This week we head to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the 2023 FedEx Tour Championship where SportsLens are offering up some of our very own betting tips and predictions.
Following last week’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields, the field narrows down to just 30 players in Georgia as we prepare for the final playoff event that will crown the champion of the PGA Tour.
The winner will take home $18 million, the biggest monetary prize in the game of golf. Unlike any other, this event uses a starting strokes format to reward the highest-ranked players in the FedExCup standings.
Best FedEx Tour Championship Betting Offers
FedEx Tour Championship 2023 Preview
This year’s defending champion is world number two Rory McIlroy, who beat Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler by one shot with a score of 21 under in 2022. The 34-year-old returns to East Lake to defend his crown this week, available outright at a price of 7/2 and 6/1 for 72 hole strokeplay with the best golf betting sites.
In this event, the player with the lowest stroke total over 72 holes when combined with his FedExCup starting strokes will be named FedExCup champion. The top ranked Scheffler starts at ten under, with Viktor Hovland at eight under, McIlroy at seven under and Jon Rahm at six under.
Last year McIlroy started at four under in T6, six shots adrift of Scheffler who took a six-shot lead heading into the final round before a nightmare final-round 73 saw the Tour Championship slip through his fingers in dramatic fashion.
Some interesting trends to keep an eye out for include:
No player from a starting position of one under or even par has ever finished the week inside the top five which would rule out Taylor Moore, Nick Taylor, Adam Schenk, Collin Morikawa, Jason Day, Sam Burns, Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth and Sepp Straka.
Every season, at least one player from the two under starting position has ended up inside the top five which could bode well for one of Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau, Corey Conners and Si Woo Kim.
The worst the top ranked player has finished in the last four years was Justin Thomas’ T3 in 2019. In the last three years, the leader has finished on top or within a shot of the eventual winner.
The second-place starter has only finished inside the top five once in four years and the top three has included at least one player who started between two and four under every single year. Check out the full Tour Championship starting scores below.
- -10: Scottie Scheffler
- -8: Viktor Hovland
- -7: Rory McIlroy
- -6: Jon Rahm
- -5: Lucas Glover
- -4: Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick
- -3: Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele
- -2: Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau, Corey Conners, Si Woo Kim
- -1: Taylor Moore, Nick Taylor, Adam Schenk, Collin Morikawa, Jason Day
- E: Sam Burns, Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka
This year marks the 23rd time that the Tour Championship has been held at East Lake, a famous course which has been a regular stop on the PGA Tour across the last few decades.
Its tight tree-lined fairways demand sharp accuracy from the tee and the Bermuda grass rough serves as a harsh penalty for those who steer wide with the driver. There is no one statistic that stands out here and a solid all-round game is the key to victory.
Last year, McIlroy won when ranking second in strokes gained putting, 19th around-the-greens, 14th in approach, fifth off-the-tee and 13th tee-to-green. The fast and firm Bermuda greens are especially tricky and don’t expect a birdie fest by any means.
The par-70 layout which spans over 7,346 yards features half a dozen 450+ yard par-4s with only two par-5s. Greens in regulation will play a huge part in naming the winner and East Lake ranks in the top-half for scrambling difficulty on the Tour. The Zoysiagrass fairways are similar to those seen at TPC Southwind earlier this month.
East Lake, a Donald Ross design which was renovated by Rees Jones in 2016, should play similarly to the previous two playoff events and is primed to throw up an eye-catching finish to another fabulous season of PGA Tour golf.
Odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to chance
FedEx Tour Championship Tip 1: Viktor Hovland To Win @ 5/1 with BetUK
Viktor Hovland wowed the world with a sensational back-nine performance for the ages to snatch the BMW Championship and mark his second Tour victory of the season. He carded a back-nine 28 with seven birdies to set the course record with an incredible nine-under 61.
His heroics have set him up nicely this week in East Lake at eight under, two adrift Scheffler at the top. The 25-year-old’s game is in simply tremendous shape at the minute ahead of the Ryder Cup and the momentum could see him go back-to-back in legendary fashion.
Scheffler blew the field away from tee-to-green last week but his form on the greens remains a thorn in his side and McIlroy’s usual prowess off-the-tee was nowhere to be seen. Patrick Cantlay went back-to-back at the BMW and Tour Championships in 2021 and Hovland looks poised to do the same.
His iron play has always been a huge strength at East Lake over the years and a poor showing on the greens prevented him from bettering a T5 finish here in 2021, but another hot week with the flat stick will see him go close.
T13 at the St. Jude Championship was a fair effort considering his uncharacteristic struggles off-the-tee but he rectified those with a superb display at Olympia Fields and doesn’t appear to have any glaring weaknesses as he seeks to finish the job and become the PGA Tour champion.
FedEx Tour Championship Tip 2: Tommy Fleetwood To Win 72 Hole Strokeplay And Each-Way (4 Places) @ 33/1 with BetUK
Tommy Fleetwood returns to East Lake for the first time since consecutive years between 2018-19 where he finished T11 and T16. He kicked off the playoffs with a fine showing at the St. Jude, finishing T3 and just one shot adrift a spot in the playoff.
He didn’t have a bad week at Olympia Fields by any means and gained true strokes through the bag to finish T25, but didn’t have quite enough in the tank to make another big push. His starting score this week is three under and he should play without too much pressure on his shoulders.
His game has been in good shape from tee-to-green across his last four starts along with his putter and 33/1 (4 places) looks too big of a price to ignore for the Englishman to win the 72 hole strokeplay in Georgia to close out the season.
He hit 53 of 82 greens in regulation in Chicago whilst ranking ninth in scrambling and fifth in driving accuracy. He’s still yet to win on the PGA Tour in his career and without that realistic burden this week, Fleetwood could go well.
FedEx Tour Championship Tip 3: Tom Kim To Win 72 Hole Strokeplay And Each-Way (4 Places) @ 33/1 with BetUK
Tom Kim is enjoying a standout season on the PGA Tour and enters the final event of the season in eye-catching form, with a T6 at the Scottish Open, T2 at The Open, T24 at the St. Jude and T10 at the BMW last week in his stride.
The Korean has gained true strokes through the bag in each of his last three starts and has won on a similar track before at Sedgefield Country Club in the 2022 Wyndham Championship.
The 21-year-old star ranks 13th on Tour in greens in regulation percentage, 10th in approach and 24th in total strokes gained. Whilst he’s slightly in the negative for strokes gained putting on average this season, his putter has been red-hot in recent weeks.
Like Fleetwood, 33/1 also looks an interesting price to win the 72 hole strokeplay. He starts at two under, where at least one player from this position has finished in the top five every single year and he looks the best bet out of that group.
He ranks ninth on Tour in driving accuracy percentage and is another one hard to ignore at such enticing odds. Considering his recent form and strengths which should translate well to East Lake, I’m willing to take a chance on Tom Kim.
FedEx Tour Championship 2023 Odds
Take a look at the best UK sports betting sites and claim the best bookmaker free bets ahead of this week’s action in Atlanta.
- Scottie Scheffler @ 6/4
- Rory McIlroy @ 7/2
- Viktor Hovland @ 5/1
- Jon Rahm @ 15/2
- Patrick Cantlay @ 20/1
- Max Homa @ 25/1
- Xander Schauffele @ 30/1
- Matt Fitzpatrick @ 33/1
- Brian Harman @ 35/1
- Lucas Glover @ 40/1
Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change
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