championship on the Korean Tou, and the top three available players on the Korean Tour.
Additionally, the top available player from the Asian Tour order of merit, the next three available Korean players according to the Official World Golf Rankings, and eight sponsorship exemptions earn a spot.
The Course
The Congaree Golf Club was established just four years ago, in 2018, and is hosting a PGA Tour event for the second season in a row. The course hosted the Palmetto Championship; a one-off event played last summer.
Measuring 7,865 yards and playing as a par-71, the course tests a player's length with some extremely long holes. One par 5 stretches over 600 yards, while two par 4s read well over 500 yards on the scorecard.
The Dunkel Index for the CJ CUP in South Carolina
The Dunkel Index gives us the top 10 golfers that could win the event. The players are below:
- Jon Rahm (-28.145)
- Rory McIlroy (-28.696)
- Cameron Young (-33.520)
- Shane Lowry (-33.649)
- Max Homa (-33.978)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (-34.392)
- Tom Kim (-34.418)
- Scottie Scheffler (-35.261)
- Justin Thomas (-37.711)
- Sungjae Im (-38.324)
Potential Winning Pick
We don't want to take the chalk here, but Rory McIlroy (-28.896) has the game to succeed at this track with his driving distance and elite iron play.
The defending champion has won five tournaments multiple times, and he has a good opportunity to add number six this week.
Prop Picks
Top 20 Finish: Matt Fitzpatrick (-125)
Fitzpatrick is coming off a season that saw him record 14 Top 25 finishes in 20 events played and included a U.S. Open championship. He finished ranked No. 3 in scoring average (69.217).
Rated No. 6 in this week’s Dunkel Index, take Fitzpatrick (-125) to get off to a solid start this season and pick up a Top 20 finish at Congaree.
Top 20 Finish: Sungjae Im (-120)
Im has already played two events this season and has one Top 10 finish (7th) at Shriners Children’s Open. He’s currently ranked No. 9 in scoring average (69.053).
Rated No. 10 in this week’s Dunkel Index, take Im (-120) to continue his strong start to the season with a Top 20 finish this weekend.
Head-To-Head: Max Homa OVER Shane Lowry
Homa has already won once this season, helped The American team win the Presidents Cup, and followed it up with a T20 at the Shriners Children's Hospital Open last month.
He's now a Top 20 player in the world, and his game has been sharp. Lowry is an elite player in his own right, but Homa's recent success is worth the play here.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
