For much of the early 2022 season, Jon Rahm has been in a tier of his own in the betting market on the PGA TOUR. Heading into The PLAYERS this week, it appears Collin Morikawa and the rest of the field have finally caught up.
Rahm has spent most of the year with single-digit odds, including last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he was +750 to win outright. Just last month, DataGolf called the gap between Rahm and the field "as large as any non-Tiger [Woods] gap since 2004."
However, Rahm has only been in serious contention once this year, finishing third at the Farmers Insurance Open. He finished 21st at the Genesis and 17th at the API.
Those results and the quality of field at THE PLAYERS this week have given oddsboards a new look.
Rahm is the co-favorite with Justin Thomas at +1000 at DraftKings. He's +1200 at PointsBet, just ahead of Thomas and Collin Morikawa (+1400).
Speaking of Morikawa, he was the player to dethrone Rahm from the top of the oddsboard at FanDuel — at least temporarily. Morikawa opened as the favorite at +1100 ahead of Rahm at +1300. One day later, Morikawa and Rahm are tied at +1300.
Are we seeing Jon Rahm fatigue from the betting market for a player who hasn't actually won since the U.S. Open in June?
"Morikawa is just the hotter player going into THE PLAYERS," FanDuel spokesman Kevin Hennessy said. "His form in tandem with his No. 2 ranking made him our choice as the favorite."
Morikawa hasn't been as active on the PGA TOUR, but he finished T5 at the Tournament of Champions in January and T2 at the Genesis in February. His elite iron play makes him a strong course fit at TPC Sawgrass.
Not all sportsbooks are ready to close the distance quite yet. Jeff Sherman at the SuperBook opened Rahm at +1200 but quickly readjusted him to +1000 with Morikawa second at +1600.
"I thought Rahm opening at +1400 at many places was too high of an adjustment just related to the recent string of subpar Rahm," Sherman said.
So why not shorten Morikawa and Co. around him?
"With such a strong field, there has to be attractive pricing on all the other golfers, too," Sherman said.
Thomas is the defending champion after chasing down both Lee Westwood and Bryson DeChambeau in the final round last year. Rahm finished T9 while a third-round 76 sunk Morikawa to a T41 finish.
