2023 Tour Championship: PGA Tour Golf Picks, Predictions, and Tee Times
The field features the top 30 golfers on the FedExCup standings. And with frontrunner and tournament favourite poised to tee off on Thursday sporting a score of -10, challengers look to claim the top of the leaderboard face a huge task.
However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to be found further down the Tour Championship odds. Here a look at some best bets to consider ahead of Thursday morning’s opening round action.
Fitzpatrick’s BMW Championship Performance Overshadowed
Matt Fitzpatrick was on his game all weekend while marching to a share of second place. With four rounds of 66 or better, Fitzpatrick vaulted 30 places on the FedExCup standings to 10th place, and will tee off on Thursday with a course of -4. Fitzpatrick’s best performance of the season comes at just the right time, and leaves him poised to improve on his career-best performance at last year’s Tour Championship, which he finished tied for 15th place.
However, it is tough to forget Fitzpatrick’s sensational opening round 64 at East Lake a year ago, and while closing a six-stroke gap on the top of the leaderboard and paying out on long +3400 odds to win the Tour Championship is a big ask, Fitzpatrick is a solid +275 bet to finish top five and is worth taking as a +375 wager to emerge as the top British player this weekend.
Rahm on the Rebound
It was a tough weekend at the BMW Championship for Jon Rahm, who was toppled from his perch atop the FedExCup standings while finished 31st. The popular Spaniard now enters the Tour Championship in fourth place on the standings, and with a starting score of -6.
Considering his past success at East Lake, where he finished as runner up at the Tour Championship, and in fourth place in 2020, Rahm cannot be overlooked as a +800 bet to finally win this tournament. Rahm also offers value as a +115 underdog in a tournament matchup with last week’s tournament winner Viktor Hovland, who could be in for a letdown after setting a course record by shooting a spectacular final round 61 last week.
Clark Producing Consistent Results
Wyndham Clark has been consistent if not spectacular since stunning the golf world with his victory at the US Open. The 29-year-old is set to open the Tour Championship at -4, and in a five-way tie for sixth place on the leaderboard, alongside Fitzpatrick, Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, and Brian Harman. That leaves him well positioned to pay out on -105 odds to crack the top 10, and a -103 bet in tournament matchup betting to outpace Tommy Fleetwood, who will start at -3 after tumbling to 25th place last week.
Picks: Matt Fitzpatrick top five (+375); Jon Rahm to win (+800); Wyndham Clark top ten (-105)
| 2023 Tour Championship tee times, Round 1 pairings |
|---|
| All times Eastern |
| 11:26 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka |
| 11:37 a.m. — Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton |
| 11:48 a.m. — Jason Day, Sam Burns |
| 11:59 a.m. — Adam Schenk, Collin Morikawa |
| 12:10 p.m. — Taylor Moore, Nick Taylor |
| 12:21 p.m. — Corey Conners, Si Woo Kim |
| 12:32 p.m. — Sungjae Im, Tony Finau |
| 12:43 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Tom Kim |
| 12:54 p.m. — Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler |
| 1:05 p.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley |
| 1:16 p.m. — Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick |
| 1:27 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman |
| 1:38 p.m. — Lucas Glover, Max Homa |
| 1:49 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm |
