Getting Ready for Golf’s FedEx Cup Playoffs

Article ByKyle Garlett

August 8, 2023

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, US Gambling News

Golf’s four majors have all been played, but the biggest prize of the year still remains: the FedEx Cup Playoffs. It’s a three-tournament competition to decide the season champion, who takes home an $18 million winner’s check. The runner-up prize is $6.5 million. If you finish in the FedExCup top 10, you will win at least $1 million, and everyone that makes the final 30 wins at least $500,000.

How the FedEx Cup Winner is Crowned

Over the course of the last year, players have accumulated FedEx Cup points, and the 70 highest-ranked players on that list will be at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, this week for the St. Jude Championship. That is a significant reduction from last year, when the opening round field included 125 players.

Only 50 players will be in the hunt for the Cup for the second tournament at the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois.

Regular season points do carry over, so you don’t necessarily need to finish in the top 50 to advance to the second round. And if you are at the bottom of the field, finishing in the top 50 might not be enough for you to advance.

The final tournament is the Tour Championship, played the final weekend of August at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Only 30 golfers will be left by then, and they will be assigned starting strokes based on how they are seeded. The player with the most points, currently Jon Rahm, begins the tournament at 10-under par. And the further down the list of 30 golfers you are, the fewer starting strokes you receive.

Fedex Cup Field

Rahm leads the field with 3,320 points, and has a solid lead over the second-place golfer, Scottie Scheffler and his 3,146 points. Then it’s a distant drop to Rory McIlroy in third place with 2,304.

Rounding out the top 10 in order are Max Homa (2,128), Wyndham Clark (1,944), Brian Harman (1,827), Viktor Hovland (1,795), Keegan Bradley (1,774), Rickie Fowler (1,732), and Tony Finau (1,655).

Because of the reduction in the field from 125 to 70, there are a number of surprise players that just missed qualification. Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship last summer, but his FedEx Cup ranking this year is just 71. He was just one missed shot away from qualifying.

Adam Scott has 14 career PGA Tour wins and is a former Masters champion, but he finished with the 72nd ranking. Shane Lowry has career finishes in the top 4 in each of the four majors, and he was on the European Ryder Cup team in 2021. But he will not be in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. And last year, Taylor Pendrith ended his rookie season inside the top-50. This year, he ranks just 114th.

Favorites to Win FedEx St. Jude Championship

Scottie Scheffler (+600)

Jon Rahm (+800)

Rory McIlroy (+900)

Patrick Cantlay (+1600)

Xander Schauffele (+1800)

Viktor Hovlaand (+1800)

Collin Morikawa (+2000)

Tyrrell Hatton (+2500)

Rickie Fowler (+2800)

Tommy Fleetwood (+2800)

The first of three tournaments tees off on Thursday, August 10, and Scottie Scheffler is the pre-tournament favorite, as posted by BetUS.com.

No surprise that Jon Rahm is next at +800, followed closely by Rory McIlroy at +900. McIlroy is the defending FedEx Cup winner, even though he began the playoffs last year by missing the cut at TPC Southwind. That is the power of having a big lead when the competition begins.

Patrick Cantlay did not win a tournament this year, and his 13th ranking in points is the highest among all nonwinners. But he won the FedEx Cup in 2021, which explains his high ranking on the odds board.

None of the players in the top 10 have ever won this tournament. Jason Day at +3000 and tied for the 11th-shortest odds won in 2015. Tony Finau is at +3200, and he won this tournament in 2021.