The Tour Championship 2023 Odds: Hovland to Scoop FedExCup Jackpot

• This is the climax of the three-tournament FedExCup Playoffs 
• Only the top 30 on the standings take part
• FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler starts in front on -10

The Tour Championship Odds (Bonus Strokes Applied)

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The Tour Championship Picks and Predictions

• Viktor Hovland in Outright market +500 with bet365
• Max Homa Top 5 (including bonus strokes) at +300 DraftKings Sportsbook
• Russell Henley Top 10 (including bonus strokes) at +170 DraftKings Sportsbook

Scottie Scheffler didn’t get the win last week due to Viktor Hovland’s sensational closing 61 at the BMW Championship.

But Scheffler’s tied second place was enough to move him up to the top spot in the FedExCup standings.

And that means he starts this week’s concluding TOUR Championship at East Lake in Georgia with a lead over his 29 rivals.

Since 2019, bonus strokes have been applied, with the No.1 in the standings starting this event at -10. 

No.2 begins on -8, No.3 on -7 and so it goes down with 26th-30th starting the event at even par. Good luck giving Scottie a 10-stroke start!  

The Starting Positions

The full starting positions are here:

-10 Scottie Scheffler
-8 Viktor Hovland
-7 Rory McIlroy
-6 Jon Rahm
-5 Lucas Glover
-4 Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick
-3 Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele
-2 Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau, Corey Conners, Si Woo Kim
-1 Taylor Moore, Nick Taylor, Adam Schenk, Collin Morikawa, Jason Day
Evs Sam Burns, Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka

In the four editions using bonus strokes, Rory McIlroy has won the event and also shot the lowest gross score twice (2019 and 2022).

Patrick Cantlay and Dustin Johnson both secured victory having started in front on -10.

In those two years, Kevin Rahm and Jon Rahm (2021) and Xander Schauffele (2020) shot the lowest gross scores. 

TOUR Championship Winners using Bonus Strokes

East Lake Course Notes

• East Lake is a par 70 measuring 7,346 yards from the tips
• Tom Bendelow was the original designer but Donald Ross updated 
• Tiger Woods holds the 72-hole record of 257 (2007)
• Zach Johnson shot the lowest ever 18-hole score, a 60 (2007)
• The greens are Bermuda and should run at 13 on the Stimp
• The weather forecast suggests little wind and dry conditions 

Favorites to Win the TOUR Championship

Scottie Scheffler (+140)

With a two-shot lead over second place and a massive 10-stroke advantage over some, it’s no surprise to see Scheffler at just +140 to land the tournament and the FedExCup trophy. But he couldn’t convert from the No.1 slot last year and is in danger of getting picked off again if the putter doesn’t back up his stellar long game. Tied second in the BMW last week. 

Rory McIlroy (+350)

McIlroy has to give Scheffler a three-shot start but he conceded six strokes to him last year and still got it done, Rory shooting -17 to Scheffler’s -10. Having won this event three times (twice under the current format), it’s no wonder he’s seen as Scheffler’s biggest threat. Rory has finished third and fourth in the first two Playoff events.  

Viktor Hovland (+450)

Hovland produced one of the rounds of the season last week to storm through and win the BMW Championship by two shots via a scintillating 9-under 61 that included a homeward 28. He’ll now start the finale as Scheffler’s nearest challenger on -8.

Cash in on Hovland 

The Playoffs have a history of players winning back-to-back events and I’ll take Viktor Hovland to add to that trend this week.

The Norwegian hadn’t quite hit top gear after scoring the victory in June’s prestigious Memorial Tournament.

But an astonishing 65-61 finish at last week’s BMW Championship means he’ll head to East Lake oozing confidence.

He made up three shots on Scheffler in a couple of holes down the stretch at Olympia Fields last week so I’m confident he can do the same over 72 here.

Hovland has played three times at East Lake and in the middle of those he finished fourth.

That year and last, he closed with a 65 so the 25-year-old has shown he can come on strong when it matters most at this venue. 

Bookies are also offering odds on which player will shoot the lowest 72-hole total and it’s tempting to back him in that market at +900.

But let’s stick to the Outright and take Hovland at 5/1 to overhaul Scheffler as well as keeping his other 28 rivals beneath him. 

To finish on top of the leaderboard and win the event/FedExCup, Hovland is +500 with bet365.

Homa Can Make Top Five 

Max Homa will start the tournament in tied sixth place on -4, six strokes behind Scheffler.

Trying to overtake all the leading players will be tough but I’m happy to back him at +220 to end the week inside the top five.

Homa has improved his finish in five straight events, the last three a 10th in the Open Championship, sixth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and fifth at last week’s BMW Championship.

He shot a 62 in round two at the BMW and that matched the 8-under round he fired here on his debut 12 months ago.

Homa went on to finish third in that 2022 event so has the course and current form to get inside the top five again. 

Henley to Land Top 10

Russell Henley completed a trio of winning bets for us last week by landing a Top 10 at +260 in the BMW Championship.

I’m going to repeat the bet here, although with a field of just 30 and Henley (-3) starting with a lower score than 15 of them, his price is reduced.

However, the +170 still looks a good deal on a man who was third here on his most recent visit (2017) and who boasts a current form of 8-6-2. 

How to Watch The Tour Championship

• Tournament: TOUR Championship
• Location: East Lake, Atlanta, GA 
• Date: THURSDAY AUGUST 24 - SUNDAY AUGUST 27
• How to Watch: THURSDAY-FRIDAY 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). SATURDAY 1 p.m-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS). SUNDAY 12 p.m.-1.30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1.30 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). And all four days on Sky Sports.