It was a strange year in the world of golf, which included a great divide.
The PGA Tour vs LIV Tour separated most golf fans, but despite the rebel league causing havoc, there was some top-quality golf played on the links.
Golf betting markets had all four major winners well-fancied to win, so there weren’t any big upsets in the four biggest tournaments of the year.
Let’s check the latest Golf picks, stats, injury reports, and Golf predictions. We’ve plenty of Golf expert picks for you to consider.
Which Tour Came Out Ahead?
The PGA Tour is always going to have more popularity, but LIV made huge strides in 2022 and it dominated the headlines.
No matter what the news story about golf is, there are countless comments about LIV golf. We don’t think the rebel league will be disappearing anytime soon, especially after securing marquee signings.
Cameron Smith was a huge signing for LIV and a huge loss for the PGA. He was the second-best player in the world at the time after winning the Open Championship, which could hurt the PGA Tour for years to come.
Given LIV has the likes of Smith, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau, it’s not hard to see why it gained traction. What first started as a bit of a joke has quickly become the biggest threat to the norm for world golf.
We think a bit of competition is good and the PGA responded by adding more money. Phil Mickelson’s prophecy came to light and it made for great entertainment.
Johnson and the 4 Aces dominated the LIV year, making millions in the process. However, the history of the PGA is still there, and if you’re prepared to overlook the terrible Fall Series, 2023 should be a good year.
If we framed golf odds for which tour was more successful in 2022, we’d give it to LIV.
Scoop on Free Play from the Locker Room
Americans Take First Two Majors
Scottie Scheffler was the breakout star of 2022. The American scored four wins within two months, which started with the WM Phoenix Open.
After many close-up finishes, he started to produce the goods, and following his win in Phoenix, he added the Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC Matchplay, and the Masters to his record.
His Masters win was superb as he donned the Green Jacket at Augusta. It firmly put him on the map and he secured the top ranking with the win.
“I cried like a baby this morning,” Scheffler said following his win. “I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do.
“I was sitting there telling (my wife) Meredith, I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready, I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff, and I just felt overwhelmed.”
Scheffler hasn’t won since April, but he did enough in the early stages of 2022 to be crowned our best golfer of the year.
Justin Thomas added his second PGA Championship to his record in May. It was an unlikely win for the American, who looked out of contention in the final round.
However, a solid choke on the 18th from Mito Pereira all but gifted Thomas a chance to win. He needed to earn it in a playoff against Will Zalatoris, but it should have been Pereira’s to win.
Zalatoris was the hard-luck story of 2022. He went close on multiple occasions but he couldn’t pay off bettors who climbed into his betting online odds.
Internationals Show Up
The third major of the year went to England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, who showed how clutch he is on the 18th at Brookline to win the U.S. Open.
He scored by one stroke over Scheffler and Zalatoris, who added another second placing to his majors’ record.
It was a star-studded leaderboard, which included Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, and Rory McIlroy, who were all within four shots of the win.
Adding to the internationals success was Smith in the Open Championship at St. Andrews. The 150th edition was one of the best as the Australian showed his toughness when holding off Cameron Young.
Smith, who had already won The Players in 2022, established his dominance and left the PGA Tour as one of the best golfers on the planet.
McIlroy finished third and added another close finish, but the Northern Irishman is still without a major since 2014.
