Weekly PGA Preview: FedEx St. Jude Championship

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.

FedEx St. Jude Championship 

TPC Southwind
Memphis, TN

The PGA Tour heads to Memphis to kick off the FedExCup Playoffs.

Before we get to that, a few thoughts on the Wyndham Championship. I talk about pressure all the time in the game of golf and while pressure surely had a part in what happened to Max Greyserman this past week, sometimes just the nature of this game is enough to make you shake your head. For most of Sunday, Greyserman was in a good spot and then he hits a miraculous shot for eagle to go four shots clear and it seemed written, Geryserman was going to win, but in the blink of an eye he's trailing? Meanwhile, ahead of Greyserman we had Aaron Rai, likely thinking he was trailing the entire time, which probably helped him, because, you know, being ahead on a Sunday afternoon is the worst thing that can happen to a young player. Rai didn't go out an win the thing, he just held on and sometimes, that's all you need. Golf can be amazing in one moment and crushing in the next. It's what keeps us amateurs coming back time after time. A triple bogey on a par-5? No worries, I just birdied the next par-4, I love this game! 

Okay, enough on how glorious and brutal this game can be, onto this week and the coming weeks. The FedEx playoffs start this week and goal number one for everyone this week is to land in the top-50 on the FedEx list. Plenty of guys are already through to next week because of the points they've accumulated this season, but a lot of guys will be playing to continue their season this week, which makes for added drama come Sunday.  

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 4:00 PM ET Tuesday.                   

LAST TIME

Lucas Glover shot a final-round 69 on his way to a playoff victory over Patrick Cantlay.

FAVORITES

Scottie Scheffler (10-3) 

No surprise here. We knew Scheffler would be the favorite and that his number would be in this range. Scheffler won the gold medal in Paris, so we know his form is exactly where it needs to be entering the playoffs. The only question is, will he win all three events? He's going to win at least once, and maybe two to three times, but is it worth the odds? His track record here isn't great, but we all know that doesn't matter much. This will be the largest field of the playoffs however, which will lower his odds of winning just a smidge. I can't recommend passing on Scheffler, however, no matter the odds. 

Xander Schauffele (15-2)

Coming in at more than double Scheffler's odds is Schauffele, who is having himself quite the season as well. Schauffele's season has been made at the majors, which is great, but he hasn't been nearly as dominate as Scheffler outside the majors. At stake this week is Schauffele's last chance to make a claim for player of the year. If he can sweep the playoffs, and in doing so, top Scheffler three straight weeks, then he has a shot, if not, it's Scheffler's to lose. As for this week, it's going to be tough as his Schauffele's track record here is not great. He's teed it up here twice on the current course and his best showing was a T24 this past year. 

Rory McIlroy (9-1)

One housekeeping item before we get to Rory, this is only the third time this event is being played on the current course, so only two years of history matter for this event. Okay, as for Rory, let's start with these odds, which are a little out of whack if you ask me. McIlroy is essentially grouped with Schauffele, but right now, there aren't in the same class. Then again, as I just mentioned, Schauffele has been getting it done at the majors this season, so perhaps the best way to put that is that Rory is not in Xander's class at the majors. As for this week, you have to wonder the toll that the majors took on Rory this year. Will he be able to shrug it off and finish the season in style? He did post a T3 at this event this past year, so it's possible, but at this price I will be passing. 

THE NEXT TIER

Patrick Cantlay (22-1)

Cantlay has not had a good year by his standards, but that's not to say that he's played poorly this season, he's just failed to play up to expectations. He's still probably going to crack the $6 million mark, which is good by almost any standard and he'll have racked up a handful of top-5s, but unless he pulls out a win in the next few weeks, this season will likely be categorized as a disappointment. That's the bad news, the good news is, he nearly won this event this past year, falling just short in a playoff to Glover. 

Tommy Fleetwood (25-1)

Fleetwood has had a pretty good year, but he's failed to card the really high-end finishes for the most part. With that said, he's got a couple things working for him this week. First, he did card a high-end finish this past week, it just wasn't at a PGA Tour event, it was at the Olympics where he earned the silver medal. That is bound to boost his confidence. Second, he finished T3 at this event this past year. That combined with the renewed confidence could see him post his best finish yet this season. 

Viktor Hovland (35-1)   

Speaking of underperforming this year, Hovland is probably the biggest disappointment of the 2024 season as he's on pace to make right around $3 million this season while failing to pick up a win. With that said, he can save his season with a good run through the Playoffs, and we all know he's capable of doing so. The question of course is, does he need more time to get his game in order, or can he just up his game out of nowhere this week like he did at the PGA Championship? Perhaps with a few weeks off he'll be able to get some things figured out and play like the guy we are used to seeing. Heck, you aren't going to get odds like this again once he gets back on track, so it might be worth a flyer.  

LONG SHOTS

Billy Horschel (45-1)      

This would certainly be one of Horschel's biggest wins were he to pull it off, but he's actually won the FedExCup before, so he's no stranger to turning it on this time of year. Horschel has been playing some his best golf of the season over the past month and I see no reason why that should change this week. His track record here is a little concerning at he's yet to play well on this track, but he's only had two shots at it and perhaps his form will win out.         

Wyndham Clark (70-1) 

You think I'm giving up on Clark just because he's been a disaster over the past few months? Okay, so I did give up on him and rightly so, but I think he might be back after a few good rounds at the Olympics. He started very poorly, but managed to pull it together over the final three rounds. Is that enough to say he's back? Well no, but that's why he's still getting these odds. Clark has as much talent as almost anyone out here and it's only a matter of time before he starts winning again. It sure would be nice to get out in front of that at this price, right?                           

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Tommy Fleetwood - As I've mentioned over the past few weeks, it's impossible to know who is still available in your leagues at this point in the season, so I'm pretty much just guessing. All things because equal, Scheffler and Schauffele would obviously be popular this week if available, but I'm guessing that's not the case, so I'll throw out Fleetwood, who could have easily slipped through the cracks to this point. 

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Viktor Hovland - Hovland is someone that probably is still widely available in most OAD leagues because of his play this season, and then the question becomes, do you want to use him in a big spot like this? I think the answer is yes because I'm expecting him to finish strong, but I wouldn't be surprised if many OAD owners were hesitant about using him this week.     

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Billy Horschel - Horschel was a popular play this past week, but with all the big guns back in the mix this week, he's likely to get lost in the shuffle. As mentioned previously though, don't discount Horschel just because the field is better, he's battled strong fields before and come out on top.                                    

Buyer Beware: Rory McIlroy - As mentioned earlier, I'm a little worried about McIlroy's state of mind entering this week. He missed a great chance to get his 5th major at the U.S. Open and he was a no show at the Open Championship. I'm sure he'd like to finish this season in style, but what does the FedExCup even mean to him at this point in his career?            

This Week: Viktor Hovland - I haven't gone with my gut much this year, let alone entirely with my gut, but it's late in the season and I'm running low on options, so what the heck. If I were in a better spot in the standings, I'd likely play it safer and go with Fleetwood, who seemingly has a higher floor than Hovland this week. 

Previous Results

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Scottie Scheffler ($13,200) 
Middle Range: Billy Horschel ($9,900) 
Lower Range: Max Greyserman ($8,200)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES