Golf picks: FedEx St. Jude Championship predictions & best bets from expert Joe Champion
The PGA Tour's three-week season finale begins in Tennessee as TPC Southwind hosts the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Sixty-nine of the top 70 on the FedEx Cup standings will tee it up in Memphis – Daniel Berger is the only eligible absentee – then the top 50 after Southwind progress to next week's BMW Championship, before the top 30 battle it out for the Tour Championship at East Lake.
This is an elite no-cut PGA Tour event and all 69 players have some sort of chance, although none more so than Scottie Scheffler, who is +500 to win for the first time in almost seven months. Scheffler continues to knock heavily on the door, following fourth at the Open Championship with a runner-up finish in the 3M Open, but these near-misses have somewhat undermined the ruthlessness of one of the game's most efficient title collectors. Scheffler is well suited to the demands of Southwind, a tough course where churning out greens in regulation is the key to success, but his air of invincibility has been dented and any slip-up will open the door for his rivals. Let's break down my expert golf predictions for the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week.
FedEx St. Jude Championship best bet: Xander Schauffele (+1800)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
At 11th on the FedEx Cup standings, Xander Schauffele looks booked for East Lake, but he will be determined to lift a first trophy of the year having come closest of all when a runner-up at the Rocket Classic on his most recent start. The two-time Major champion produced a superb tee-to-green performance in Detroit and this week returns to a venue where he finished sixth in a WGC event in 2020 and runner-up in 2024.
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FedEx St. Jude Championship pick: Sam Burns (+2200)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Few in this week's field boast better recent form than Sam Burns, who has finished fourth, 20th, second, 12th and third in his last five appearances. Burns failed to convert a winning chance at the British Open, but his iron play has been magnificent and, back on the Bermuda greens he relishes at a course where he was second in 2021 and fifth in 2024, he holds concrete claims.
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FedEx St. Jude Championship prediction: Viktor Hovland (+4000)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Viktor Hovland finished only 32nd in last year's St. Jude, but he had previously progressive form at Southwind, culminating in a runner-up finish – tied with Schauffele – in the 2024 tournament. The Norwegian missed the cut at the British Open but he defeated Scheffler in a playoff at the Travelers Championship in June and looks capable of securing a quickfire PGA Tour double.
FedEx St. Jude Championship longshot pick: Akshay Bhatia (+7500)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.
Akshay Bhatia missed the weekend at the Open and the Rocket Classic, but his irons looked sharp in Detroit and he could easily return to prominence in an event where he has form figures of 12-6 from his only appearances. Bhatia was previously fifth at the Travelers and he also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, beating two-time Southwind winner Berger in a playoff.
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