Betting tips: Who to back at the Tour Championship
Tour Championship: Steve’s top tips
Justin Rose has won at least once every year since 2010 and the Englishman’s game looks like it might be peaking for one big push at the Tour Championship.
Did his near miss at Augusta in April leave a mark? Since falling in the playoff to Garcia, Rose has struggled to put it mildly.
But since his missed cut at the PGA Championship, his game has suddenly turned a corner. Tied 10th at the Northern Trust and in the same position at the Dell Technologies Championship, Rose followed up with a runners-up spot at the BMW Championship.
He’s clearly trending in the right way and might still have a chance to scoop the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus should he win at East Lake.
So it’s interesting to note he has such a good record round the Atlanta track. Take away last year, where he didn’t make the top 30 qualifiers, and his record there reads second, fourth, sixth and second.
Course form and recent form? 16/1? Don’t mind if I do…
On that basis, even though he’s nearly half the price, it’s hard to ignore the merits of Rickie Fowler (10/1).
The American’s worst display in his last five tournaments has been a top 20 – at the Northern Trust. He capped a good week at the BMW by also finishing only behind winner Marc Leishman.
Current form is such a big thing in the FedEx – look at Paul Casey last year and Leishman this time around. Momentum counts for a lot.
This is the fourth time Fowler has been round East Lake and he’s got eighth and 12th placed finishes to his credit so far.
He doesn’t look far away from getting on the scoresheet again, so why not this week?
Parting ways with Colin Swatton didn’t seem to do Jason Day (14/1) any harm at the BMW. Right in the frame at half way, thanks to rounds of 64 and 65, he finished relatively strongly with a 69 for fourth spot.
Despite the drama in both his professional and personal life this season, the Australian has been quietly putting together some nice results recently without massive fanfare.
He’s now had top 10s at the PGA, Northern Trust and, last week. With two top 10s in the Tour Championship, you’d like to think Day could close his season out in style.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
