2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs Betting Preview: Tour Championship Predictions

The third and final leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs comes to us live from the East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia, starting August 24.  

The Tour Championship opens as a staggered leaderboard with 30 finalists on Thursday morning. In other words, golfers will begin the tournament with a starting score based on their FedEx Cup points. Whoever wins the Tour Championship will win the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Despite not winning the St. Jude Championship or BMW Championship, Scottie Scheffler has the most FedEx Cup points going into the final tournament of the year. Due to his 4,218 points, Scheffler will start the Tour Championship with a two-stroke lead over Viktor Hovland¹.

Golf betting sites have released their Tour Championship odds for the grand finale of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Let’s take a look at the latest FedEx Cup odds and make our top golf picks for championship weekend in Atlanta.

FedEx Cup 2023 Odds

The following Tour Championship odds are courtesy of BetUS:

The 2023 Tour Championship odds are essentially the same as the final FedEx Cup odds: whoever wins the Tour Championships wins the FedEx Cup. In 2022, we had a similar situation with Scheffler starting with a two-stroke lead over the field.

However, Rory McIlroy pulled off an incredible comeback to erase a six-stroke lead and win the FedEx Cup. This year, McIlroy is faces a three-stroke disadvantage behind Scheffler at 7-under par.

Although Hovland is behind Scheffler by two strokes at 8-under par, he has the third-best odds at the top online sportsbooks. Following his win at the BMW Championship, Hovland isn’t getting much respect at +400 odds. He can be streaky, so we’ll see if the momentum carries over to East Lake Golf Course.

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2023 Tour Championship Prop Bets

The Tour Championship is a shootout to determine a champion for the 2023 season. BetUS has a plethora of FedEx Cup prop bets for championship weekend in Atlanta.

Tour Championship Top 10 Finish Prop Bets:

This Tour Championship prop bet requires the following golfers to finish in the Top 10:

Patrick Cantlay (-210)

Patrick Cantlay certainly wishes that he was in a better position to win the FedEx Cup title this week. However, he will be starting seventh after falling back at the BMW Championship.

Cantlay was fifth in the FedEx Cup standings entering the second leg of the event following a loss in a playoff against Lucas Glover. After finishing T15 at Olympia Fields, Cantlay regressed from fifth to seventh. It wasn’t his worst effort, but he can play better.

While it wasn’t his best tournament, Cantlay is in a position to bounce back in top form. He is one of those golfers who has a knack for playing solid golf when his back is against the wall. Remember that Cantlay is only two weeks removed from going to a playoff.

He was a shot away from winning the St. Jude Championship. Due to his T15 performance last week, there is value that wouldn’t have been present otherwise. You will have to pay some juice at -210 odds, but he will open the Tour Championship in seventh.

Ready to make a run at East Lake this week @TOURChamp ! pic.twitter.com/nchKXAFcNF

— Patrick Cantlay (@patrick_cantlay) August 23, 2023

If Cantlay doesn’t move up the leaderboard, there is a good chance that he stays in seventh or doesn’t drop back too far. We believe that he can inch up a bit, but you are getting some insurance with this prop bet.

Heading into the Tour Championship, the native of Long Beach ranks first in several important metrics for this event. Cantlay is first in Total Driving, Going for the Green, and Putting from three feet.

He has a 100 percent success rate from within three feet and is a wildly impressive 75.33 percent in Going for the Green. Additionally, Cantlay is third in SG: Total and fifth in SG: Off The Tee².

Cantlay is a strong bet to finish the Tour Championship in the Top 10.

Brian Harman (-105)

Brian Harman moved up a spot in the FedEx Cup standings to eighth at the BMW Championship. Harman fired off an 11-under par to finish T5 at Olympia Fields. He didn’t have his best final round at 1-under par, as Hovland and the other top contenders outperformed Harman.

Nevertheless, Harman had a solid tournament after struggling at the St. Jude Championship. Harman finished T31, but he got a mulligan for that one following a win at the Open Championship.

On July 23, the 36-year-old Harman won his first major championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Course. This came a week after a solid showing in the Scottish Open. With his showing at the BMW Championship, Harman has finished in the Top 5 in four of his previous six events.

Brian Harman moves 8-under and T-3 with an outstanding birdie make from 41 feet out on the 4th. 👏

📺: Golf Channel and @peacock pic.twitter.com/12nRj4mIXb

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 19, 2023

Since June 25, Harman has finished T2, T9, T12, 1st, T31, and T5. Harman’s only lapse was a letdown after winning The Open³. Those are some impressive results and some of the most consistent in the PGA Tour recently.

