Scottie Scheffler bounced back with a 5-under round Friday to turn things in the right direction, but Collin Morikawa is the story through two rounds. The two-time major champion is playing up to that level this week and has gained more than three strokes on the field on approach in each of his two rounds. He has worked his way to a tie atop the leaderboard as he and last week's winner, Viktor Hovland, are at 16-under on the adjusted scoring leaderboard.
The leaders have a two-shot edge over Scheffler, but players like Xander Schauffele, Keegan Bradley and Jon Rahm are bunched up right behind them. I expect we'll see a lot of jockeying for position on Moving Day as players look to get in the hunt to try and take home the FedEx Cup on Sunday afternoon. I'll be looking for some value picks who can make a move to get a late Sunday tee time and set themselves up to contend down the back stretch at East Lake.
2023 Tour Championship Round 3 Best Bets: 3 Golfers to Bet
I don't know if Morikawa is going to win this week, but he's managed to put together a couple of really impressive rounds and has already gained 10 strokes tee-to-green on the 30 best players on TOUR this season.
We know Morikawa is up there with the best in the world when he is on his game, and he's showing that this week, despite starting nine shots back of Scheffler and seven behind Hovland. He's already passed Scheffler and is tied with Hovland thanks to the elite iron play he quickly became known for when he joined the TOUR. We've known Morikawa to get hot during certain weeks, but it's been more than two years since we've seen him lift a trophy. He's an interesting player to watch this weekend.
Schauffele is another name to watch as he seems to find a way to put himself in contention nearly every season at East Lake. This week appears to be no different as Schauffele is just four shots back of the lead. He also has the most palatable odds of those within a handful of the lead.
Schauffele was second best in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to Green on Friday, and he did it with more than three shots gained with his ball striking. He's showing good form, and we know he has the course fit to contend in this event. I'm buying now at +1200 as I think this number will shrink. I expect him to be in one of the final pairings on Sunday.
Tyrrell Hatton also has my attention. He's been sharp with his game this week, especially with his ball striking. He was the lone player to beat Morikawa on approach in the second round as he gained just over three shots on the field with his irons. If he can continue that play this weekend, he'll work his way into contention. It seems unlikely that he'll be able to erase a seven-shot deficit with the way that the top two players are scoring, but there are only seven players between him and the top. He can get hot and go really low, which has me sprinkling the triple-digit odds. I'm also focused on Hatton in placement markets, matchups and DFS.
