2020 Tour Championship: Odds to Win and Expert Picks

Only 30 men are left standing in the race to be crowned the 2020 FedExCup playoff champion and it’s all going to come down to the final postseason event at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia, from September 4-7.

The top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will duke it out at East Lake. This is the second year of the PGA Tour’s staggered start format, where the FedExCup leader, Dustin Johnson, will begin the week at -10 and two shots ahead of the second-place player, Jon Rahm, in the standings.

The rest of the golfers will start further down the leaderboard based on their ranking in the FedExCup. The player who places atop the leaderboard Monday evening wins both the Tour Championship and the FedExCup.

Johnson carries a one-stroke lead into the third round and at Bovada he is the favorite at +175 followed closely by Xander Schauffele at +425, Justin Thomas at +500, Sung-Jae Im at +850 and Jon Rahm at +950 to round out the top five players on the oddsboard.

Odds as of September 6 at Bovada

To learn more about wagering on the links, check out our How to Bet on Golf page. Looking to put some money down? Our Best Golf Sites article will help you find the sportsbook that’s right for you. 

Course and Tournament Information

Johnson is in the Pole Position at East Lake

Johnson, the winner of the first leg of the FedExCup playoffs, is searching for his first FedExCup title. Rahm will start the week two shots behind Johnson at -8 after beating him in an exhilarating playoff at the BMW Championship.

Thomas (-8), Webb Simpson (-6), Collin Morikawa (-5), Daniel Berger (-4), Harris English (-4), Bryson DeChambeau (-4), Sungjae Im (-4) and Hideki Matsuyama (-4) will start the week within striking distance of Johnson.

Thomas is the only three-time champion in the 2019-20 season and is looking to join Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods as two-time FedExCup champs. Morikawa has had the biggest coming-out party this year on the tour and already has some serious hardware in the form of the 2020 PGA Championship.

McIlroy Will Attempt to Defend His Title

Rory McIlroy collected his second Tour Championship – and second FedExCup – here a year ago after posting a four-shot victory. A 4-under 66 in the final round was enough to get past 2017 Tour Championship winner Xander Schauffele. The triumph was McIlroy’s third of the 2018-19 season, following wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the RBC Canadian Open.

McIlroy also won the 2016 Tour Championship and the FedExCup that same season. Last year, he started five shots back of Thomas but was still able to make up the ground in the final tournament of the season.

The Northern Irishman will have his work cut out for him this time around, however, as he’s set to tee off at -3, alongside Brendon Todd, Patrick Reed, Schauffele and Sebastian Munoz.

The course has been the permanent home for the Tour Championship since 2004. Zach Johnson owns the 18-hole record thanks to a sizzling round of 60 in the third round of the 2007 tournament, while Woods possesses the 72-hole record with a score of 257 in the same year.

Past Five Tour Championship Winners

Tour Championship Picks

Jon Rahm +275

Rahm has momentum on his side coming off his extremely impressive win at the BMW Championship and looks to be geared up for another battle against Johnson.

The 25-year-old posted a T-6 at the Northern Trust and placed T-13 at the PGA Championship. In three starts at East Lake since 2017, Rahm hasn’t finished worse than 12th. You won’t find much value in his +275 odds, but that’s the price you have to pay to get a player of his caliber starting only two shots back of the lead.

Webb Simpson +1000

Simpson, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour and 2012 U.S. Open champion, is no stranger to showing up in big moments. The American will be well-rested after taking a week off and looks like a good bet to make a run to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday despite starting the week four strokes back.

Simpson has fared well at East Lake, notching three top-fives here in his career. He has two wins under his belt this season and has placed within the top six at the last two FedExCup events. I’m all over the +1000 value here given the extremely small field.

Here’s a helpful outline of some of the different betting options for the Tour Championship to help you decide which wager(s) would be best for you.

Pre-Tournament Bets

This is the most common and simplest type of golf wager. Since the Tour Championship starts on Friday, getting your bets in before action tees off is the best way to find value.

All you have to do is pick one or more golfers, and you’re locked in for the duration of the event.

Considering Johnson is the favorite at +175, a $100 bet on him will win you a profit of $175 plus your initial $100 back if he emerges triumphant. If you wanted to make a long-shot bet – say Kevin Kisner at +10000 – you’d garner a $10,100 payout.

Obviously Kisner’s chances of winning outright are slim, but bettors would be wise to mix in one or two long shots. 

Live Betting

Live betting is a fascinating way to watch golf. If the player you placed a pre-tournament bet on is out of the running at any point during the event, you can easily get back in the game by wagering on another golfer as the days go by.

If there are only a few golfers in the hunt on the final day, the odds likely won’t be significantly high, but your chances of winning are due to the limited number of players in contention.

Most sportsbooks have live betting options during PGA Tour tournaments.

These pages will help you handicap your golf bets: