Jul 17, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Scottie Scheffler , the number one ranked golfer in the world and 2022 and 2024 Master Tournament champion during practice rounds at the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports The 2024 FedEx Cup playoffs tee off Thursday with the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis.
The top 70 players in the standings qualified for the first leg of the playoffs, and only the top 50 after this week will move on to the BMW Championship. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 15-18
Course: TPC Southwind (Par 70, 7,243 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $3.6M)
Defending Champion: Lucas Glover
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 12-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET
X: @FedExChamp
PROP PICKS
–Thomas Detry to Beat Min Woo Lee (+100 at DraftKings): Detry is coming off a missed cut last weekend, but that was only the second time he failed to make the weekend in his past 13 starts. Meanwhile, he has three top-10s and two other top-20s during that span. We like the underdog odds against Lee (-125), who has missed two of his past three cuts and generally has struggled to find consistency.
–Max Homa Top 30 Finish (+100 at BetRivers): While Homa’s form has fallen off significantly, including no top-20 finishes in his past seven starts, it’s important to note that he only needs to beat 40 players for this pick to pay off. He did tie for third at the Masters and eighth at a pair of signature events, so Homa has still risen to the level of elite fields like he’s facing this week.
–Xander Schauffele to Beat Scottie Scheffler (+160 at DraftKings): It takes enticing odds for anyone to consider betting against Scheffler, but DraftKings has offered exactly that. In addition to his pair of major championships this year, Schauffele has racked up 12 consecutive top-20 finishes and has finished no lower than T15 in his past eight worldwide starts. The two are vying for player of the year honors, and while beating Scheffler is a monumental task these days, Schauffele is almost always lurking on the first page of the leaderboard come Sunday.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 38-46-1
BEST BETS
–Scheffler (+330 at DraftKings) is coming off winning the gold medal at the Olympics. His six regular-season victories include the Masters, the Players and four signature events. Scheffler leads the field with 19 percent of the money and 14 percent of the total bets placed at the book backing him to win this week.
–Schauffele (+700) already has claimed the first two major titles of his career this year and is making his eighth consecutive appearance in the playoffs. He has received relatively modest support with 5 percent of the money backing him.
–Rory McIlroy (+900) is a two-time winner this year and a three-time FedEx Cup champion (2016, ’19, ’22). He always seems to rise to the occasion in the playoffs, and he’s tied for second at the book with Collin Morikawa (+1200), each having drawn 8 percent of the money.
–Viktor Hovland (+3000) has struggled to find consistency amid swing changes in 2024 and the reigning FedEx Cup champion enters at No. 57 in the standings. The young Norwegian star could provide a handsome payout as a surprising dark horse; Hovland isn’t among the top-10 in terms of money backing him at DraftKings.
NOTES
–This is the third time TPC Southwind has played host to the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
–Aaron Rai, coming off a victory at the Wyndham Championship, is one of nine first-time winners on tour this season to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, four rookies qualified for the first leg: No. 16 Matthieu Pavon, No. 47 Max Greyserman, No. 47 Jake Knapp and No. 67 Nick Dunlap.
–Victor Perez shot four rounds in the 60s at the Wyndham to hold onto No. 70 in the standings and qualify for this week’s field.
–Field Level Media
