TOUR Championship Matchup Picks

The TOUR Championship gets underway on Thursday with Scottie Scheffler beginning with a two-shot lead over Viktor Hovland. Scheffler begins at 10-under par, while Hovland starts at 8-under. The defending champion, Rory McIlroy begins at 7-under, three shots back. Scheffler is listed as the favorite to win this event at BetRivers. The FedExCup Playoffs have been a disaster for me when it comes to the matchups. There is not much that separates these players, so it can be a crapshoot in handicapping the matchups and it doesn’t help when someone withdraws like Matsuyama did last week. Let’s look at TOUR Championship matchup picks.

Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy

Tournament Notes: The top 30 in FedExCup points make the TOUR Championship and technically all of them can win the title, but realistically many of them have no chance. There are five players who start at even par and that is 10 shots behind Scottie Scheffler. Good luck at making up 10 shots against the best player in the world. Scoring at East Lake is normally very good, especially on No. 6 and No. 18 which are two of the easiest par 5’s on the PGA Tour.

TOUR Championship Matchups

Scheffler, Scottie -275 vs. McIlroy, Rory

Hovland, Viktor -186 vs. Rahm, Jon

Cantlay, Patrick -150 vs. Schauffele, Xander

Homa, Max -175 vs. Fitzpatrick, Matthew

Harman, Brian -125 vs. Glover, Lucas

Fleetwood, Tommy -134 vs. Clark, Wyndham

Henley, Russell -125 vs. Fowler, Rickie

Sungjae Im -134 vs. Conners, Corey

Tom Kim -125 vs. Bradley, Keegan

Morikawa, Collin -143 vs. Finau, Tony

Si Woo Kim -143 vs. Hatton, Tyrrell

Spieth, Jordan -114 vs. Day, Jason

Burns, Sam -186 vs. Moore, Taylor

Grillo, Emiliano -143 vs. Straka, Sepp

Schenk, Adam -134 vs. Taylor, Nick

Golf Picks

McIlroy, Rory +225 vs. Scheffler, Scottie

This is simply a ridiculous price. Rory has won the FedExCup three times and he is only three shots behind Scheffler to start the tournament. I am a big fan of Scheffler and I think he is the best golfer in the world, but right now his putting simply isn’t that good. McIlroy started at 5-under in 2019 when he won the title and last year he started at 4-under. He is in better shape this year, beginning at 7-under. I have to take the big price on McIlroy.

Rahm, Jon +156 vs. Hovland, Viktor

This is another ridiculous price. I will oftentimes go against the previous week’s winner and I have to take Rahm at this number. He starts two shots behind Hovland, but I still think Rahm is the better overall player. He has an average score of 68.25 in his previous rounds at the TOUR Championship. I’ll take Rahm at the plus price.

Morikawa, Collin -143 vs. Finau, Tony

If you want a matchup where the oddsmakers are taking a stand it is this one, as Morikawa starts a shot behind Finau and yet he is favored. This will be a play where we go with the oddsmakers and take Morikawa to come from a shot behind and win.

Tom Kim -125 vs. Bradley, Keegan

Here is another matchup where the oddsmakers are favoring the golfer who begins one shot behind. Kim begins at 2-under, while Bradley starts at 3-under. Kim continues to prove that he belongs with the best in golf. Bradley won at the Travelers Championship, but that win looks more like a fluke than anything else. Kim should win this matchup.

Burns, Sam -186 vs. Moore, Taylor

Yet another matchup where oddsmakers are taking a player who starts a shot behind is this one, Burns begins at even par, while Moore starts at 1-under. He had a great third round last week to make it here and he should really do well now that the pressure is off. Moore has struggled with his irons lately and I don’t see that changing this week. I’ll lay the price and take Burns in this matchup.

Schenk, Adam -134 vs. Taylor, Nick

If it seems like Schenk plays nearly every week, he does. He has 32 starts this season, far more than any other player. He has played well with six top 10 finishes. Taylor won the RBC Canadian Open and has done nothing else. I’ll take Schenk in this matchup.

Check out the latest TOUR Championship odds at BetRivers