The best betting props for the PGA Tour Championship
In the final tournament of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, one golfer is set to pocket a cool $15 million bonus this weekend.
The Tour Championship will be played with a handicap based on current FedEx Cup rankings, so the current points leader, Dustin Johnson, will start at 10 under par, followed by John Rahm at 8 under, Justin Thomas at 7 under, and so on.
Now, this isn’t for me. I’m 31 years old and set in my ways. I don’t like fancy restaurants who serve food on slate or slabs of wood instead of plates. I don’t like current music and moan when I can’t find a decent radio station in the car. I don’t like golf tournaments where you could shoot the lowest score over 72 holes and still not win.
But that’s enough about my old man tendencies. On to the prop bets.
At East Lake in Georgia, look to back players who are solid in the stat Greens in Regulation, as seven of the top eight in 2019 ranked in the top eight for GIR. The year earlier, four of the top five on the leaderboard were ranked in the top four in GIR, so that’s one to keep an eye on.
The race for the @PGATOUR's Ultimate Prize ends here @EastLakeGC.
— TOUR Championship (@TOURChamp) August 31, 2020
Here. We. Go. pic.twitter.com/e7jy5AbvMz
Top 5 finish (without FedEx starting strokes): Webb Simpson +200
With GIR in the front of our mind, step forward, Webb Simpson. The American is ranked sixth in shots gained approaching the green and sixth in the all-important GIR percentage.
He also comes into this tournament off the back of a third-place finish in the Wyndham Championship and sixth in The Northern Trust. To top it off, he has three top-10 finishes in seven tournaments at East Lake Golf Club.
Webb Simpson's swing is _______.pic.twitter.com/XBN7bmsCHg
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) November 24, 2019
Simpson will start at -6 on the handicap, but take the bet on him to finish in the top five without the starting strokes.
Group F winner (with FedEx starting strokes): Billy Horschel +225
Horschel, Viktor Hovland, Abraham Ancer and Mackenzie Hughes make up Group F, with Ancer holding a one-shot lead over the other three in the handicap.
I am willing to take a chance on Horschel, despite his underwhelming GIR stats this year.
That feeling when you clinch the final playoff spot to East Lake... 😅 @playofffinale #FedExCup pic.twitter.com/j16hh6d0Cv
— Billy Horschel (@BillyHo_Golf) August 31, 2020
And before you yell "hypocrite!" at the screen, start typing furiously and abuse me on Twitter, hear me out. In Horschel's past three appearances at East Lake, he finished seventh, first, and second. His GIR form at this course was 27th, fourth, and first.
Back on East Lake and three weeks after finishing runner-up in the Wyndham Championship — another Donald Ross-designed course that crosses over well with East Lake — I am all over Billy boy.
Top South American player (with FedEx starting strokes): Joaquin Niemann -150
While not a wildly exciting price, Joaquin Niemann to beat Sebastian Munoz in a match caught my eye, even if Munoz has a one-shot lead on the handicap.
Niemann ranks 26th in Greens in Regulation, with his countryman Munoz down at 124th. Expect Niemann to find plenty of birdie opportunities.
Consistency may be an issue, but talent certainly isn’t. The youngster from Chile shot a final-round 67 to finish third in the BMW Championship last week and ranked first overall in GIR.
What a shot.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 3, 2018
🚨 ACE 🚨 for Joaquin Niemann!#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/7eNYQsAFg4
Top 10 finish (with FedEx starting strokes): Scottie Scheffler +225
Scheffler will start at -2, eight shots off the lead, but even with starting strokes, I fancy the talented Texan to threaten the top 10.
Scheffler comes into the tournament after finishing 4-4-20 in his last three tournaments, while his form line for GIR for those tournaments reads 7-2-16.
Fancy feet from Scottie Scheffler. pic.twitter.com/BNt5ctXQzi
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 24, 2020
He is hitting the ball majestically and with less pressure on his shoulders than those at the top of the leaderboard. This could be the perfect cocktail.
Group C winner (with FedEx starting strokes): Tony Finau +350
Daniel Berger has a two-shot advantage over Tony Finau, and Xander Schauffele has a one-shot lead, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from taking a flyer on Finau.
65 to finish @BMWChamps 🔥 On my way to East Lake! pic.twitter.com/CdtcCM4uQa
— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) August 31, 2020
Putting a line through his missed cut in The Northern Trust, his form reads 8-3-65-4-5 since mid-July. In those five tournaments, he has ranked in the top 12 in GIR three times.
Throw in some solid course form (7-15-7 since 2017) and I’m happy to take a flyer on Finau.
Find the full list of odds on the Tour Championship at BetAmerica
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