2025 Tour Championship Preview: PGA Tour Golf Betting Odds
The field features only the top 30 in FedExCup points. While there’s a new format for the tournament, the favourite on the PGA Tour Championship golf odds is the same as it usually is in world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
By far the biggest-name player who competed in last week’s BMW Championship in Maryland to not advance to the Tour Championship was world No. 3 Xander Schauffele. He had held the longest active of appearances, making it to East Lake eight years in a row, but sits 42nd in points. Canadian Taylor Pendrith also failed to get from the Top 50 to the Top 30, but two remain standing in Corey Conners and Nick Taylor. The first man out for the Tour Championship was Michael Kim at No. 31, while fellow American Akshay Batia finished at 30th.
From the start of the playoffs through 2018, the PGA Tour crowned two champions at the Tour Championship: The winner of that event and the winner of the FedExCup. Sometimes they were the same person but sometimes not. Starting strokes were introduced in 2019 to protect players near the top in points and eliminating the confusion of two champions. The points leader started at 10 under and was at least two strokes ahead of everyone else in the field. Then a sliding scale on down.
But that seemed even more confusing to golf fans so it was scrapped entirely and is back to simple 72-hole, no-cut stroke play. Even though this new format hurts a player like the defending champion Scheffler, he was on board with him calling the previous setup “silly.” He was part of the Player Advisory Council that recommended the change.
And maybe this works better for Scheffler. Three years ago, he blew a six-stroke lead in the final round and lost to Rory McIlroy by one. The next year, Scheffler started at 10 under and went just 1 under over 72 holes and tied for sixth. Last year, he again started at 10 under and finished at 30 under, four shots up on Collin Morikawa to win the FedExCup (and its $25 million) for the first time.
Supposedly, the PGA Tour Rules Committee will adjust its course setup approach at East Lake to encourage more risk/reward moments throughout each round considering players have been blistering the track in recent years. The last regular stroke-play Tour Championship was won by Tiger Woods in 2018 at 11-under 269.
Woods (three), Rory McIlroy (three) and Phil Mickelson (two) are the only players to win the Tour Championship multiple times. No one has repeated. East Lake Golf Club, which plays to par 70 at approximately 7,490 yards. There were a few minor on-course changes from last year.
Tour Championship Golf Odds
The PGA Tour Player of the Year race is completely over entering the Tour Championship again. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler rallied to win the BMW Championship on Sunday to his fifth victory of the year. He’s the first player since Tiger Woods (2006-07) to win at least five times on the Tour in consecutive years. And like Tiger used to be in his prime, Scheffler is an absurd +175 favourite this week with the field at -250. No player has ever repeated as FedExCup champion. It’s the fourth straight year Scheffler enters at No. 1 in the FedExCup standings.
Rory McIlroy (+850), Tommy Fleetwood (+1200), Ludvig Aberg (+1600) and Russell Henley (+1600) round out the favourites. McIlroy as noted above is a three-time winner here, twice in the starting strokes era and in 2016 when it was usual stroke play. Scheffler and McIlroy are two of six former FedExCup champions who qualified for the Tour Championship.
England’s Fleetwood yet again was in position for possibly his first PGA Tour win last week at the BMW but ended up fourth. His best result in this event is ninth. Sweden’s Aberg enters with back-to-back Top 10s in these playoffs but hasn’t won this year since February. He was 19th in his Tour Championship debut in 2024. Henley was fourth here last year and has been really consistent of late this year with six straight finishes of T17 or better.
The lone Canadian winner of the Tour Championship was Mike Weir in 2001. Taylor Pendrith was the only 2024 qualifier and finished T14 (he started 25th in points). Corey Conners is +5000 this week and Nick Taylor +10000.
Tour Championship Golf Predictions
We will always recommend a field (or at least a double-digit-sized field) against one PGA Tour golfers, so field it is this week at -250 vs. Scottie Scheffler.