The PGA Tour’s next stop, the 2022 CJ Cup, goes down this week at the Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. It will be the same tournament as last year, but in a new venue after playing this tournament the last few years in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Some of the game’s best players are on hand, including the reigning champion of this event, and 2022 FedEx Cup winner, Rory McIlroy. The star-studded list continues beyond McIlroy. The most recent former World No. 1 Jon Rahm and current No. 1 Scottie Scheffler are in the field this week.
In addition, best friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are both making their individual PGA Tour season debuts after being part of Team USA for the Presidents Cup. There are even players who played last week at the ZOZO Championship in the field, including Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala, and ZOZO Champion Keegan Bradley.
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At Congaree Golf Club, this will be a no-cut tournament as the par-71 course will be difficult due to the length. With generous fairways, the difference this week will be how well players will be with their approach shots. With that in mind, here are 10 players who can win the CJ Cup.
10. Rickie Fowler
Rickie Fowler has gotten off to a good start this season as he has already reached the same number of FedEx Cup points as he had all of last season. So far, Fowler has played three events and has two top-10 finishes at the Fortinet Championship along with a runner-up finish at last week’s ZOZO Championship after having the 54-hole lead. The momentum Fowler is on gives him an opportunity to be atop the leaderboard on Sunday.
9. Matt Fitzpatrick
The reigning U.S. Open Champion is making his PGA Tour season debut after playing his last few events on the DP World Tour. The last time the Congaree Golf Club hosted a PGA Tour event, which was the Palmetto Championship during the 2020-21 season, Fitzpatrick finished inside the top 10 after having a positive final round, shooting a 5-under 66.
Fitzpatrick tees off Thursday at 6:39 a.m. PT with Shane Lowry and Jason Day.
8. Keegan Bradley
The reigning PGA Tour winner makes the trip from Japan to South Carolina looking to find the same success. As mentioned earlier, approach shots are going to be crucial this week. What helped Bradley last week was that he was third in the ZOZO Championship field in greens in regulation. Bradley was also third with 20 birdies for the tournament.
Last week’s victory gave Bradley his first win on the PGA Tour in five seasons taking home the BMW Championship during the 2017-18 season.
7. Max Homa
Max Homa, who is already a winner this season at the Fortinet Championship, begins this week after taking a couple of weeks off since his appearance at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas. Homa is coming off a tie for 20th finish in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago after going undefeated in four matches at the Presidents Cup. His mentality while reaching the top also puts him in a good position this week.
6. Scottie Scheffler
The No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, according to the Official World Golf Rankings, enters this week making his first individual appearance on the PGA Tour this season after playing the Presidents Cup. Despite struggling for Team USA, Scheffler is looking to turn the page and turn his attention on building off his 2021-22 campaign where he was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Scheffler starts his first round at 9:49 a.m. PT on Thursday with Sungjae Im and Cameron Young.
5. Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland made his season debut last week in Japan and finished tied for fifth to give him positive momentum heading into this week. The 25-year-old shot four rounds in the 60s, highlighted by a 6-under 64 in the third round last week at Narashino Country Club. The length of this course and his success last week puts him in a good position for this week’s CJ CUP.
Hovland tees off on Thursday with Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim at 6:51 a.m. PT.
4. Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth is making his PGA Tour season debut this week at the CJ CUP after going 5-0 for Team USA at the President’s Cup three hours north of Congaree last month. Last season, Spieth struggled a bit and has been working to turn things around throughout different portions of his game to have better results this year during a three-week break after the FedEx Cup and before going to Quail Hollow in North Carolina.
“I didn’t have a great putting season by any means, but I also felt ball striking was a little more inconsistent than the previous year and I knew why,” Spieth said Tuesday. “I needed a few weeks at home to try and figure it out. I got to work after East Lake and nail a lot in pre-Presidents Cup. The week leading in, things started to click.”
Spieth tees on Thursday with Homa and Hideki Matsuyama at 10:01 a.m. PT.
3. Justin Thomas
Like Spieth, Thomas is making his first individual appearance this season after competing in the Presidents Cup for Team USA last month. The 29-year-old went 4-1 during his five matches and was a big part of his duo in the team events with Spieth.
Last season on the PGA Tour, Thomas ranked eighth in strokes gained approach the green while recording double-digit top 10 finishes, including winning the PGA Championship back in May. Thomas’ iron play will be pivotal this week as he looks to start his season on a high note.
2. Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm is another participant in this week’s CJ Cup field who is making his season debut. After about two weeks off since winning at the Open de España on Oct. 9, Rahm is looking to continue his winning trend this time on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Rahm tees off Thursday with Bradley and Thomas at 7:08 a.m. PT.
1. Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy, who won this event last year in Las Vegas, comes to this week’s CJ CUP in South Carolina to a course that was designed by golf course architect Tom Fazio, who also put together The Summit Club, the site of last year’s CJ CUP.
McIlroy, who is making his PGA Tour debut this week, recorded double-digit top 10 finishes last year, including five finishes inside the top three, making the 33-year-old the favorite this week.
McIlroy tees off Thursday for the first round at 7:20 a.m. PT with Tom Kim and Fowler.