The FedEx Cup playoffs begin Thursday at Liberty National Golf Club in sight of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, in neighboring New Jersey just across the Hudson River from New York City. The top 125 players in the season-long standings will begin their quest for the championship and the $15 million that is awarded to the winner of the Tour Championship in a couple of weeks at East Lake in Atlanta.
Two-time major champion, including in the recent Open Championship, Collin Morikawa leads the standings, just ahead of second-place Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, and U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm. WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational winner Abraham Ancer is in the sixth, 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau is in seventh, followed by Louis Oosthuizen, Players Champion Justin Thomas, and Sam Burns to round out the top ten.
Liberty National, built on the site of a one-time landfill, was designed by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite and plays to par 71 at a distance of 7,140 yards. It’s distinctive for its stunning views of the nation’s largest city and its well-known landmark.
The top 70 players at the end of the weekend will advance to the BMW Championship with the season for the other 55 entrants coming to an end.
Betting Odds
Rahm, after a great season and a couple of bouts with Covid-19, is the big favorite at odds of +1100 with defending FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson and recent Open Championship winner Collin Morikawa at +1700. Valero Texas Open and three-time major championship winner Jordan Spieth is at +1800 with four-time major champion and Wells Fargo Championship victor Rory McIlroy at +2000.
Another four-time major champion Brooks Koepka is next at +2100, Olympic gold medal winner Xander Schauffele stands at +2200, Players champion Justin Thomas has odds of +2700, and struggling Bryson DeChammbeau is next with odds of +2900. Other players include Patrick Cantlay at +3300, Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama at +3600, last week’s playoff winner of the Wyndham Championship Kevin Kisner is at +6500 and Phil Mickelson has odds of +14000.
Underdog Betting Picks
Matsuyama has been playing well, just missing out in a playoff for an Olympic medal and then losing out to Abraham Ancer in a playoff the next week in WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He showed some fatigue last week in missing the cut at the Wyndham, but the rest over the weekend might have done him some good.
Three-time PGA Tour winner Cam Smith teamed with fellow Australian Marc Leishman to win the Zurich Classic earlier this year and currently sits at 16th in the FedEx Cup standings. At odds of +3600 he had a top ten finish in the Olympics and is coming off a tie for fifth in the WGC – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in his most recent start.
Jason Day hasn’t been on the radar for a while, but at +12000 he might be worth taking a shot on, even if his recent play has been on the inconsistent side. He hasn’t played since missing the cut at the Open Championship and the extended rest may have helped his ailing back.
