This is it. The last event of the PGA Tour season is the Tour Championship, and it is the last chance for the best golfers in the world to claim some serious money. The Tour Championship is the final event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the last chance to move up in the standings and change the number of zeroes in the check.
The winner will take home $18 million while 30th (last) will get a very solid $500,000. After two rounds of eliminations, the field now includes the very best golfers in the world, meaning there is little room for error and a lot of things that could lead to a major rise or fall in the FedEx Cup standings.
Bettors need to be aware of this week’s unique tournament structure using FedEx Cup Starting Strokes. Players that are at the top of the FedEx Cup standings will have a distinct starting advantage over the rest of the field.
Let’s get into it with a closer look at the field and who should be there when the event is over.
Canadians in the field
Among the final 30 participants in the Tour Championship are a pair of Canadians. Corey Conners and Nick Taylor have been two of the very best from Canada all year long. It is only fitting that the pair of them have reached the end of the line and a shot at the $18-million prize for first place.
Corey Conners (+15000): Conners will find himself eight shots off the leader to begin the event based on the FedEx Cup standings. However, there is just one shot separating him from 11th and three shots from 5th. If Conners can turn in his best performance, it isn’t outrageous to think he can finish in the top 10 and grab in excess of $1,000,000.
Nick Taylor (+75000): Like everyone else at the bottom of the standings, Taylor has a tall task ahead of him. He will begin the Tour Championship nine strokes behind the leader, Scottie Scheffler. Unless Taylor has a record-breaking performance in him, the best he can hope for is a rise into the top 20. However, even that will mean a serious payout.
Corey Conners top-5 finish
+850
Outright odds
With just 30 golfers remaining heading into the Tour Championship, let’s get a full look at the field. There are some heavy favourites (Scottie Scheffler +150, Viktor Hovland +450) and some major underdogs (Sam Burns +30000, Emiliano Grillo +50000) heading into the final tournament of the 2022-23 PGA season.
| Golfer | Outright Odds | Starting Strokes |
| Scottie Scheffler | +150 | 10-under |
| Rory McIlroy | +333 | 7-under |
| Viktor Hovland | +450 | 8-under |
| Jon Rahm | +800 | 6-under |
| Patrick Cantlay | +1800 | 4-under |
| Xander Schauffele | +2800 | 3-under |
| Max Homa | +2800 | 4-under |
| Lucas Glover | +4000 | 5-under |
| Brian Harman | +4500 | 4-under |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +4500 | 4-under |
| Wyndham Clark | +5000 | 4-under |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +5500 | 3-under |
| Rickie Fowler | +6600 | 3-under |
| Russell Henley | +7000 | 3-under |
| Sungjae Im | +10000 | 2-under |
All odds courtesy of 
Three players to back
There are three names that have a clear head start on anyone else. That said, there are a few names near the top that could leapfrog into a top spot by the time the Tour Championship concludes.
Scottie Scheffler (+150): Scheffler is the clear favourite for a lot of reasons. There were concerns that he might be fading when he finished T23 at The Open and T31 at St. Jude. But there are two reasons why he’s going to be hard to top. For one, he finished T2 at the BMW Championship last week. If that wasn’t enough, he will begin with a -10 score, putting him ahead by two strokes over second-place Viktor Hovland (-8). He’s been among the best all year long and now is the time to put the exclamation point on a great season.
Rory McIlroy (+333): With three prior Tour Championship wins, it’s hard not to consider McIlroy. He’s just three shots back of Scheffler and has been playing lights-out of late. As a matter of fact, his worst finish in the last nine events is a T9 at the RBC Canadian Open. McIlroy finished T3 at St. Jude and fourth at the BMW Championship. He will almost certainly be there at the end, contending for his fourth Tour Championship.
Max Homa (+2800): Homa has quietly been surging for a month now. It began with a T21 finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He finished T12 at the Scottish Open. Then T10 at The Open. In the playoffs, he has finished T6 at St. Jude and T5 at the BWM Championship. He is trending upward at the right time. He’ll start the tournament six strokes back, but this could be when Homa makes a final surge. He hasn’t been able to really come close to a major victory (he last won at the Farmers Insurance Open) but everything is pointing in the right direction for Homa.
Rory McIlroy top-3 finish
-125
Three players to fade
At this stage in the game, everyone is a threat to win. So, even picking players to fade, keep in mind that anyone is capable of making a run at this point. Still, there are three golfers that you will want to stay away from when picking a winner of the Tour Championship.
Jon Rahm (+800): With four victories and a pair of runner-ups, Rahm seems like he should be a clear favourite. That said, it is hard to know which Rahm we are going to get heading into the Tour Championship. He finished T2 at The Open, setting the table for the FedEx Cup playoffs. But after finishing T37 at St. Jude and T31 at the BWM Championship, it seems like Rahm may be hitting a wall. He will begin four strokes back of the lead and should finish fairly high, but a win seems off the table.
Patrick Cantlay (+1800): Yes, Cantlay has won a Tour Championship before. And being just six shots off the lead puts him within striking distance to start the tournament. But his last four starts aren’t exactly confidence-inducing. He missed the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open. A T33 at The Open followed, with a second-place finish at St. Jude after that. His T15 at the BMW shows promise, but is it enough to land him near the top of the Tour Championship finishers? That seems very much in doubt.
Lucas Glover (+4000): Glover has been riding a hot streak of late, turning into one of the surprises heading into the Tour Championship. He won a pair of tournaments – the Wyndham Championship and Fed Ex St. Jude Championship – to shoot up to fifth in the FedEx Cup standings, putting himself in a good position heading into the Tour Championship. That said, he did cool off last week at the BMW Championship. He finished just outside the top 20, shooting 4-under par in the process. And even though there are no cuts to miss this weekend, it is hard to ignore his 11 missed cuts this season. He hasn’t cracked the top 10 at a major since 2009 and the money on the line creates a similar pressure in this tournament, so beware jumping on his bandwagon even if his somewhat recent history has been a positive one.
Jon Rahm to finish sixth or worse
-120
Three dark horses to consider
Once you get past the top tier of golfers, it becomes a bit murkier. Everyone outside of perhaps the top 10 becomes a real underdog to capture the Tour Championship. Here are three names that might not be among the favourites but should be on your radar. Look for strong finishes, if not an outright win, from any of the following golfers.
Xander Schauffele (+2800): Odds-wise, Schauffele isn’t that big of an underdog. But starting seven strokes back of the lead is tough. Still, he’s among the leaders in shots gained, ball striking, short game, and off-the-tee this year on Tour. He is also second in approach and third in putting, giving him the tools to make a run.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+4500): Fitzpatrick is somewhat confusing going into this tournament. After all, he is coming off a very strong BMW Championship where he may have had a shot to win if not for Hovland shooting a course-record 61 on the final day. The epic performance overshadowed the strong play of Fitzpatrick, who finished tied for second place by shooting 15-under par. Fitzpatrick could use his strong play to set the table for a great run at the Tour Championship. He finished in the top 20 at the U.S. Open while also grabbing a top-10 finish at The Masters this year. In big events, Fitzpatrick has not been far off the pace. His putting game is strong as well, giving him a good chance to be right there on the final day of the Tour Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood (+5500): Fleetwood has been on everyone’s radar since May and with good reason. In the FedEx Cup playoffs, he has shown some life, finishing T3 at St. Jude, his fourth top-10 finish in five outings (he missed the cut at the Travelers Championship). Even with a T25 finish at the BMW Championship, Fleetwood has been playing some of his best golf of the year. He is seven shots off the lead to start but has shown the ability to gain strokes consistently. A major push would surprise no one at the biggest point in the season.
