By Vik Chokshi
FOX Sports Gambling Lead
After several months on the PGA Tour and two weeks of action in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Tour Championship is finally here!
This week, the best golfers will head to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The course is a par 70 that’s 7,319 yards long with Bermudagrass greens.
Let’s breakdown why this tournament is a little unique.
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First, only the 30 top golfers on the FedEx Cup points leaderboard for the 2024 season will participate. Additionally, there’s already a “strokes-based bonus” leaderboard set in place for when Round 1 will begin on Thursday. In simple terms, the players with the most FedEx Cup points get a stroke advantage on the field to start the event.
Scottie Scheffler, who has the most points in the FedEx Cup this season, will enter the tournament with the lead at 10-under par. Xander Schauffele is right behind him at 8-under, while Hideki Matsuyama is at 7-under. The winner of last week’s BMW Championship, Keegan Bradley, enters at 6-under. Ludvig Aberg rounds out the top five, sitting at 5-under entering the tournament.
As for betting on this event, we’ve got you covered with everything you need, from the odds to best bets.
Let’s dive into the action.
Favorites and Odds
Nothing new here, as Scheffler will enter the week as the favorite. He is currently listed at +110 with a multiple-stroke edge over the rest of the field.
Scheffler is in the midst of a historic year, winning the Masters, an Olympic gold medal and five other tournament wins.
But Schauffele, who holds the second-best odds to win the tournament at +230, has also had a career year. He’s won two majors, taking home the crown at the PGA Championship and The Open.
Schauffele is looking to win the Tour Championship after finishing in second last year, too. He lost by five strokes to Viktor Hovland.
With Scheffler and Schauffele getting a nice head start, no other golfer has odds better than +1100 to win this weekend’s tournament with strokes.
Now that we teed off with the basics, let’s approach the top favorites and my portfolio for this tournament.
ODDS TO WIN THE TOURNAMENT
With strokes
Scottie Scheffler: +110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Xander Schauffele: +230 (bet $10 to win $33 total)
Hideki Matsuyama: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Rory McIlroy: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Ludvig Aberg: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Collin Morikawa: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Keegan Bradley: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Wyndham Clark: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Sam Burns: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Patrick Cantlay: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Viktor Hovland: +7000 (bet $10 to win $710 total)
Tony Finau: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Sungjae Im: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Adam Scott: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
72-hole strokeplay winner (without strokes)
Scottie Scheffler: +470 (bet $10 to win $57 total)
Xander Schauffele: +470 (bet $10 to win $57 total)
Rory McIlroy: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Collin Morikawa: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Ludvig Aberg: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Patrick Cantlay: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Viktor Hovland: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
*Odds as of 8/28
LONG-SHOT OUTRIGHT BETS TO MAKE
If you follow me on Twitter or read this column, you know I love betting on golf long shots (+1500 to +2000 or longer). There’s just something thrilling about holding a lottery ticket deep into Sunday. It also presents you with multiple hedging opportunities if you want to eliminate some of your risks.
As usual, a lot of my bets this week are based on course history and form, so here are a couple of guys worth sprinkling pizza money on:
Rory McIlroy +2000 (with strokes)
Ludvig Aberg (with strokes)
Sam Burns +2000 (without strokes)
Tommy Fleetwood +2000 (without strokes)
Billy Horschel +3000 (without strokes)
Aaron Rai +4500 (without strokes)
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