The top-30 golfers in the FedExCup standings assemble in Atlanta this week for the PGA Tour season-ending TOUR Championship and the $18 million first-place prize that comes with it. And for the fifth straight year a staggered leaderboard format determined each players starting position. Just like last season Scottie Scheffler starts from the No. 1 position as the points leader and gets a head start over the field. Without even swinging a stick Scheffler sits at 10-under with a 2-shot lead over second-place Viktor Hovland. Defending champ Rory McIlroy is third starting at 7-under. With the top golfers colliding at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta we see some interesting matchups with the numbers having a different look 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
Scottie Scheffler -200 vs. Rory McIlroy +160
Scottie Scheffler -270 vs. Viktor Hovland +205
Scottie Scheffler -450 vs. Jon Rahm +325
Rory McIlroy -165 vs. Viktor Hovland +135
Rory McIlroy -225 vs. Jon Rahm +175
Viktor Hovland -180 vs. Jon Rahm +150
Patrick Cantlay -165 vs. Max Homa +135
Patrick Cantlay -150 vs. Xander Schauffele +120
Max Homa +105 vs. Xander Schauffele -135
Lucas Glover +105 vs. Wyndham Clark -135
Lucas Glover +100 vs. Brian Harman -130
Wyndham Clark -115 vs. Brian Harman -115
Matthew Fitzpatrick +100 vs. Tommy Fleetwood -130
Matthew Fitzpatrick -110 vs. Rickie Fowler -120
Tommy Fleetwood -125 vs. Rickie Fowler -105
Russell Henley -130 vs. Sungjae Im +100
Russell Henley -165 vs. Tom Kim +135
Sungjae Im -140 vs. Tom Kim +110
Keegan Bradley -105 vs. Collin Morikawa -125
Keegan Bradley -115 vs. Tony Finau -115
Collin Morikawa -130 vs. Tony Finau +100
Corey Conners -135 vs. Tyrrell Hatton +105
Corey Conners -150 vs. Jordan Spieth +120
Tyrrell Hatton -130 vs. Jordan Spieth +100
Jason Day +125 vs. Si Woo Kim -155
Jason Day -130 vs. Sam Burns +100
Si Woo Kim -180 vs. Sam Burns +150
Emiliano Grillo -110 vs. Adam Schenk -120
Emiliano Grillo -120 vs. Sepp Straka -110
Adam Schenk -130 vs. Sepp Straka +100
Taylor Moore -110 vs. Nick Taylor -120
Need to Know
The staggered leaderboard is designed to give those who performed better over the course of the season an advantage. A two-time winner this season with an additional 11 top 5s, Scheffler opens with a 2-shot lead over Hovland with McIlroy three back and Jon Rahm four shots off the pace. The number of starting strokes assigned gets smaller the further down the list we go with the bottom five starting at even-par. The starting strokes are factored into the matchup odds, which is why the numbers are different. However, most sportsbooks have markets that don’t use the staggered starting numbers. It’s not a guarantee that the highest seeds succeed. McIlroy prevailed last year starting at 4-under and also won in 2019 while starting five-shots back. In between the No. 1 seed emerged victorious. Playing over 7,300 yards at par 70, East Lake has some of the narrowest fairways on Tour making accuracy critical. Winning scores prior to 2019 ranged from -7 to -13 making it difficult for those further down the starting block to make up shots.
TOUR Championship Matchup Picks
Jon Rahm +325 vs. Scottie Scheffler
For the purpose of this article we are taking the starting strokes into account, otherwise you wouldn’t catch Rahm with such an outlandish price. Starting 4-swings behind Scheffler is a big enough hole to climb out of and Rahm also has to work through issues that put him outside the top 30 in the first two playoff events. No. 1 in the standings most of the season, Rahm slid to fourth, but he never had to worry about a spot in the TOUR Championship. Now with everything on the line we should see him rise to the occasion, and in fact I’m betting on it.
Viktor Hovland +135 vs. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is a beast at East Lake and he’s the only player to win starting outside the No. 1 position. But I have to say no one has been as consistent this season and better recently than Hovland. His course record 61 at Olympia Fields last Sunday propelled him to the BMW Championship title giving him two wins, a runner-up and noting outside the top 30 since mid-May.
Max Homa +135 vs. Patrick Cantlay -165
I had to do a double take at this one thinking there were some strokes to be made up with the price tag attached to each. As it turns out both players are starting at 4-under putting this matchup on level ground. Though Cantlay won here two years ago, I like Homa for his season-long success and consistency. And in his East Lake debut last year he rose to T5 from the 16th seed with an impressive second-round 62. He’s also coming off a top 5 at last week’s BMW.
Taylor Moore -110 vs. Nick Taylor
I guess you could say this matchup is Taylor-made. There’s a sponsorship out there waiting for these guys. Neither one is going to win but the matchup offers all kinds of intrigue with both starting at 1-under. Moore is the only rookie to qualify, which tells you a little about his season. And I’d have to assume he’s just ecstatic to be here. And with no pressure he should be even better than he’s been.
Jordan Spieth +100 vs. Tyrrell Hatton
This is an unfamiliar position for Spieth starting at the bottom of the rankings, but his experience will benefit him this weekend. Making his eighth TOUR Championship appearance with a win from 2015 should allow Spieth to move freely about the field. It’s a near impossible task to overcome the deficit he’s starting with, but I’m sure he’s looking to go out with a bang. And at even-money the price is right.
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