The 30 remaining golfers in the race for the 2021 FedEx Cup are at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, this week for the PGA Tour’s season finale. The top 30 in the season-long FedEx Cup standings will compete for the $15 million first-place prize. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings for the 2021 Tour Championship, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.
The Tour Championship begins with starting strokes based on the FedEx Cup standings following Patrick Cantlay’s victory at last week’s BMW Championship. He’ll begin this week’s event at 10-under par with spots two through five in the standings starting at 8 under, 7 under, 6 under and 5 under, respectively.
Each group of five from there starts one stroke further back of Cantlay, with those entering the week placed 26-30 opening the tournament at even par.
Dustin Johnson returns to East Lake as the defending FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He begins the week at No. 15 in the FedEx Cup standings and in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
2021 Tour Championship: Fantasy Golf Top 30
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 8:55 a.m. ET.
(Listed odds are without factoring starting strokes.)
30. Patrick Reed (+4000)
Captain America didn’t play either of the first two FedEx Cup Playoffs events but recently returned home after a stint in the hospital due to pneumonia. There’s too much risk against the elite field following the layoff.
29. Erik Van Rooyen (+5000)
One of last week’s biggest risers in the season-long standings with a fifth-place finish. He led the field in both Strokes Gained: Approach (1.63) and SG: Tee-to-Green (2.09) per round but both figures are well above his season average.
28. Stewart Cink (+9000)
The 48-year-old won twice this season for his first two victories since 2009. However, he enters the season finale just 23rd in the FedEx Cup standings off of a T-38 finish last week.
27. Kevin Na (+7000)
His 28 career rounds played at East Lake GC are tied for third in this field, but he has lost 0.11 strokes on the field per round. He lost 0.73 strokes per round off the tee last week but won’t need to rely on his driver as much at the considerably shorter venue.
26. Billy Horschel (+7000)
Snuck into the final at 29th in the season-long standings but has averaged 2.30 strokes gained on the field per round over 16 career rounds at East Lake. Salvaged a T-52 finish last week with 0.23 SG: Around-the-Green per round.
25. Harris English (+3000)
Seventh in the FedEx Cup standings with two wins and six other top-10 finishes on the season but was wholly unimpressive in a T-26 finish last week. Has just eight rounds of experience at this venue.
24. Jason Kokrak (+4000)
Makes just his second appearance at East Lake after claiming his first two career victories on the 2020-21 season. Finished 14th here in 2019.
23. Joaquin Niemann (+4000)
Tied for 29th last week with 1.15 strokes lost per round on and around the greens. He can rely on his irons and hope for a more neutral short-game performance.
22. Sergio Garcia (+4000)
Made an early charge up the leaderboard Sunday before a couple of misadventures from the bunkers. Was able to tie for sixth with 1.31 SG: Putting per round.
21. Daniel Berger (+2000)
Played just 22 events this season and enters the finale at 26th in the standings. Still, he had one victory and seven other top-10 finishes while ranking fifth on Tour in SG: Approach.
20. Sungjae Im (+3000)
Back to East Lake for a third straight year off of an 11th-place showing in 2020. Led the field with 1.77 SG: Putting per round in 2019 but was the sixth-worst putter in the field last year.
19. Abraham Ancer (+2000)
Claimed his first PGA Tour victory two weeks before the playoffs and earned his sixth other top-10 finish of 2021 with a T-9 last week. He tied for 18th last year.
18. Sam Burns (+3000)
Won the Valspar Championship for his first PGA Tour victory and claimed four other top-10 finishes, including an eighth-place result last week; however, he’s one of just two golfers making their debut at East Lake GC this week.
17. Scottie Scheffler (+2000)
Had a disappointing T-22 placing last week at a course that figured to suit him well. He lost 0.29 strokes per round on the greens but most surprisingly lost 0.19 strokes per round off-the-tee.
16. Louis Oosthuizen (+2000)
Returned from injury to tie for 38th at Caves Valley Golf Club last week and had a rare poor putting performance. He last played here in 2019 and averaged 0.90 SG: Putting per round but was awful around the greens.
15. Hideki Matsuyama (+3000)
The reigning Masters champ finished in the top 15 at the Tour Championship each of the last three years, but he tied for 46th last week with a dreadful putting performance.
14. Corey Conners (+3000)
Tied for 22nd last week while ranking sixth in the field with 0.77 SG: Around-the-Green per round. It was an uncharacteristically strong part of his game, but a similar performance and his iron play will lead to a good result at this venue.
13. Viktor Hovland (+3000)
Tied for 17th at the BMW Championship despite losing 0.41 strokes per round around the green. He tied for 20th here last year with 1.48 strokes lost per round on the greens, but he gained 1.03 strokes per round on approach.
12. Cameron Smith (+2000)
Finished 20th or worse in his two appearances at East Lake GC but with awful putting. Slipped from third to fifth in the FedEx Cup standings with a T-34 finish last week.
11. Bryson DeChambeau (+1300)
Lost the marathon playoff against Cantlay last week despite leading the field with 2.01 SG: Off-the-Tee per round and ranking second, behind Cantlay, in SG: Putting. The shorter venue doesn’t suit his game as well and he finished 22nd here in 2020.
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10. Collin Morikawa (+2000)
Finished sixth in his debut here last year but enters the 2020-21 season finale off of a missed cut at The Northern Trust and a T-63 finish last week in the 70-man field.
9. Brooks Koepka (+2000)
Tied for 22nd last week while his rival, DeChambeau, went to a playoff. He has an average of 1.64 strokes gained on the field over 16 career rounds at East Lake and should be motivated to bounce back.
8. Justin Thomas (+1200)
The 2021 Players champion slipped to a T-22 finish last week following a T-4 showing at The Northern Trust. His putter let him down, but he averaged 1.18 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
7. Jordan Spieth (+2000)
Tied for 34th last week following a 73rd-place finish at the Northern Trust but remains comfortably in ninth in the FedEx Cup standings. Last played this event in 2017 with a T-7 finish.
6. Tony Finau (+2000)
The winner of The Northern Trust tied for 15th last week with poor play around the greens; however, he had Sunday’s best round with a 9-under par 63. He’s second in the FedEx Cup standings and begins the Tour Championship just 2 strokes back of Cantlay.
5. Dustin Johnson (+1200)
His T-6 showing last week was his fourth top-10 finish in his last eight events after a slow start to the 2021 calendar year. The showing vaulted him from 22nd to 15th in the season-long standings.
4. Xander Schauffele (+1200)
The field leader in strokes gained per round at East Lake GC with 3.56 over 16 career rounds. He won here in 2017 and was the low 72-hole scorer last year.
3. Patrick Cantlay (+1500)
The only three-time winner on the PGA Tour this season has earned the 2-stroke lead entering the Tour Championship. However, without starting strokes, he’s just sixth by the odds. He has averaged just 0.31 strokes gained per round at East Lake.
2. Jon Rahm (+700)
The No. 1 player in the Golfweek rankings slipped to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup standings with a T-9 finish last week. Still, he’s the favorite to win with and without starting strokes despite beginning at 6-under par.
1. Rory McIlroy (+1200)
The two-time FedEx Cup champ regained his form last week with a fourth-place finish at the BMW Championship. He was second in SG: Off-the-Tee and fourth in SG: Tee-to-Green last week.
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