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Tour Championship preview: Scheffler taken to close season in style
The culmination of the 2021/22 PGA Tour season and the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs takes place this week as the 30 best players this term head to East Lake for the Tour Championship.
For the second year in succession Patrick Cantlay took top prize in the BMW Championship last week, but his victory was only enough to leave him 5th in the FedEx Cup as we head into the Playoffs this weekend.
We preview the tournament and highlight who might be best placed to take home the lion’s share of the $15 million prize fund.
Scheffler tops the pile
After four wins on the PGA Tour this season, in the WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay and of course the Masters, Scottie Scheffler wrestled the world number one spot from Jon Rahm.
The brilliant season enjoyed by the Texan sees him leading the FedEx Cup standings, meaning he will begin play with a two-stroke lead at East Lake on 10-under par. The remaining 29 players start dependent on where they finished in the FedEx Cup standings, and this is the state of play ahead of Thursday’s opening round.
| Player | Starting Score |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | -10 |
| Patrick Cantlay | -8 |
| Will Zalatoris | -7 |
| Xander Schauffele | -6 |
| Sam Burns | -5 |
| Cameron Smith | -4 |
| Rory McIlroy | -4 |
| Tony Finau | -4 |
| Sepp Straka | -4 |
| Sungjae Im | -4 |
| Jon Rahm | -3 |
| Scott Stallings | -3 |
| Justin Thomas | -3 |
| Camerson Young | -3 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | -3 |
| Max Homa | -2 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | -2 |
| Jordan Spieth | -2 |
| Joaquin Niemann | -2 |
| Viktor Hovland | -2 |
| Collin Morikawa | -1 |
| Billy Horschel | -1 |
| Tom Hoge | -1 |
| Corey Conners | -1 |
| Brian Harman | -1 |
| K.H. Lee | E |
| J.T. Poston | E |
| Sahith Theegala | E |
| Adam Scott | E |
| Aaron Wise | E |
Rahm hitting form for FedEx finale
There are two markets to concentrate on this week – the tournament winner including handicap or the winner without (best 72-hole score). In this preview, we’re going to put forward a tip for both markets.
Scottie Scheffler’s consistency this year has made him the undisputed number one player in the world. While he has failed to get another win under his belt since pulling on the green jacket at Augusta in April, he has only finished out of the top-20 in four of his 11 tournaments contested since.
While he missed the cut at the FedEx St Jude Championship, he bounced back with some very solid rounds at Wilmington in the BMW Championship last week. As his world ranking suggests there are few weaknesses in the Texan’s game, and he has been imperious from tee-to-green on Tour this season, ranking 6th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and 4th in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green. His putting might occasionally let him down, but even when the flatstick isn’t firing he still has the overall game to compensate. The rolling greens of East Lake shouldn’t hold too many fears and given Scheffler begins on Thursday with a two-stroke lead, he’s very hard to oppose in the handicap market at 21/10.
Last year’s winner Patrick Cantlay is another player to consider at 7/2 and starts off on eight-under, just two behind Scheffler. Next in the betting is Xander Schauffele (-6) at 13/2, followed by Rory McIlroy (-4) at 9/1.
Jon Rahm begins on three-under par and is a 14/1 chance with strokes taken into account, however he is of more interest in the 72-hole market without FedEx Strokes at 8/1.
The 2021/22 season hasn’t been the best for the Spaniard, with just the Mexico Open to his name on Tour. He has had some close finishes in other tournaments and has played some very solid golf at times, despite being a touch short of his brilliant best. However, the former world number one looks to be timing his return to form perfectly for these four days at East Lake.
He posted four sub-70 scores to finish T5 in the FedEx St Jude Championship a few weeks ago and then was once again close to the top money at the BMW Championship, finishing with two storming rounds of 65 and 67. Had he not posted an opening round of 73, he would have finished much closer than T8.
Add to the fact that Rahm has an excellent record at East Lake, finishing 2nd last year and 4th the season before, and he looks sure to go well. The 27-year-old ranks 4th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green this season and that’s a statistic that has proved key at this course over the years. If he can keep the putter hot, Rahm should have every chance of ending the season on a high.
