This is it.. The finale, what we’ve been working towards all season. Who takes home the FedEx Cup and that nice $18million payout?
The PGA Tour season has come down to this. Who will win the Tour Championship and take home the FedEx Cup on Sunday?
East Lake Golf Club plays host to the Tour’s season-finale. Once again, those who have performed the best throughout the season are rewarded by starting under-par for the tournament.
Scottie Scheffler will be the man to catch, at 10-under. However, Rory McIlroy is the defending champion, and the only three-time winner of the FedEx Cup.
Who will take home the big prize of $18 million? Matt Coles takes a look at the contenders this week at East Lake…
Tour Championship betting tips and preview
Venue: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, GA, United States
Date: August 24-27
Course stats: Par 70, 7,346 yards
Course summary: Designed by Donald Ross in 1913, the venue had to be brought back to life in the 1980s. Rees Jones, son of Robert Trent Jones, restored the course to its original design in the early 1990s. East Lake then became the permanent home of the Tour Championship in 2004.
Defending champion: Rory McIlroy (-21 – started on -4)
Tour Championship betting tips
Rory McIlroy @ 7/2 with William Hill
East Lake. The Tour Championship. The FedEx Cup. It’s Rory McIlroy’s time again.
The four-time major champion absolutely adores playing at East Lake. He owns East Lake. He is the only three-time winner of the both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.
Not only that but, since the change to the scoring format, McIlroy has twice come from at least five shots behind at the start of the week to win. In 2022, he was six behind Scottie Scheffler.
This week, the Northern Irishman is three back. And, just as last year, it is Scheffler who starts the week on top. Could that be the omen for McIlroy to grab his third victory of the season, following his wins at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Genesis Scottish Open?
McIlroy is 7/2, second favourite behind Scheffler. This tournament, this format, this venue… You would be foolish to bet against the four-time major champion here.
Patrick Cantlay @ 18/1 with William Hill
I know this is the third week in a row I have picked Patrick Cantlay to take home the title, but I haven’t been too far away.
He was runner-up at the FedEx St Jude Championship after losing out in a play-off to Lucas Glover, before coming home T15 at the BMW Championship as he attempted to do the ‘three-peat’.
Cantlay does love the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He’s also is a fan of East Lake, having won here in 2021 to win the FedEx Cup.
He starts at four-under-par, six shots back. At 18/1, Cantlay is a solid bet to win some money in Atlanta.
Xander Schauffele @ 28/1 with William Hill
Our outside bet is Xander Schauffele – another man who has previous around East Lake.
The 2017 winner of the Tour Championship will be looking to win here for a second time. He also had the best gross score in 2021, when Dustin Johnson lifted the FedEx Cup.
Currently 15th in the FedEx Cup standings, Schauffele will be in the group that begins at three-under-par. Admittedly, no-one has won this tournament from that far back since the format change, but that could change this week.
Schauffele will be full of confidence after securing his Ryder Cup berth with a solid performance at the BMW Championship. Add that he is a winner here in the past, and at 28/1, Xander might prevail come Sunday evening.
Best of the rest…
Scottie Scheffler: The favourite, the World No.1, the man at the top of the standings.
Scottie Scheffler starts at ten-under-par. He was unable to get the job done at East Lake last year after shooting a three-over final round of 73. He also fell off on the back nine at Olympia Fields last time out. Don’t expect that to happen again from ‘Mr Consistency’. Scottie is 11/8 to win at East Lake.
Viktor Hovland: After that epic 61 on the final day at the BMW Championship, which saw him come from behind to take the title, we have to put Viktor Hovland among the favourites to take the FedEx Cup home.
He will start the week just two shots behind Scheffler at eight-under. The Norwegian is the third favourite for the Tour Championship at 9/2 and one of our tips. Can he follow in Patrick Cantlay’s footsteps from 2021 and go back-to-back with the BMW and Tour Championships?
Jordan Spieth: Very much a shot in the dark. Jordan Spieth is 175/1 to take the FedEx Cup. He will begin the week ten shots back, starting at level par.
However, after thinking he might not have reached the Tour Championship on Sunday at Olympia Fields, along with Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka, Spieth has another opportunity. That fighting spirit might not take him all the way to the title, but an each-way punt could be worth your while.
Fancy a punt on this week’s action? Take a look at the latest odds with William Hill.
Who would you put your money on? Who is going to win the FedEx Cup at East Lake this week? Let me know with a Tweet!
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