The 2019-20 PGA TOUR season wraps up this weekend with the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. If it's half as dramatic as what we saw at last week's BMW Championship, we're in for a real treat.
The TOUR Championship, which will run from Friday to Monday, is unlike any other event on the PGA TOUR schedule.
Here's a quick refresher on the rules:
TOUR Championship Format
The TOUR Championship features a 30-player field and features a strokes-based system, called FedEx Starting Strokes, instituted for the first time in 2019. The player with the lowest total score will win the FedEx Cup and be credited with an official victory at the TOUR Championship.
Here’s how it will work:
Dustin Johnson, the FedEx Cup points leader after the first two playoffs events, will begin the TOUR Championship at 10-under par. Jon Rahm will begin at 8-under, Justin Thomas at 7-under, Webb Simpson at 6-under and Collin Morikawa at 5-under.
After Morikawa, the rest of the field is grouped in bunches of five and assigned the same score, based on the FedEx Cup Standings. There are five players who will start at 4-under, five at 3-under and so on, until we get to the players ranked 26th-30th, who will begin at even par.
As you can imagine, this format changes the odds pretty dramatically. Let's take a look.
TOUR Championship Odds, Starting Scores
Dustin Johnson (+188, $10 wins $18.80) is the betting favorite to win the TOUR Championship. Johnson is coming of a win and a runner-up in the first two FedEx Cup events, so he would have likely been the favorite even without his headstart.
Jon Rahm, who edged DJ in a playoff to deny him back-to-back wins, is the second choice at +300. Justin Thomas (+500) and Webb Simpson (+900) are the only other two golfers under 20-1.
There are four golfers tied at +2200. Collin Morikawa, who will start at 5-under, Bryson DeChambeau, who will start at 4-under, Xander Schauffele, who will start at 3-under, and defending champion Rory McIlroy, who also will kick off at 3-under. Daniel Berger (+2800), who will tee off at 4-under, is the only other golfer under 30-1.
This format does present some interesting betting questions. Tony Finau's price sticks out. Finau is no stranger to the +5000 range on the betting board in normal events and he's being offered at that price for the TOUR Championship, despite the fact that he is starting eight strokes behind the leader.
Tyrrell Hatton is also starting at -2 and is +10000. Patrick Reed has a one-stroke lead on Finau and is +6600. Pretty wonky.
Check out the full betting odds and starting scores for the 2020 TOUR Championship below:
Odds as of Monday at 5:20 p.m. ET and via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.
| Player | Odds | Starting Score |
|---|---|---|
| Dustin Johnson | +188 | -10 |
| Jon Rahm | +300 | -8 |
| Justin Thomas | +500 | -7 |
| Webb Simpson | +900 | -6 |
| Collin Morikawa | +2200 | -5 |
| Daniel Berger | +2800 | -4 |
| Harris English | +6600 | -4 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +2200 | -4 |
| Sungjae Im | +12500 | -4 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +3300 | -4 |
| Brendon Todd | +12500 | -3 |
| Rory McIlroy | +2200 | -3 |
| Patrick Reed | +6600 | -3 |
| Xander Schauffele | +2200 | -3 |
| Sebastian Munoz | +17500 | -3 |
| Lanto Griffin | +35000 | -2 |
| Scottie Scheffler | +8000 | -2 |
| Joaquin Niemann | +12500 | -2 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +10000 | -2 |
| Tony Finau | +5000 | -2 |
| Kevin Kisner | +20000 | -1 |
| Abraham Ancer | +25000 | -1 |
| Ryan Palmer | +35000 | -1 |
| Kevin Na | +25000 | -1 |
| Marc Leishman | +50000 | -1 |
| Cameron Smith | +50000 | E |
| Viktor Hovland | +25000 | E |
| Mackenzie Hughes | +50000 | E |
| Cameron Champ | +50000 | E |
| Billy Horschel | +20000 | E |
