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PGA Championship 2022: Best Round 3 Futures Bets

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The 104th PGA Championship has made its way to Tulsa, Oklahoma at Southern Hills Country Club. It’s already a problematic course to succeed at, as renovations were made in 2019, but the conditions will be most notable during Round 3 on Saturday. Players have been successful despite the adverse conditions, but the number of golfers below par in both rounds is few and far between.

Will Zalatoris has been the most impressive through half of the tournament, going four-under-par on Thursday and following up with a five-under finish in Round 2. Mito Pereira, Justin Thomas, Abraham Ancer, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Stewart Cink form many players who have avoided par or higher finishes. Still, they will undoubtedly be tested in the rain and 20-mile-per-hour wind. As a result, ball-striking will be at an even higher premium, along with confident putting, to prevail and sit on top of the leaderboard at the end of Round 3.

Here are a couple of my favorite Best Round 3 Futures Bets to lay ahead of Saturday’s tee times.

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Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Justin Thomas (+400)

Justin Thomas is flirting with the leaderboard at Southern Hills through the first two rounds, netting three-under-par in each round to sit in third place entering Saturday. The 28-year-old American has seven top ten finishes and is fresh off a T5 at AT&T Byron Nelson and a T8 at Augusta National. Thomas has many impressive aspects to his game, from driving distance at 311 yards per attempt to averaging 5.1 birdies per round.

He is ranked 27th or higher in every strokes gained category, excluding putting, meaning his iron game is sharp and among the best on the PGA Tour. Thomas also averages 68.18 in his third-round scoring, which ranks third best. He’s consistently been impressive at Southern Hills, sinking four birdies on Friday but finishing with a bogey on the 14th hole par 3. If Thomas can muster bogey avoidance and sink a 10-foot putt or two, he stands to gain ground on Zalatoris by the end of Round 3 to erase a three-stroke deficit. At +400, Thomas is a great pick to wind up the leader at the end of Saturday night.

Matt Fitzpatrick (+4000)

If you want to come away with a big payday without making a bad investment, betting on Matt Fitzpatrick to wind up on top of the leaderboard after Round 3 is the way to go. The 27-year-old Englishman is ranked first in total strokes gained and 19th in strokes gained putting, meaning he has two different ways to climb the leaderboard in a highly competitive field that remains after the cut-line. Moreover, Fitzpatrick is quite adept at playing in windy conditions at some of the courses in England, which bodes well for his outlook on Saturday in Tulsa.

A low birdie average can be ignored, as irons will be much more critical in navigating the high wind gusts and precipitation throughout the afternoon. Fitzpatrick fares well in Round 3 scoring averages, ranking 30th with a final score of 69.38, which would place him at one-under-par for the round and four-under-par overall, bumping him into T5. I expect around two or three birdies and no bogeys for the polished Englishman, putting him with Justin Thomas in third place. Zalatoris could falter, averaging over 70 during previous rounds on Saturday. Laying $50 on Fitzpatrick at +4000 on DraftKings will yield a $2,000 payout, so why not invest in a player currently T8 with the best irons available?

PGA Championship 2022 Golfer Profiles

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Matt is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Johnny, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.