With the 2021-22 PGA Tour regular season coming to a close this week, it is time to ramp up competition with the three-event FedEx Cup Playoffs beginning next week and closing out August with the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
The top 30 golfers after the BMW Championship will get their chance at the $15 million prize and claim the title of TOUR Champion. Below are our five top bets to win this year’s TOUR Championship.
Tony Finau
With back-to-back victories at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, has Finau opened the flood gates for future success on Tour? The skills have always been there for Finau, but he’s struggled in the past to close out tournaments. Now with three wins in under a calendar year, Finau’s play needs to be seriously considered heading into the playoffs.
Finau sits seventh in the FedEx Cup standings and won’t be in action this week at the Wyndham Championship. Expect to see Finau back in action in Memphis, where he will attempt to make it three straight.
Patrick Cantlay
The FedEx Cup defending champion hasn’t missed a beat this season. Cantlay has himself fifth in the current standings and in a perfect position to join the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods as the only two-time winners.
Cantlay took home the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with teammate Xander Schauffele and has been a mainstay on the front page of the leaderboard with ten top 10 finishes in 17 events played this season. Cantlay comes into the playoffs with three-straight finishes of T8 or better.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is a two-time champion of the FedEx Cup and always a betting favorite when he tees it up. The 33-year-old hasn’t teed it up since holding the 54-hole lead at the Open Championship, only to see Cameron Smith erupt on the back nine to take home the Claret Jug.
McIlroy has a pair of victories this season, his first coming during the fall swing at the CJ CUP and his second happening in June at the RBC Canadian Open. He sits in sixth in the current FedEx Cup standings.
Cameron Smith
The no. 2 ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings has a great chance to overcome to leader and add another title to his growing list of accomplishments. Smith grabbed his first major title last month at St. Andrews and added victories at THE PLAYERS and Sentry Tournament of Champions this season.
The Aussie could become the first winner of the FedEx Cup to hail from Australia and first non-American since Rory in three years. Smith’s recent play makes him a good bet to walk off the 18th fairway on Sunday at East Lake as the champion.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler sits atop the current standings and is the no. 1 ranked player in the world. He holds a 1,221-point advantage over Smith thanks to four wins and three runner-ups this season.
With wins at TPC Sawgrass, Augusta, Bay Hill, and Austin Country Club, Scheffler has shown his game can play on any layout. The 26-year-old would cap one of the most successful seasons on Tour with a victory at the TOUR Championship.
