The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup point standings head to Baltimore for the BMW Championship following a Monday finish at the Northern Trust, won by Tony Finau in a playoff over Cameron Smith. After dodging a hurricane, those that advanced to the second tournament in the PGA Tour playoffs will be trying to advance to the season-ending Tour Championship by finishing in the top 30 in points following Sunday’s action.
Although many of the players at the top of the standings are ensured entry into the final event of the season, they will be playing for position to have an advantage in the Tour Championship. Tony Finau moved to the top of the standings with his win, followed by Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Patrick Cantlay, and Justin Thomas.
The BMW Championship will be played at Caves Valley Club, a Tom Fazio par 72 design that plays at 7,542 yards. Although Jon Rahm is the defending champion, last year’s event was played at Olympia Fields, where he defeated Dustin Johnson on the first playoff hole by sinking a 66-foot putt.
For the second week in a row, Rahm is the favorite at +600 after falling just short at last week’s Northern Trust…
Betting Odds
For the second week in a row, Rahm is the favorite at +600 after falling just short at the Northern Trust, finishing third after leading for most of the tournament. Justin Thomas is next at +1600, following a fourth-place finish last week, with Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, and Xander Schauffele all at +1800.
A pair of major champions come next, as defending FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson and 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau are at +2000. Five players are at +2200, including Finau, last week’s runner-up Cameron Smith, and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
Among others, Rory McIlroy has odds of +2700, Sergio Garcia is at +8000 with Lee Westwood and Stewart Cink at +12000. Phil Mickelson barely made it into the field as the 70th player in the point standings and also has odds of +12000.
Favorite Picks
Rahm had a three-shot lead midway through Monday’s final round but eventually had to settle for third behind Finau and Smith. He’s a huge favorite for a reason and will be poised to make amends for his failure to seal the deal in the Northern Trust, bogeying two of the final four holes to fall short of victory.
Justin Thomas seemed to find something on the greens at Liberty National, firing an opening-round 63 to tie Rahm for the lead, but a poor start on Sunday doomed his chances at a win. He double-bogeyed the 11th hole to go three over par for the day but bounced back nicely with four birdies down the stretch.
Even though he hasn’t played particularly well since a third-place-finish in the Players in March, Bryson DeChambeau had a couple of good rounds last week, including a six-under par 65 in round two, that showed he might be ready to breakout of a mini-slump. He enters the BMW Championship in ninth place in points and needs a good finish to work his way up the standings.
