The third major on the 2022 LPGA Tour is nearly upon the world’s best golfers and the woman atop the winners futures at North American sportsbooks is no stranger for bettors. Nelly Korda opens with the short odds for the 2022 KPMG PGA Championship.
Korda’s been on another of her famous warm-ups leading up to this week and the timing seems like it’s perfect for her. Regardless, this year has been one full of surprises for golf bettors.
2022 KPMG PGA Championship details
Once again, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship comes from the Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course in Bethesda, Maryland. The purse is $4.5 million and this event has been running since 1955.
The Golf Channel and NBC will carry coverage. With all times Eastern Daylight Savings, the broadcast schedule is:
- Thursday, June 23 and Friday, June 24: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Golf Channel
- Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., NBC
The field includes more big names than just Korda. In fact, 28 of the current Rolex top 30 are part of the crowd. Korda will try to become the first to win this event in consecutive years since Inbee Park won the KPMG three times in a row from 2013 through 2015. Other past winners in the field are:
- Hannah Green (2019)
- Brooke M. Henderson (2016)
- Cristie Kerr (2010)
- Sei Young Kim (2020)
- Anna Nordqvist (2009)
- Sung Hyun Park (2018)
Those players fall all over the futures markets at legal Canadian and US sportsbooks on Tuesday.
Winners futures favor Korda
BetMGM has Korda atop its winners futures market at +900 as of 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. The rest of the top six are:
- Jin Young Ko +1100
- Lydia Ko +1100
- Minjee Lee +1400
- Henderson +1600
- Lexi Thompson +1600
Other past winners range from Green at +3500 all the way to Kerr at +30000. Is the short money on Korda the way to go? That depends on how you read the opportunity to get some green.
Korda took some time off earlier this year but has been steadily improving since her return. In her last three appearances leading up to last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic, she tied for 15th, eighth, and second.
If not for an even-par 72 in her last round last week, she probably would have gotten her first win of 2022. She’s shot 69 or under in four of her last seven rounds. It’s kind of reminiscent of her ascension that put her atop the Rolex rankings last year, too.
In 2021, after missing the cut in the US Open, she came back to win the Meijer and the KPMG in consecutive weeks. Prior to withdrawing from this event in 2020, she finished tied for third in 2019.
Bettors definitely need to consider her as they weigh their options for futures. If 2022 has taught bettors anything, though, the likely winner is actually way down the futures market right now.
If you’re looking elsewhere
It’s hard to ignore Lee right now. Despite her relatively poor record in this event, she currently leads the Tour in scoring average and strokes gained total. Another name to consider is Rookie of the Year candidate Atthaya Thitikul.
She leads the Tour in birdies and is tied for the Tour lead in top-10 finishes. Last week’s winner, Jennifer Kupcho, has a lot to like about her game this week as well. Kupcho’s momentum has carried her to hit almost 76% of greens in regulation this year, a key factor at the Congressional.
They may all prove just to be obstacles in Korda’s way, though. That’s for bettors to determine as they evaluate whether to spend part of their bankrolls on the KPMG PGA Championship.
