The top-30 golfers in the FedExCup standings assemble in Atlanta this week for the PGA Tour season-ending TOUR Championship and the $15 million first-place prize that comes with it. For the third straight year the tournament is using the staggered start format. With the help of his win at the BMW Championship last week, Patrick Cantlay amassed the most points and gets a head start over the field. Cantlay has a two-shot lead over second-place Tony Finau before everyone gets to the first tee. The top-30 golfers colliding at historic East lake Golf Club also offers up some interesting matchups and the numbers look a little different taking into account the starting strokes. BookMaker.eu has a complete list of tournament matchup odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
TOUR Championship Matchup Odds
Jon Rahm -170 vs. Bryson DeChambeau +141
Jon Rahm +105 vs. Patrick Cantlay -125
Jon Rahm -214 vs. Tony Finau +176
Bryson DeChambeau +150 vs. Patrick Cantlay -182
Bryson DeChambeau -144 vs. Tony Finau +120
Patrick Cantlay -235 vs. Tony Finau +193
Justin Thomas -150 vs. Dustin Johnson +125
Justin Thomas -175 vs. Rory McIlroy +145
Justin Thomas -157 vs. Jordan Spieth +130
Dustin Johnson -129 vs. Rory McIlroy +108
Dustin Johnson -120 vs. Jordan Spieth +100
Rory McIlroy +105 vs. Jordan Spieth -125
Cameron Smith -138 vs. Abraham Ancer +115
Cameron Smith -163 vs. Xander Schauffele +135
Cameron Smith -150 vs. Harris English +125
Abraham Ancer -153 vs. Xander Schauffele +127
Abraham Ancer -134 vs. Harris English +112
Xander Schauffele +108 vs. Harris English -129
Louis Oosthuizen -105 vs. Collin Morikawa -115
Sam Burns +115 vs. Viktor Hovland -138
Sam Burns -127 vs. Sungjae Im +106
Viktor Hovland -144 vs. Sungjae Im +120
Brooks Koepka -178 vs. Jason Kokrak +147
Brooks Koepka -138 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +115
Jason Kokrak +127 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -153
Scottie Scheffler -134 vs. Corey Conners +112
Scottie Scheffler -172 vs. Kevin Na +142
Corey Conners -157 vs. Kevin Na +130
Joaquin Niemann +110 vs. Daniel Berger -132
Joaquin Niemann -132 vs. Sergio Garcia +110
Daniel Berger -157 vs. Sergio Garcia +130
Billy Horschel +105 vs. Erik Van Rooyen -125
Billy Horschel -115 vs. Stewart Cink -105
Erik Van Rooyen -175 vs. Stewart Cink +145
Need to Know
The staggered start is designed to give those who performed better over the course of the season an advantage. A three-time winner this season, Cantlay opens with a 2-shot lead over Finau with Bryson DeChambeau 3-shots back, Jon Rahm four back and Cameron Smith five shots off the pace. The bottom five start at even-par, 10-shots off the lead. The matchup odds factor in the handicap, which is why some of the numbers look different. It’s not a guarantee that the top players succeed. Opening 5-shots back in 2019, Rory McIlroy overcame the field and the scorecard to win the FedExCup. Dustin Johnson was No. 1 last year and won by three swings. Playing just over 7,300 yards at par 70, East Lake has some of the narrowest fairways on Tour making accuracy an important stat. Winning scores ranged from -7 to -13 making it difficult for those further down the starting block to make up enough shots.
TOUR Championship Matchup Picks
Tony Finau +176 vs. Jon Rahm
We need to factor in the shot differential in matchup picks. Head-to-heads with a big shot difference offer little value for the favorite, and making up a lot of strokes isn’t easy. So I’m sticking with matchups that have a slight differential starting with this one. Finau was No. 1 in the standings following his win in The Northern Trust and followed that with a tournament-low 63 to close the BMW Championship at T15. He’s been strong during his career at East Lake and given a 2-swing lead over Rahm and at his price it’s hard not to back him.
Dustin Johnson +125 vs. Justin Thomas
Johnson finds himself in a different situation this time around. At the top of the standings last year, DJ cruised to a three-shot win. He’s starting this week 7-shots off the lead, but only one swing behind Thomas. Prevailing in this matchup is more doable than the outright. And catching the defending FedExCup champ at a nice price is enticing. No one has ever won consecutive FedExCups, but DJ climbed up the ladder with his T6 last week and is loaded with confidence.
Louis Oosthuizen -105 vs. Collin Morikawa
Two weeks off and a T38 at Caves Valley dropped Oosthuizen to No. 14 in the standings. He starts at 3-under tied with four others, including Morikawa. Prior to being sidelined by a neck injury, Oosthuizen was on roll racking up eight straight top-20s with five of those putting him on the podium. Factor in how he finished last week and the South African stands out in this matchup. He closed 64-69 in the BMW chiseling off the rust of his inactivity.
Xander Schauffele +108 vs. Harris English
Winning the Olympic gold medal may have taken something out of Schauffele, who has struggled since his trip to Japan. But his success at East Lake has me leaning his way. X-man won here in 2017 and finished as runner-up the last two years. He started in a similar spot last year and made a run at the outright falling just short. In 16 rounds at East Lake he has a scoring average of 67.38 making a 2-shot deficit a drop in the bucket.
Jordan Spieth +130 vs. Justin Thomas
Spieth has cooled off a bit since a blistering summer welcomed him back among the Tour’s elite. And like Schauffele he’s enjoyed plenty of success at East Lake with a win in 2015 and another runner-up. This matchup is a straight shootout with both players starting at 4-under, and given Spieth’s return to prominence as well as his price, I’ll back him with hopes of a nice payday.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu. The TOUR Championship is scheduled for September 2-5, 2021, and can be seen on Golf Channel and NBC.
