Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Playoffs! The FedEx St. Jude Championship kicks off the FedEx Cup Playoffs this week at TPC Southwind and sees a stacked field taking to the iconic course. Here’s an overview of what fans and bettors alike can expect.
TPC Southwind
This is going to be a demanding course. There are only two par-5’s on the card and there are some excruciatingly long par 4’s. There’s water on 11 holes and this course will act as a stark contrast to the birdie-heavy Sedgefield we saw last week. Approach play is going to be the name of the game here and Southwind is a setup where premier ball-strikers should feast, especially when it comes to playing shots from the rough.
The favorites
Rory McIlroy comes into this event as the leading favorite at +900. He’s had a 12th and a 4th place finish here recently and is coming off a third-place finish at The Open. If we’re prioritizing tee-to-green players, you won’t find many better than McIlroy, who will undoubtedly want to get that win that has evaded him for nearly a year. Is the FedEx St. Jude going to be the tournament he lifts a trophy again?
The chasing pack behind are all at +1400. Comprised of Justin Thomas, Mathew Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele, there’s little to choose between them. The first three have all won a major this year, while Xander has won two of his last four and inisde the top-15 on all four occasions. It is worth noting that Fitzpatrick has two top-10 finishes at the FedEx St. Jude, while JT won the event in 2020. It’s safe to say that this is anyone’s race.
Intriguing names
Will Zalatoris could be a reasonable shout at +2200. He came 8th here last year and has come oh-so close to a victory on several occasions this season. He may be the best ball-striker in the field and if he can just get his putter going, he is going to be in contention come Sunday. His odds were nearly half of this last week, this is a great spot to bet behind the 2022 rookie of the year.
Staying on the topic of ball-strikers, Joaquin Niemann is always a good shout and this stacked field means his odds are +5000, which is higher than we’ve come to expect. He’s struggled with the putter this year and is essentially a budget Willy Z play if you fancy the longshot.
Longshots at the FedEx St. Jude
It’s also hard not to love Mito Pereira at +13000. The Chilean seemingly suffered a huge setback in form after choking a US Open victory and has missed five consecutive cuts. But playing Mito as an underdog is far better than playing him at +4000 and he’s still a brilliant approach player.
And just to sprinkle in some chaos, Chez Reavie (+1000) could be a brilliant shout to finish inside the top-20. He won a few weeks back, has made 3 consecutive cuts, and has three top-10 finishes at TPC Southwind in the past four years. What he lacks in distance he makes up for in accuracy and the results don’t lie.
Photo by Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire
