Another PGA Tour season starts to draw to a close as the FedEx Cup playoffs begin this week. The St Jude Championship 2023 provides the first leg, with the top 70 golfers on the points list in contention. Most of the big names are in attendance and we can expect to see strong fields from now until the conclusion of the playoffs at the Tour Championship event later this month.
Last week at the Wyndham Championship, we gained a return at +600 on Billy Horschel in the top 10 finish betting market, which was enough for an overall profit. It was good to get back to winning ways, so let’s see if we can keep that run going as we switch to Memphis, Tennessee with this FedEx St Jude Championship preview and its predictions with betting picks.
Leading the way are the world’s top ranked golfers with Scottie Scheffler out in front at best industry odds of 7/1. Scottie hasn’t won on Tour since the Players Championship in March, but a series of top 10 finishes keeps him at the head of the outright odds markets.
Two joint-favorites follow with Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, who are both available at top prices of 9/1. Rahm is nicely rested following his tie for second at The Open, and he is the FedEx points leader going into Thursday.
McIlroy is a recent winner on Tour, with victory at the Scottish Open, and that’s one of eight top 10 finishes since his tie for seventh at the PGA Championship.
A gap in the USA sports betting operators’ odds follows to Patrick Cantlay at a best of 16/1. Cantlay is always highly rated in the markets, but he hasn’t won on Tour for almost a year. Next up are Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, who can both be found at 18/1. It is said that Hovland’s game is built for this course, but he disappointed with a tie for 20th last year. Schauffele is 16th in the FedEx points list and rates at sixth in the all-round ranking stats.
Moving through, Tyrrell Hatton and Collin Morikawa are available at best odds of 25/1, while Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and Tommy Fleetwood can all be found at 33/1. Finau is a former St Jude Champion, winning when this event was held at Liberty National in 2021. He also claimed a solo runner-up slot in 2018. Fowler is one of the form golfers this week, following a good run which included an overdue victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Other names to consider here include Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark, who are both on offer at 35/1. Clark has maintained some form following his win at the US Open, while Spieth was a runner-up in this event back in 2017.
At the head of the outsiders this week are Sam Burns, Max Homa and Jason Day, who are all quoted at best industry odds of 40/1. Of those three, Day has enjoyed the best returns in recent weeks, but all three could maintain a challenge. Next are Brian Harman, Tom Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Young and Russell Henley, who are all available at 45/1 in places. Harman is an obvious player to watch following his stunning Open Championship win. His game was built for that Hoylake course, but he tied for third here last year, and should be a contender.
The solo runner-up here last year was Sepp Straka, and he is another golfer who will attract interest at his top price of 60/1. Some other outsiders to mention before this preview moves on include J.T. Poston at 66/1, Justin Rose at 80/1, Si Woo Kim at 80/1, Harris English at 90/1, Lucas Glover at 100/1 and Keith Mitchell at 100/1.
Our 2023 St Jude Course and Betting Trends with Predictions & Picks Conclusion
The St Jude Championship predates the FedEx series, and it was first run as the Westchester Classic in 1967. While fields have traditionally been strong and competitive, there have been a number of repeat champions in recent years. Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh have all claimed multiple titles since the start of the new millennium.
In 2023, the tournament takes place on the TPC Southwind course in Memphis, Tennessee, which is a lengthy par 70 at some 7,244 yards. While the power hitters may have an advantage at some holes, there is a greater need for accuracy here. There are 11 water hazards across the course, along with punishing Bermuda rough. With players hitting into small greens, it is tough to land on those greens in regulation if the drives go astray.
Greens in Regulation plus Strokes Gained: Tee to Green will be key, while players will also need to be strong in the all-round ranking. For that reason, the betting predictions are edging towards Jon Rahm this week. He is ranked number one in those all-round ratings and he also leads the FedEx points race. As an added bonus, Rahm tied for fifth here last year. It’s a short price for this preview’s outright pick, but he is a strong contender, and there are three additional top ten selections as well:
- Jon Rahm to win at best odds of +1000 (10/1) with BetOnline.
- Top 10 Finish Betting Picks (all odds from BetOnline, the first to list them for this market): Jon Rahm (+100), Brian Harman (+325), Cameron Young (+300) and J.T. Poston (+400).
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.