2022 Tour Championship Picks, Odds: Expert Predictions, Favorites to Win the FedEx Cup Playoffs from the Betting Field

The 2021-22 PGA Tour season has been one of the heats for some of the sport’s best golfers, and it all concludes at the Tour Championship this week. The race for the FedEx Cup Playoffs was hotter than ever, with the likes of Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau all enjoying hot stretches throughout the year. Despite the depth of this top-flight talent, it should come as no surprise that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the man at the top of the entire season ahead of the postseason finale in East Lake.

Scheffler, who was at the helm for most of the season, was able to take his hot spring, which included four wins, to pole position in the Tour championship. The Masters champion has the opportunity to do so Raise the most money ever for a PGA Tour season but will not be without worthy contenders in Atlanta.

Reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay was great in 2022, and his consistency finally paid off at the BMW Championship as he successfully defended his title for his first solo win of the year. The 30-year-old became the first man to defend a playoff event and will now aim to become the first to win back-to-back FedEx Cup crowns. He will start the Tour championship two strokes behind Scheffler at 8 under.

Factor in former FedEx Cup champions Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, and this year’s Tour championship is sure to be electric. In a season full of unexpected twists and turns – both on and off the golf course – there should be more in store this week in East Lake with the FedEx Cup and an $18 million top prize.

Let’s take a look at a full suite of predictions and tips from our CBS Sports pundits as we attempt to predict who will win and what will happen at the final event of the season. Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.

2022 Tour Championship Expert Tips, Predictions

Kyle Porter, senior golf writer

Winner – Scottie Scheffler (12/5): It’s true that at 10 under he has a head start on the field at the Tour Championship. It’s also true that in eight rounds played on this course, he was seventh best of all in this field. It is Also It’s true that he arrived at the BMW Championship last week with a tasty T3. But maybe what I’m most confident about is that Scheffler will win because he’s been in possession all season. We’ve seen this so many times. before that – Spieth in 2015, Thomas in 2017 – where one star caps the year with a win to spark the rest. That’s the most immaterial of all the reasons Scheffler could win this week, but it could also be the most compelling.

Sleeper – Viktor Hovland (65-1): I went as deep on the board as I could to find the player I think might go for the most ridiculous heater. Hovland is that guy (although you could talk me into Joaquin Niemann). He starts at 2-under, eight behind Scheffler, but last year he played this course well (65 on Sunday to finish T4 on the shadow rankings). While he’s not particularly hot, I’m playing the Hovland, who’s been a microwave throughout his career, and I’m hoping he shoots 66 on turn 1 so you can cover against something.

Top 10 Castle – Xander Schauffele: It’s impossible to compete against Schauffele, who has competed in East Lake for the last five years with a 6 under with the following rankings: 1, T7, 2, T2, T5. I have no further evidence for Judge Beth L. Freeman.

Star Who Definitely Won’t Win – Jordan Spieth: Not only is he entering Scheffler’s eight, but it’s just not there for Spieth at the moment as it was when he won RBC Heritage and did almost the same thing in the Byron Nelson earlier this season.

Surprise Prediction – Low Cameron will be a surprise: Schmidt or Jung? I’ll take the latter, although the former – which appears to be moving to LIV Golf a week after the Tour championship – has put together the significantly better year. Smith will start a shot ahead of Young and has beaten him in six of the eight tournaments they have played together this year, but he has struggled down that course and may be looking ahead to the week to come. That’s why they call it a surprise prediction, because the second-biggest player in the world to lose a matchup against a PGA Tour winner without losing a time would be a surprise indeed.

Lowest lap: 64 (-6)
Winning Result: -23
Sunday result of the winner: 68 (-2)

Patrick McDonald, golf author

Winner – Scottie Scheffler (12/5): The world No. 1 was the best player of 2022 and was set to cap off a memorable year in fashion. He starts the Tour championship with a two-stroke lead, and while his history at East Lake isn’t extensive, it’s solid. On his debut in Atlanta two years ago, he was only behind Schauffele with his 72 holes. Simply put, if the putter cooperates, Scheffler is your FedEx Cup champion.

Sleeper – Billy Horschel (175-1): It’s difficult to really look in the direction of a sleeper, but Horschel has proven to be a grower over the past season. He starts the week at 1 under and comes to East Lake under the radar. The Florida product hasn’t been great since his impressive win at the Memorial, but he thinks he may still have something to prove to earn a captain’s pick for the US Presidents Cup team – although I think he’s a ban. East Lake fits Horschel’s game really well and his iron game showed signs of life at the BMW Championship.

Top 10 Castle – Jon Rahm: The Spaniard is my pick to card the low 72-hole total this week – staggered start aside. Rahm was great at the BMW Championship over the weekend as he carded 10 birdies against zero bogeys to earn another top 10 finish in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He has signed for rounds of 68 or better in seven of his last eight rounds at East Lake and is extremely dangerous as he begins to find his shot on the greens.

Star Who Definitely Won’t Win – Justin Thomas: I originally messaged Will Zalatoris, but due to his retirement I’ll go with another bold choice from Thomas instead. A winner here in the past, Thomas just isn’t in the midst of the quality that got him to the 2017 FedEx Cup. The PGA Championship winner has not had a top-10 finish since the Canadian Open and has struggled on the greens for the past month.

Surprise prediction — Sepp Straka takes it seriously: I’ve poked fun at the tall Austrian both online and behind closed doors but make no mistake, he’s capable in this situation. Straka showed plenty of brains in his playoff loss to Zatoris and his game could be on a similar path to last spring when he broke through at the Honda Classic. His four top 10 finishes of 2022 were at PGA National, TPC Sawgrass, Harbor Town Golf Links and TPC Southwind – all shorter Bermuda-laced golf courses, three of which are in the southeastern United States. The former Georgia star is set to surprise on his return to the Peach State.

Lowest lap: 64 (-6)
Winning Result: -21
Sunday result of the winner: 68 (-2)

Who will win the 2022 Tour Championship and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine to see the probable leaderboard — all of the model that pinned eight golf majors over the weekend — and find out.