Live Golf Betting: Options Heading into Weekend at Tour Championship

Scottie Scheffler closed at +170 in the outright market for this week’s Tour Championship, then his price shortened to +110 after an opening-round 63 left him just two strokes off the lead.

For those who bought that number, though, the foregone conclusion of another celebratory Sunday doesn’t seem like so much of a sure thing anymore.

On a Friday when tee times were moved up due to more impending weather around East Lake Golf Club and the 30-man field was allowed to play ball-in-hand, scores were once again uncommonly low, which meant that any player stuck in neutral was essentially moving backward.

That was surprisingly the case for the world’s No. 1-ranked player, as Scheffler’s ball-striking was a far cry from his usual elite-level stuff, leading to a second-round 69 and a five-stroke deficit going into the weekend.

It all led to his outright price jumping to a previously unforeseen +450, while bringing a bunch of contenders into the mix for the FedEx Cup title.

Three of those players are among those who have struggled the most to close out title contentions over the past few years.

Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley and Cameron Young have combined for just two PGA Tour victories in the past three seasons – Henley earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Young earlier this month at the Wyndham Championship – while accounting for 57(!) top-10 finishes during that time.

It’s easy to suggest that this trio simply hasn’t gotten it done as much as they should’ve in these high-pressure situations on Sunday afternoons, but the fact of the matter is that their performances have largely outweighed their results. Whether it’s the law of averages or a regression to the mean, it would hardly be a surprise to see one of ‘em close it out this week.

Fleetwood, at 13-under (+225), seems like the most logical choice. Seeking to avenge brutal losses at both the Travelers Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he led late in each final round, the Englishman is playing as well as anybody not named Scheffler over the past few months and has continued that with a 64-63 start at East Lake.

Henley, currently 13-under (+300), didn’t come close to matching his opening-round 61, but a second-round 66 gave him a share of the lead in search of what would be the biggest win of his 13-year PGA Tour career.

And then there’s Young at 11-under (+800), who’s been one of the hottest players in the world over the past month, which included his first career win, when he lapped the field in Greensboro.

If I can only buy one, it would probably be Young, which isn’t a fade on the co-leaders as much as a play on the volatile nature of this event right now, which makes me like a player at 3-4 times longer odds than those atop the board.

Of course, there are plenty of others still in the mix, too.

Patrick Cantlay and Robert MacIntyre not only both opened 64-66, they’re not just in a share of fourth place, they’re running 1-2 in SG: Tee to green so far and are each +1200 in the outright market while just three shots off the lead.

Considering that aforementioned volatility, perhaps the best odds don’t come until 20/1, which is where we find Rory McIlroy, who is part of a massive group six shots off the pace.

Also in that group: Justin Thomas (+5000), Sam Burns (+5000), Ben Griffin (+6600), Akshay Bhatia (+8000), Chris Gotterup (+10000) and Shane Lowry (+10000), each still with an excellent chance of making a charge.

Of course, there’s also Scheffler, now nearly three times his initial price to start the week, just five shots back despite – somehow – the 27th best numbers from tee to green and 13th best with the flatstick through two rounds. These stats aren’t all that dissimilar to last week’s BMW Championship, when he figured out the long game on the weekend and came from behind to beat MacIntyre.

You’ve still got to pay up if you want to buy Scheffler, but if you were having FOMO at the beginning of the week and couldn’t muster what it took to play him at such a short number, he’s still very much alive with a more palatable price.