As the PGA Tour makes its final turn for home at the Tour Championship this week, there are half a dozen players realistically in with a chance of lifting the season’s final title, and with it, the $10 million FedExCup bonus pot.
Jordan Spieth is the undisputed favourite to lift both titles, and if he pulls it off, would be doing so for the second time in three years, following his double win in 2015.
The reigning Open champion is one of five players – along with Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Marc Leishman and Jon Rahm – who are charge of their own destiny. If any of those five win the Tour Championship, they automatically win the FedExCup, and the additional $10 million that goes along with the crown. The sixth-ranked player, Rickie Fowler, is also in with a shout of the big prize, but has to win the Tour Championship, and have Spieth finish third or worse, in order to take home the monster payday.
With an exclusive field of just 30 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, everybody’s odds are a little shorter than they would be for a full field event, but with Jordan Spieth’s course form, his favourite’s tag is justified following his two second-placed finishes in two of the three previous FedExCup events. Already a three-time winner this season, Spieth is a man for a big occasion these days and looks a worthy candidate to repeat the double. Otherwise, many bookmakers are running money-back specials for the Tour Championship, all of which can be found here.
World No.1 Dustin Johnson will be gunning to win his first FedExCup title
World No.1 Dustin Johnson, having won the Northern Trust Open last month, took his foot off the gas at the BMW last week, finishing 33rd, but fans of the big-hitter from South Carolina can expect him to be playing with the choke out at East Lake, where second place won’t count for much. A four-time winner this season, Johnson is over his early season injury and could easily make it a fifth here if he has his putting boots on.
Justin Thomas has already won five times this season
PGA champion Justin Thomas bagged his fifth win of a stellar season at last month’s Dell Technologies Championship, and he too will be taking no prisoners in what will be his second appearance at the Tour Championship. Following his stunning first major victory at Quail Hollow, the 24 year old from Kentucky, currently ranked world No.4, must be considered one of the hottest players in world golf right now, and a sixth-place finish at East Lake last year points to someone who gets on with the course.
The flies in the ointment, as least as far as US fans are concerned, are Aussie Marc Leishman and Spain’s Jon Rahm. Leishman always flies under the radar in the big events, mainly because he’s not Jason Day, but the 33-year-old world No.15 is a genuinely world-class player who showed at the BMW Championship that he has the temperament and the game to destroy any field on his day. It’s asking a lot to play at that level – he was 23 under par for 72 holes – for back-to-back weeks, but bettors dismiss him at their peril.
Jon Rahm is one of five players who can win the FedExCup if they prevail at East Lake
Rahm is arguably the most consistent of the leading contenders, having finished in the top five in all three of the FedEx Cup Series events leading up to East Lake, but the world No.5 may not quite have the necessary big game experience to cope with the pressure of playing for such a big prize. His time will surely come, but perhaps not in his first visit to the Tour Championship.
Of course, none of the main contenders might actually win the tournament itself, resulting in a race to the calculator to work out who needs to finish above whom, and by how many places, to win the bonus prize, but with the points list as things stand, it’s Spieth’s to lose if his main rivals fail to fire at East Lake.
The Tour Championship begins on September 21 at East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta. You can catch the action live on Sky Sports.
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