In the 2022-23 season, Harman is first in Scrambling and Putting from six feet. There isn’t another golfer that has had a higher percentage than Harman’s 92.59 percent from putting within six feet.

Clutch putting is extremely important when it comes to the Tour Championship. The pressure is on and short putts are further under a microscope. Harman⁴ has done an excellent job in these conditions on the green.

Harman finishing in the Top 10 is a nice deal at this price. Not only is he in good form, but Harman gets a head start in eighth thanks to the staggered start. At -105 odds, consider betting on Harman to have a Top 10 effort at the Tour Championship. The Georgia native would love to perform well in his home state.

Tour Championship Head-to-Head Matchup Prop Bets

Let’s check out the best Tour Championship matchup prop bets before revealing our winner for the FedEx Cup:

Rory McIlroy vs. Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm starts the FedEx Cup finale a position behind McIlroy in fourth. Does Rahm have a run in him to win the title? After finishing T31 at the BMW Championship, Rahm probably blew his chance.

The Spaniard had to bounce back after a slow showing at the St. Jude Championship. Rahm finished T37 in the first FedEx Cup event. There were several people who expected him to get back to form, but that wasn’t the case.

Rahm faded over the weekend, and could never grab a hold of much momentum. Following a red-hot start this season, Rahm has been incredibly inconsistent in the second half of the season.

After winning four of his first 10 tournaments, Rahm hasn’t won since the Masters on April 9⁵. McIlroy hasn’t won a major championship this year, but he has been on fire over the last few months.

Rory McIlroy. That is all. pic.twitter.com/0pAyEuINps

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) August 17, 2023

Since May 21, McIlroy has nine Top 10 finishes, which includes four Top 5 outings. The Northern Irishman had a solid run to finish fourth at the BMW Championship last weekend⁶.

We all know how dangerous McIlroy can be in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Don’t count him out for the championship. At the very least, expect McIlroy to finish ahead of Rahm in the Tour Championship standings.

Tommy Fleetwood vs. Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler went through one of the best stretches of his career recently. We haven’t seen Fowler playing this well in nearly a decade. However, is he finally running out of steam?

After winning the Rocket Mortgage on July 2, Fowler has regressed significantly. In his previous four tournaments, he has finished T42, T23, T58, and T25.

This was following an unbelievable run for Fowler. From May 28 to the Rocket Mortgage, Fowler went T6, T9, T5, T13, and 1st⁷. Now, it looks like Fowler is running into a wall and short on gas.

Conversely, Tommy Fleetwood has been in superior form as of late. The Englishman has finished in the Top 10 in five of his previous seven events. Entering the Tour Championship, Fleetwood is 2-y, T5, missed cut, T6, T10, T3, and T25 in his last seven starts⁸.

Fleetwood will open the Tour Championship in 11th, while Fowler is back in 14th after a couple of unappealing appearances in the first and second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

We are siding with Fleetwood for this matchup prop bet. Fowler had a nice run and will look back on this season as a success. However, it appears he has been ready for an early vacation for a month now.

Side with Fleetwood to finish ahead of Fowler at the Tour Championship on Sunday.

2023 Tour Championship Odds and Tournament Winner

Scottie Scheffler is already up with a two-stroke lead in the Tour Championship. Despite not being able to finish the job last year, there is a lot to like about Scheffler this year.

Scheffler and McIlroy have been the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour in the second half. Rahm stole the show through the spring, but he hasn’t been able to keep up with Scheffler and McIlroy.

In Scheffler’s previous 10 events, he has finished in the Top 5 in eight attempts. He has done everything but finish with a win. Additionally, since May 21, Scheffler has recorded six Top 3 performances⁹.

“He’s hit the ball as good as Tiger in 2000.”

High praise from @McIlroyRory on Scottie Scheffler’s incredible season. pic.twitter.com/9C2oXvgxDT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 23, 2023

Scheffler didn’t notch a victory during that period, but he won back in March at the Players Championship. It was Scheffler’s second win of the 2022-23 season and first since the Phoenix Open a month earlier on Super Bowl Weekend in Arizona.

Heading into the season finale, the former Texas Longhorn is first in several important metrics. Scheffler leads in SG: Total, SG: Tee-to-Green, SG: Approach to Green, Greens in Regulation percentage, and SG: Off The Tee. Also, he is fifth in Total Driving and sixth in SG: Around-the-Green¹⁰.

If Scheffler is just average on the green with his putter, he should have the inside route to winning the FedEx Cup 2023. Armed with a two-stroke lead entering the first round, look for Scheffler to close out the field this year and capture the FedEx Cup crown.