Tour Championship 2023
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By Vegas Odds
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- — Updated
The Tour Championship is the pinnacle event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. The event is held annually in late August, becoming the famous curtain-closing event on the PGA Tour. Only the top-ranked 30 players in the FedEx Cup Playoff standings are able to compete, with the starting positions dependent on previous performances.
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East Lake Golf Club in Georgia hosts the event, as players compete for their share of the lucrative purse available. You can find out everything you need to know about the Tour Championship here in this dedicated betting guide.
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Table of Contents
Tour Championship History & Format
Since 2004, the Tour Championship has been held at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the final event of both the FedEx Cup playoffs and the PGA Tour season.
Beginning in 2019, the event switched formats to an adjusted leaderboard. This newly-formed stroked-based system is called the FedEx Cup Starting Strokes, and it gives the top-ranked players after the two playoff events — the Northern Trust and the BMW Championship – a stroke advantage coming into the contest. The staggered start is a unique format in golf, but this is what it means for the leaders in the rankings at the start of the Tour Championship:
| FedEx Cup Ranking after the BMW Championship | Stroke Advantage |
| 1 | -10 |
| 2 | -8 |
| 3 | -7 |
| 4 | -6 |
| 5 | -5 |
| 6–10 | -4 |
| 11–15 | -3 |
| 16–20 | -2 |
| 21–25 | -1 |
| 26–30 | Par |
Tour Championship Prize Money
By merely advancing to the Tour Championship, the players gain entries into the first three Majors of the following year and the WGC Mexico Championship.
The purse for the Tour Championship makes it one of the most lucrative events on the calendar. Players involved in the 2022 edition of the event were competing for an astounding overall purse of $75 million.
Meanwhile, the winning player will also receive a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a spot in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
What Happens After a 72-Hole Tie?
If players are tied at the end of the tournament, the winner will be determined through a sudden-death playoff. If players further down the ladder are tied, the FedEx Cup bonus points will be distributed using the same method the tour currently uses for money distribution in the event of a tie. If several players are tied, the total prize money of the tying positions will be averaged, and that amount will be handed over to each player in the tying spots.
Previous Tour Championship Winners
| Year | Winner | Country | Score |
| 2022 | Rory McIlroy | Northern Ireland | 263 (-21) |
| 2021 | Patrick Cantlay | USA | 265 (-21) |
| 2020 | Dustin Johnson | USA | 262 (-21) |
| 2019 | Rory Mcllroy | Northern Ireland | 267 (-18) |
| 2018 | Tiger Woods | USA | 269 (-11) |
| 2017 | Xander Schauffele | USA | 268 (-12) |
| 2016 | Rory Mcllroy | Northern Ireland | 268 (-12) |
| 2015 | Jordan Spieth | USA | 271 (-9) |
| 2014 | Billy Horschel | USA | 269 (-11) |
| 2013 | Henrik Stenson | Sweden | 267 (-13) |
| 2012 | Brandt Snedeker | USA | 270 (-10) |
| 2011 | Bill Haas | USA | 272 (-8) |
| 2010 | Jim Furyk | USA | 272 (-8) |
Course
Since 2004, the East Lake Golf Club has been the permanent host of the Tour Championship. This 7,300+ yards par 70 course was the home course of the legendary golfer Bobby Jones, and it is the oldest course in Atlanta. It was built in 1904 by Donald Ross, a Scottish golf course designer, and was later redesigned by Rees Jones in 1994.
The layout at the East Lake Golf Club is challenging for golfers of all skill levels, and with a sublime field of only 30 players, finding a strategy that points towards winners can be daunting. There aren’t any statistics that stand out; therefore, you must rely on the obvious — the winner needs to know how to hit greens and fairways and sink a lot of putts.
The key challenge at East Lake is to grind out pars, and on the greens in general. Those who putt well on the smoothly rising Bermuda greens will stand a chance. Fatigue and current form may also be an interesting angle.
Available Betting Markets
The bookmakers have started publishing odds for next year’s event right after the recent Tour Championship ends. A key to successful betting is taking advantage of all the available markets, from the outright winner and head-to-head to two-ball and three-ball.
The Tour Championship is a highly-esteemed event, and as such, it provides an abundance of betting opportunities. Here are the most popular betting markets available for this prestigious event:
- Outright winner: Bet on the golfer that will win the tournament.
- Head to Head: Bet on which golfer records the best score.
- Prop Bets: This type of bet offers a wide range of unique options from “will a particular golfer finish in the top 5” to “how high an individual golfer will place.”
- Top 5/top 10: Bet on whether a chosen player will finish in the top 5/top 10.
Tips for Betting On The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship features an elite field of the top 30 ranked players in the world, so, naturally, it’s challenging to find a formula that could point to the winner. Nevertheless, there are a couple of factors that you must consider when betting on this event if you want to make some cash.
FedEx Rankings
When it comes to the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup rankings are a significant factor to consider. As we mentioned before, the top-ranked players on the FedEx Cup leaderboard will head into the Tour Championship with a stroke advantage. Therefore, examining whether players can make up the disadvantage that they start with is essential.
Consider the Form
If it were any other tournament, we would say that the form is the essential factor to pay attention to, but we give a slight edge to the FedEx rankings for the Tour Championship. Regardless, the current form is a great indicator. If the player you decided to bet on has performed well in the previous two playoff events — the Northern Trust and the BMW Championship- then we advise proceeding with your pick. If a player has performed well in these events, it will show that he’s in good form and that he’s sufficiently motivated to win the trophy.
Weather and Course Conditions
Looking into past East Lake Golf Club performances may prove essential to your betting picks. Some players possess a skill set that’s more suitable for the conditions at this venue and are known to perform at a high level here every year.
Blustery days can be extremely frustrating in golf — good shots turn out bad, and par becomes a good score for even the top players in the world. The harder the wind blows, the higher the likelihood of making a high number on a hole becomes. Consider weather conditions, and you’ll make more accurate predictions.
