Tour Championship Tips & Preview: Course Guide, Tee Times & TV

The East Lake extravaganza is far from what we used to love but it must be said it is set up for an extremely exciting finish over the four days with the leaderboard as stacked as you could ever want it with in form players dominating the Fedex finale. Can Cantlay go again after his heroics at the weekend or will there be a closer from way off the pace? Make no mistake, from a punting perspective it's almost impossible to have a huge opinion on the handicap market and we'd rather have it revert to type. The 72 hole in market is worth more focus, however you do run the gauntlet of players not knowing / caring of where they are on that particular leaderboard, and the pressure scenario plays out a lot differently.

Rory McIlory lowest 72 hole score at 11/1 

I'll have a small interest in McIlroy in the main outright market. He starts further back than he has done here before and certainly further back this time than he would have hoped for, but we've seen countless times before how McIlroy can freewheel when seemingly out of contention in an event. We've seen it plenty of times at Augusta where a poor start puts him out the back only to surge through the field over the weekend. It is a trait which many give him abuse for but one that could pay dividends in an event like this. He may just be too far back to win the market so I'll play him in both the outright and 72 hole markets. He loves East Lake having won here twice and the added bonus of landing both the outright and 72 hole markets back in 2018. I liked the look of his 4th place last week and he looked to be swinging the club as smoothly as I've seen him in a long time. The odds are about right in main market but I'd suggest the 11/1 or so on offer in the 72 hole market should be a few pts shorter given his record here and his ability to go low from behind.

2pt Rory McIlory lowest 72 Hole Score at 11/1
1pt Rory McIlory outright at 25/1

Little else appeals to me in a tournament that has been totally decimated in terms of a betting heat. The only other one to interest me in the 72 hole market is Collin Morikawa. A good long game is ideal here to avoid the penalties and if Morikawa shows up in decent nick he should give himself plenty of opportunities to make a score. He is another further down the list who is certainly more likely to climb the leaderboard given the pressure on those at the top from the gun. As ever it will depend on the putter and whether he can have a decent week on the greens. East Lake looks perfect for his game though and I'd be surprised should he not land the spoils here at some stage in his career. If anyone is looking a punt at the top of the market I'd be edging towards Rahm and Finau. Rahm has managed to find a way not to win in recent weeks despite playing some sparkling stuff. Sooner or later he looks set to go on a run, although he may need to wait until next year for the chance to do that Stateside. Finau has been a consistent performer all year and must be delighted with the handicap format at East Lake this week. This is a huge opportunity for him to put all the negatives to bed, even though for me he has already done that. He hasn't fired on all cylinders here in recent years but surely stands a fair chance of giving a bold bid higher up the leaderboard. Four days in contention and a win would finally silence all the critics for good. The better event is in Italy though no doubt and you can check that preview on this page.

1pt Collin Morikawa lowest 72 Hole Score at 25/1