College Football Betting Line Moves for Week 1
August 27, 2024
TOUR Championship Matchup Picks
August 28, 2024
It is down to 30 players for the TOUR Championship which begins on Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia. Technically any of the 30 players can win the FedExCup title by winning the TOUR Championship, but only a handful of players have a realistic chance to win. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will begin the tournament at 10-under par and with a two-shot lead over World No. 2 Xander Schauffele. Hideki Matusyama begins at 7-under with Keegan Bradley at 6-under and Ludvig Aberg at 5-under. A total of five players will start at 4-under, including Rory McIlroy, five players start at 3-under, including Tony Finau, five players start at 2-under, including Viktor Hovland, five players begin at 1-under including Tommy Fleetwood and another five players begin at even par including Justin Thomas. Scheffler is listed as the -110 favorite at Caesars. The only other player listed at odds of less than +1200 is Schauffele at +225. Let’s look at TOUR Championship odds and picks.
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Venue: East Lake Golf Club is a par 71 that measures 7,490 yards. The course is 144 yards longer than last year and is now a par 71 instead of a par 70. The 14th hole is now 60 yards longer and it is a par 5. The course has hosted the TOUR Championship every year since 2005.
Last Year: The two-shot lead for Scottie Scheffler did him no good a year ago, as he was never in contention, finishing in a tie for 6th. Viktor Hovland shot 7-under par on Sunday to finish at 27-under par to win by five shots over Xander Schauffele. Wyndham Clark finished in third, Rory McIlroy was fourth and Patrick Cantlay finished in 5th place.
TV Coverage: NBC & Golf Channel
TOUR Championship Odds
Scottie Scheffler -110
Xander Schauffele +225
Hideki Matsuyama +1200
Ludvig Aberg +1800
Rory McIlroy +1800
Collin Morikawa +2800
Patrick Cantlay +3500
Keegan Bradley +4000
Wyndham Clark +4500
Sam Burns +5000
Viktor Hovland +7500
All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more
Favorite
Scottie Scheffler -110
It was another golf betting favorite losing last week and once again it was Scheffler. There was a time when taking Scheffler as the favorite was worth doing, but he has failed the last two times as the betting favorite. I have no idea what to expect from him this week. He did not play well last week in the BMW and he has never played well at East Lake. In his last four trips to East Lake, he has an average score of just 6-under with an average finish of ninth. I don’t see any value in taking Scheffler as the odds-on favorite this week.
Golf Picks
This is a weird week, as you have different betting options. If you take the starting strokes into account then Scheffler is the favorite with Schauffele the second choice. Everyone else is a longshot. It is a bit different if you simply treat this as a normal tournament and throw out the starting scores. It should be noted that in the four previous Tour Championships where the FedEx Cup Starting Strokes Index has been in operation, two leaders have won and two have lost. Dustin Johnson won the Tour Championship starting first and Patrick Cantlay won the Tour Championship in 2021, starting first. Defending champion Viktor Hovland won last year after starting second, while Rory McIlroy won in 2019 starting in the fifth spot.
Xander Schauffele +225
We know that Schauffele has better overall numbers than Scheffler in Atlanta, as he has played the TOUR Championship seven times with a win and an average finish of third place and an average score of 12-under par. He starts only two shots behind and I give him a reasonable chance to catch Scheffler and win the FedExCup title.
Ludvig Aberg +1800
It is going to be hard for anyone to catch the top two, but Aberg is capable. He starts five shots behind. He will be playing this event for the first time, but Aberg has shown no fear in competing with the best players in the world on a weekly basis.
Rory McIlroy +1800
If there is any player who can get hot and chase down the top two it is McIlroy and he has great numbers at East Lake. In his last nine trips to East Lake, he has finished in the top seven a total of seven time3s. He has won the FedExCup title three times. He has proven in the past that he can make up ground, as he won in 2019 when he started at 5-under par.Check out the latest TOUR Championship odds at Caesars.
