Odds Outlook: Scottie Scheffler atop the leaderboard and odds board at East Lake

Thirty players have qualified for the final leg of the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season, and there’s a familiar name atop the odds board as the select few battle it out at East Lake Golf Club to etch their name onto the FedExCup.

The fifth consecutive edition using FedExCup Starting Strokes staggers the field from 10 under-par to even-par. The winner of two of the last four editions with FedExCup Starting Strokes did not begin the week on 10 under. On both of those occasions, the winner was Rory McIlroy. At the end of the week, the final leaderboard, with FedExCup Starting Strokes included, will determine the final piece of the bonus pie for the 2023 season.

The home of Bobby Jones has been synonymous with the TOUR Championship exclusively since 2006. Donald Ross put his stamp on the original Tom Bendelow design in 1913. Playing to a par 70, the modern game has tipped East Lake Golf Club to 7,346 yards. The challenges include zoysia fairways framed by 419 Bermuda rough, and the greens feature delightful, grainy MiniVerde ultradwarf Bermudagrass running at championship speed.

For the second consecutive season, Scottie Scheffler (+140 to win FedExCup; -10 FedExCup Starting Strokes) finds himself at the top of the heap after two FedExCup Playoff events. Last week in Chicago, he closed 64-66 at Olympia Fields for T2, vaulting him to the top of the FedExCup standings. The Texan produced another historic ball-striking week, gaining over 14 shots tee-to-green. The one club that hasn’t been firing on all cylinders, the putter, couldn’t keep up with his pin-point approach shots. Sitting six shots clear last year at East Lake, his final-round 73 knocked him back to T2 and two shots out of a playoff. Leading the TOUR in too many categories to count, the only mountain left to climb would be adding $18 million with a victory this week and winning the money title.

The only three-time FedExCup champion, Rory McIlroy (+350; -7), has never won the FedExCup while beginning the final event on top of the leaderboard. With the introduction of FedExCup Starting Strokes in 2019, he has been the only two-time champion of the event in the new format. Making his 10th start, he will look to add to his seven top-10 paydays. He also won his first title in a playoff in 2016. Stretching back to the PGA Championship in May, his streak of top-10 finishes has now reached nine after a solo fourth last week in Chicago.

Fresh off one of the most remarkable Sunday performances in history, Viktor Hovland (+450; -8) will tee off in the final group with Scottie Scheffler to begin play on Thursday. Setting the course record at Olympia Fields on Sunday with 61, the Norwegian’s card featured 12 threes. Posting 28 on the inward nine, he erased a four-shot deficit at the turn and won for the first time in the FedExCup Playoffs. Securing his second win of the season, it was his first top 10 since winning the Memorial Tournament in early June. Making his third start at East Lake, he will look to improve on his best finish, T5 from 2021.

Making his seventh consecutive TOUR Championship, Jon Rahm (+800; -6) will begin four shots off Scheffler’s lead in fourth position. Winning four times in the regular season, the Spaniard cooled off the first two FedExCup Playoff events, cashing T37 in Memphis and following with T31 in Chicago. Beginning in this same position in 2021, he went close, falling to the champion (and FedExCup Starting Strokes leader) Patrick Cantlay by a shot and cashed second, improving on his career-best payday of solo fourth in 2020. Posting 67-63 to open last year, Rahm cooled on the weekend, dropping to T15, his worst result from six visits.

Patrick Cantlay (+2000; -4) is the only other player from the field of 30 residing at odds of +2000 or better this week. Looking to become the first FedExCup champion to defend the title, Cantlay shared seventh place last year as two rounds of 70 offset a pair of 66s. After falling short in a playoff in Memphis at the FedEx St. Jude two weeks ago, the 2021 champion posted three more rounds in the 60s at Olympia Fields for T15. Looking for his first win of the season, he will likely need four more rounds in the 60s this week to run down the big boys ahead of him in FedExCup Starting Strokes.

Here's a look at the odds for the rest of the 30-man field via BetMGM Sportsbook, with FedExCup Starting Strokes noted as the year’s smallest field also offers its most unique format:

+2800: Max Homa (-4)

+3300: Lucas Glover (-5), Xander Schauffele (-3)

+4000: Matt Fitzpatrick (-4)

+5000: Brian Harman (-4), Wyndham Clark (-4)

+6600: Tommy Fleetwood (-3)

+8000: Rickie Fowler (-3), Russell Henley (-3)

+12500: Collin Morikawa (-1), Keegan Bradley (-3), Sungjae Im (-2)

+15000: Corey Conners (-2), Tom Kim (-2), Tony Finau (-2)

+20000: Si Woo Kim (-2)

+25000: Jason Day (-1), Tyrrell Hatton (E)

+30000: Jordan Spieth (E)

+40000: Sam Burns (E)

+50000: Emiliano Grillo (E), Taylor Moore (-1)

+60000: Sepp Straka (E)

+75000: Adam Schenk (-1), Nick Taylor (-1)

How it works:

· Field of 30 players. If a player withdraws, there will be no replacement.

· No cut, 72-hole event.

· $18 million to the winner of the FedExCup. Bonus pool can be found here.

Circle back tomorrow as I post more details in Horses for Courses plus the Betting Stat Pack.

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