Rory McIlroy has been added to the field for next week’s British Masters after failing to qualify for this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake..
The four-time major champion will be the star name at Close House in the tournament in which he made his professional debut nine years ago, though there are several of Europe’s Ryder Cup team taking part in a tournament hosted by Lee Westwood.
McIlroy has been hampered by rib and back injuries this year so the 28-year-old will not be able to defend his FedExCup title.
There is plenty riding on this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake, however.
It’s the final leg of the $10million FedEx Cup with almost all of the 30 players involved still having a chance, however remote, of landing the big bonus, though it’s probably fair to say that those not currently in the top seven in the rankings would need a huge slice of luck and those above to have a nightmare in East Lake to claim the big prize.
Tour Championship History
The last seven winners of the Tour Championship have won the FedEx Cup so it’s no surprise that most of the big names have turned up at East Lake, now the tournament’s established venue.
Tom Watson won the first staging of the Tour Championship 29 years ago when it was known as the Nabisco Championship and played in November.
It was intended as a showcase event to round off the PGA Tour season with only the top 30 on the money list invited. But it often struggled to attract the Major winners until FedEx Cup Playoff Series was instigated in 2007.
The top 125 players on the FedEx Cup standings are eligible to contest the first event of the series, The Barclays, and that number is steadily whittled down to 30 by a process of elimination before the Tour Championship.
The format has been gradually tweaked down the years to give most of the final 30 players something to play for though, naturally, the further down the list you are, the more difficult it is to win the big pot. However, if you are in the top seven or so arriving at East Lake this year and win the Tour Championship, you’d be just about guaranteed the FedEx Cup bonus unless Jordan Spieth came second.
Spieth leads the standings going into this big season-ender but is only a best 11/2 to win at East Lake. The 24-year-old did win the tournament two years ago, however, as well as the FedEx Cup, so there is no doubt he’ll cope with the pressure. He’s won three times on the Tour this year, including The Open at Royal Birkdale in July. Dustin Johnson is a general 8/1 and is currently the world number one but he’s not done well in this elite tournament in the past.
Our first bet in the alternative market comes in the Top 5 Finish Betting with Justin Rose. The Englishman tied for second in 2015 and was runner-up in 2012. The Olympic champion has not won a Tour event since 2015 but is a dangerous man to write off. He only lost the Masters to Sergio Garcia in a play-off earlier this year and loves being in the limelight in tournaments such as this so the 12/5 available with Boylesports looks value as Rose still has an outside chance of winning the FedEx Cup if he wins at East Lake.
Boylesports have a variety of sports to bet on from Greyhounds, Golf, American Football, Boxing, Baseball, Basketball and Tennis and to lesser known sports such as, Cycling, Darts, Ice Hockey, Motorsport, Pool, Snooker, Speedway and many more.
In the same market, Hideki Matsuyama is 7/2 with Boylesports. The Japanese number one is currently seventh in the FedEx Cup standings and arrives in good form. He will surely improve on his previous best of 23rd in the Tour Championship.
Boylesports are one of a couple of major bookmakers offering each-way betting down to fifth place in the Tour Championship and that makes the 14/1 for Jon Rahm in the Outright Betting appear attractive. The American has thrived the FedEx Cup series so far and starts this finale fifth in the standings.
Tour Championship Top 5 Finish Selected Odds
Jordan Spieth 10/11
Dustin Johnson 6/4
Rickie Fowler 17/10
Jason Day 21/10
Justin Thomas 21/10
Jon Rahm 11/5
Justin Rose 12/5
Marc Leishman 3/1
Paul Casey 16/5
Hideki Matsuyama 7/2
Brooks Koepka 18/5
Matt Kuchar 4/1
Sergio Garcia 5/1
