Steve Palmer’s ante-post Majors acca predictions & free golf betting tips

Racing Post Sport's golf tipping guru Steve Palmer takes an early look at who will win each of golf's four Major Championships in 2022.

Best bet

Jon Rahm (10-1, Masters), Viktor Hovland (22-1, USPGA), Xander Schauffele (18-1, US Open), Rory McIlroy (14-1, Open)
1pt each-way accumulator bet365

One of the most ambitious but potentially life-changing investments a sports punter can have is to predict the winner of each of the year's four Majors and put them in an accumulator.

Bookmakers have prices running for the Masters, US PGA, US Open and Open Championship, meaning a low-stake fourfold can yield riches if you successfully pinpoint who will be lifting the most prestigious prizes in golf.

The betting community need to be aware of two drawbacks before embarking on this mission. Firstly, the layers will not allow you to pick a player multiple times. For example, if you put Collin Morikawa in your acca for the Masters, he must not be used for any of the other three Majors. This is because a victory would automatically shorten his odds for subsequent Majors.

Five of the last six seasons have passed without multiple Major champions - Brooks Koepka enjoyed a rare double in 2018 - so the acca wager is well worth risking.

Secondly, it is easy to bust the maximum payout restrictions with this type of bet, so punters should be aware of the rules from which their layer is working. It is wise to target bookmakers who are happy to return £500,000 - and not to over-stake - although some punters may choose to break the win limit to get more on the place part of an each-way multiple.

The awesome foursome that could turn 2022 into a dream betting year are nominated as Jon Rahm (a best-price 10-1 for the Masters), Viktor Hovland (25-1, US PGA), Xander Schauffele (18-1, US Open) and Rory McIlroy (14-1, Open Championship).

Rahm has served his Augusta apprenticeship - with form figures of 27-4-9-7-5 - and he has got results there despite some poor preparation. Last year, he became a father just before the event and got hardly any practice at the venue prior to teeing off. The world number one should be more settled, fresh and ready to attack Augusta this April - his first Masters as a Major champion.

Hovland, a former college star in Oklahoma, where he still lives, will be thrilled to tee up in familiar surroundings in the US PGA at Southern Hills in May, and beating an elite field in the Hero World Challenge was a wonderful way to set up a glorious 2022.

Hovland already has a solid Majors record and seems ready to contend for the highest honours. And Schauffele could also become a first-time Major winner in the year to come. Schauffele's US Open record - 5-6-3-5-7 - is remarkably consistent. A PGA Tour victory in the first half of the year would send Schauffele to Brookline as a huge contender.

Complete the acca with McIlroy, who loves St Andrews and may well have won his first Major there in 2010 had strong winds not made the course almost unplayable on the Friday afternoon. There must be every chance the long awaited fifth Major for McIlroy comes at the famous venue in July.

The Rahm, Hovland, Schauffele and McIlroy fourfold returns £360,525 for a £5 stake at bet365's prices of 10-1, 22-1, 18-1 and 14-1 (72,104-1).

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