FedEx Cup Odds: 6 Players Who Could Win FedEx Cup/Tour Championship

I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while now – 70 days, to be exact.

It was May 27 when the PGA Tour announced that after a half-dozen years with a staggered scoring start, this year’s Tour Championship would commence with all 30 players on equal footing.

Most golf fans celebrated this news for the sheer reason that the previous format felt too contrived and gimmicky, essentially offering too much of an advantage to the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, rendering the season finale a rich-get-richer quest for the game’s elite and a dead-end for the bottom half of the field.

You’d have to be a true degenerate, though, to hear that news back in the spring and immediately start daydreaming about the FedEx Cup futures market and all the intrinsic value that was going to be baked into it.

Because of this new rule, Scheffler, McIlroy and the other elite-level players will have just as much of a chance of winning as the guy who sneaks into the final field at No. 30 on the points list.

That means there’s plenty of rationale behind delving deep down the odds board to find a few names who could pop in three weeks. Let’s take a look at six of ‘em.

6 Players Who Could Win FedEx Cup/Tour Championship

Xander Schauffele (+1600)

The main consideration we must give to potential FedEx Cup champions is this: Does he have the game to succeed at East Lake? It gets lost in the sauce a bit, because of that previous staggered scoring start, but Schauffele has easily been the best player in Atlanta over the last several years. He finished T-13 last year, but in the seven prior editions of this event, he never finished worse than T-7, twice having sole possession of the low total and once sharing it.

As I’ve written previously, I had a conversation with Schauffele after he missed most of the first two months of this year with a rib injury. When I suggested that he might have more gas in the tank late in the season than his peers, he smiled and said he’d been thinking the same thing. A win at the finale would be the perfect culmination of that storyline, although one not-insignificant caveat here: At 42nd on the points list, he’s going to need to jump into the top-30 over the next two weeks.

Sam Burns (+3300)

My fave outright for this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship similarly makes a lot of sense for East Lake, where his ball-striking/putting combination could help him to what would be the biggest title of his career. He finished T-13 without the staggered start last year, but was fourth the previous year. I’m seeking talent in this market at a decent price who can get hot during the last week. Burns checks all the right boxes.

Matt Fitzpatrick (+6600)

They say form is fleeting, which suggests that just because Fitz is one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now doesn’t mean he’ll still be playing at such a high level when he gets to East Lake. Like Schauffele, he’ll need to first qualify for the season finale, as he currently ranks 41st, but if he gets in, East Lake is a course which should suit his style of play.

Brian Harman (+6600)

Unlike a few others on this list, at least we shouldn’t have to worry about Harman qualifying, as he enters the playoffs at No. 20 in the standings. His record at East Lake isn’t too special, but a Bulldog in the state of Georgia on the verge of football season should be given some special consideration. He can certainly get on a heater for the week.

Jordan Spieth (+12500)

Hey, let’s get weird. Those who only peruse the results tables will insist that Spieth had a down season, but those who are more performance-oriented will point out that he’s actually played much better than the leaderboards suggest. It’s felt like Spieth was about to bust out for a big week multiple times over the past few months and while it hasn’t quite happened, it still sort of feels like maybe it just hasn’t happened yet. Considering he’s 48th on the points list, you’re taking a massive leap of faith here, but at this price, it’s worth a nibble.

Wyndham Clark (+1500)

Same thing goes for Clark, who’s one spot further back of Spieth. He spent much of the year looking lost and angry, but now owns top-12 finishes in each of his last three starts. He’ll need a title contention or two over the next two weeks to get into the field at East Lake, but with finishes of third and eighth over the past two years without the staggered start, he just needs a chip and a chair to win the whole shebang.