The final event of the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs and PGA Tour golf schedule is on tap this week at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
The top 30 remaining golfers in the golf standings have their sights set on capturing the PGA Tour’s ultimate prize, a FedEx Cup title. Tournament play begins on Thursday, August 24th, and concludes with a champion on Sunday, August 27th.
Rory McIlroy returns to East Lake to defend his title after he picked up his third FedEx Cup title of his career last season. McIlroy came from as many as ten shots back to take home the $18 million dollar prize. The 24-time PGA Tour winner finished at 21-under, besting Scottie Scheffler and Sungjae Im by one shot.
East Lake has been the host of the TOUR Championship since 2007. Beginning in 2019, the TOUR adopted a new approach to the season finale. This happens to ensure that the winner of the event would also be crowned the FedEx champion.
The golfer with the most points heading into the event would begin the tournament at 10-under, followed by 8-under for the player in second, 7-under for third, the fourth at 6-under, and the fifth at 5-under. Your starting position would gradually lower if you sat further down this list as well as increasing your golf odds. Players ranked 26th-30th begin the tournament at even par.
Let’s take a look at the course and the stacked field of top players before we recap our Tour Championship predictions for this season’s concluding event.
East Lake Golf Club
The Atlanta course was established in 1904 and is the oldest course in the city. Tom Bendelow was the original architect of the layout, which underwent a redesign less than ten years later in 1913 by Donald Ross. Following years of deterioration, Rees Jones, son of golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, restored Ross’ original design.
East Lake plays as a par-70 for PGA Tour pros and can stretch up to 7,346 yards. The course is known for its deep bunkers and perched-up greens, as well as thick rough off the fairways.
The Tour Championship Field
The number one through ninth ranked golfers in the world are in action this week in Georgia. Leading the field is world no. 1 Scottie Scheffler. He is coming off a runner-up finish last week at the BMW Championship.
He’ll begin the week at 10-under and two shots clear of Viktor Hovland, making him the favorite pre-tournament golf picks. Hovland picked up the win last week at Olympia Fields and jumped to the no. 2 spot in the golf standings and will start at 8-under.
McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Lucas Glover round out the top five, all getting a significant boost with their starting positions and making them hard to overlook when identifying our Tour Championship predictions.
Sepp Straka was the final man in the field and will have to overcome a deep deficit if he wants to win the title. No golfer has ever started at even par and rallied over the four days to win.
Tour Championship Predictions
Two players this week stand out in our Tour Championship predictions. These two golfers have pieced together fantastic seasons and look to end the season on a high note.
Rory McIlroy (+350)
McIlroy has the second-best odds behind Scheffler, but Scheffler’s inconsistent putting is a major concern. Rory has won this three times, and starting just three shots back will be no issue for the four-time major winner.
Viktor Hovland (+550)
Hovland has won twice this season, both against highly competitive fields. His 28 on the back nine on Sunday in the BMW Championship capped one of the best rounds of the PGA Tour season under the circumstances. His current play is why he is one of our favorite Tour Championship predictions this week.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.