The autumn PGA TOUR slate rolls into Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville, South Carolina for the sixth edition of the CJ Cup.
This represents another change in venue for the event, which was originally held on Jeju Island in South Korea from 2017 through 2019 before moving stateside for 2020 and 2021, both held in Las Vegas but at different courses.
A familiar face leads the way in the early odds board peppered with big names. Let's take a look at the initial favorites for this weekend's tournament. Be sure to check out our CJ Cup 2022 picks & predictions for all of our best bets for the tournament.
Live odds to win 2022 CJ Cup
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Notes on the Field
This is a stacked field with 15 of the world's Top 20 golfers participating, including betting favorite Rory McIlroy and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler among many others. It might have something to do with the $10.5-million purse, which is the second-largest of the fall slate after last weekend's ZOZO Championship.
It's a much different field of players from the last time the PGA TOUR had an event at Congaree Golf Club in 2021 when Garrick Higgo won the Palmetto Championship.
Favorites to win the 2022 CJ Cup
Rory McIlroy (+750)
On one hand, McIlroy's victory at the 2021 CJ Cup can't exactly be seen as predictive as it was played on a completely different course. On the other, McIlroy is coming off his third FedExCup Championship and can conceivably win no matter where he plays.
And though Rory hasn't played on the PGA TOUR since his championship win, he has stayed fresh by appearing in three DP World Tour events, finishing in the Top 4 each time out.
Jon Rahm (+900)
Rahm, the former World No. 1, is second on the board. Like McIlroy, he has played on the DP World Tour since the TOUR Championship at East Lake. He finished T2 at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in early September and came away with a resounding six-stroke victory at the acciona Open de Espana in Madrid just over a week ago.
Rahm remains ranked in the Top 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking entering play and has consistently been in the hunt anytime he takes the field. He hasn't missed a cut in any of his most recent 20 tournaments between the PGA and DP Tours.
Justin Thomas (+1,400)
Thomas is looking to win the CJ Cup for the third time — but first on American soil. Thomas won the inaugural event in a playoff victory over Marc Leishman in 2017 and again in 2019 by two strokes over Danny Lee.
He finished T12 in 2020 when the event was first held in Las Vegas at Shadow Creek and was T18 at The Summit Club a year ago. Thomas hasn't played since the TOUR Championship in late August, so it remains to be seen if he has some rust to shake off.
Notable longshots for the 2022 CJ Cup
Tyrrell Hatton (+3,300)
When the PGA last went to Congaree Golf Club in June 2021, six players finished T2, one stroke behind winner Garrick Higgo. Well, neither Higgo nor five of those runners-up are in this weekend's field. The lone exception is Hatton.
The 31-year-old had an inauspicious weekend in Japan, finishing T45 at the ZOZO Championship, but had performed well on the DP World Tour with a pair of Top-10 finishes in September. And though he didn't win a PGA tournament in 2021-22, he only missed two cuts in 19 events.
Rickie Fowler (+8,000)
Oof, poor Rickie. He came so close to capturing his first PGA TOUR victory since 2019 over the weekend but ultimately came up short at the ZOZO Championship, losing by a single stroke to Keegan Bradley. Fowler entered Sunday with a one-stroke advantage but shot even par on the day.
Still, the tournament was the best he's looked in a while, though he did also finish T6 at the Fortinet in mid-September. The 33-year-old is looking to put a rocky 2021-22 behind him and bookies aren't fully confident that he'll be able to. Still, if he can keep building on modest successes from early this fall, then he can surprise.
CJ Cup FAQ
This year's CJ Cup is being held at Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville, South Carolina from October 20-23.
Rory McIlroy won the CJ Cup last year when it was held at The Summit Club in Las Vegas, NV.
The purse for the 2022 CJ Cup is $10.5 million. The winner will receive $1.89 million with the runner-up getting $1.14 million.
