The PGA Tour playoffs conclude with the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
The latest: Scottie Scheffler starts the tournament in pole position at 10-under, two strokes clear of Xander Schauffele. The other 28 golfers are staggered from -7 to even par based on season-long FedEx Cup point accumulation.
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Scheffler is coming off his worst start of the season.
He finished T33 in a field of 50 golfers and lost strokes on approach for the first time since August of 2022. Scheffler appeared to tweak his back in the first round at the BMW Championship but later stated he was "fine" despite some uncharacteristic play.
That said, he still starts first thanks to winning six times on tour, all of which were at signature events or majors.
Schauffele is next and I believe he's the best play — but more on that later.
Another player shrouded in question marks is Hideki Matsuyama (starting third at -7). The Japanese superstar won the FedEx St. Jude before withdrawing from the BMW Championship with a back injury.
I can't get behind him with that type of risk.
Taylor Pendrith is the lone Canadian in the field and he's well down the odds board at 350-to-1.
Tour Championship best bets
Schauffele to win (+225): I'm not exactly going out on a limb by picking Schauffele.
The 30-year-old just joined elite company by winning two majors in one season and has been remarkably consistent. He has eight top-five finishes in addition to his two victories and finished top-10 in all four majors (T7 U.S. Open, eighth Masters).
Schauffele just netted a T5 at the BMW Championship and was runner-up at the FedEx St. Jude the week before that.
A few months ago it would've been blasphemous to say someone is playing better than Scheffler — but that's the case right now.
Schauffele ranks first in total strokes gained over the last three months, according to DataGolf. He also leads the entire field in average strokes gained at East Lake (+3.55) with five straight top-five finishes (two runners-up).
That's enough reason to back him, in my opinion. Adding in the uncertainty with Scheffler and Matsuyama only bolsters Schauffele's case.
Clark top-10 finish (-110): Wyndham Clark starts this tournament 4-under in a tie for sixth place.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion has been on a nice run of form to close out the year, with three top-10 finishes in his last four PGA Tour starts.
He was T14 at the BMW last week, which was disappointing (especially to me since I picked him to win).
But I'll go back to the well this week in hopes of another strong performance.
Clark is rolling the rock well right now and finished third at this event last year after shooting the third-best gross score (12-under). He also started in a tie for sixth last season.
Golf picks made at 12:54 p.m. on 08/27/2024.
