The first round of the Tour Championship, the finale to the PGA Tour season, takes place at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday with the 30 men who have qualified for the tournament looking for a fast start to put them in contention for a win this week and possibly the overall FedEx Cup prize.
Although this is not a major championship it is one of the biggest tournaments of the season which means that each pairing onto the golf course has been priced up as has a first round leader market so we have plenty to get stuck into.
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First Round Leader
With the tee times for this tournament covered across just 2hr20 from start to finish there is not going to be any draw bias or anything like that this week so we can just target who we think will start well without worrying about the elements or anything.
Given that I think Justin Rose is going to go close to winning the tournament it makes sense to back him to lead out of the gate. He is no stranger to leading big events from the front and generally when he does lead he stands the test of the four days. He co-led with Tiger Woods on his way to a second place here in 2012 and with the form he brings into the event with him I think 20/1 on him to start with a big round is decent value.
Thursday 2 balls
There are 15 groups on the golf course on Thursday with the field going out in FedEx Cup ranking order so 30th in the list will go out first and Jordan Spieth at number one is in the last group of the day. That means there are some good groups to follow. From a betting point of view I like two bets.
Sergio Garcia vs Xander Schauffele
Match tees off at 17.00 BST
Sergio Garcia is a pretty experienced campaigner around this track and he goes out with the debutant Xander Schauffele. That in itself is a big thing for the Spaniard in terms of winning this pairing but there are other things to like about it.
Garcia can’t win the FedEx Cup in all likelihood but returning to the state where he won his first major at The Masters earlier in the year I think he will free-roll in style. This course sets up well to Garcia. He is a straight hitter and tends to putt better these days than in the past. Schauffele has had a brilliant season but this might be a step too far for him. I like Garcia here.
Jordan Spieth vs Justin Thomas
Match tees off at 19.00 BST
The final group on the golf course are the two in most control of their own destiny. Jordan Spieth leads the rankings heading to Atlanta but Justin Thomas knows that if he wins the tournament he will be the FedEx Cup champion.
Going into the tournament I thought all along that whoever beats Spieth will win it and I stand by that. I think Spieth is going to go well this week. That isn’t to say that Thomas won’t but if Thomas goes well it may come later in the event. I expect Spieth to come out of the blocks quicker than his friend here.
Tips
Back J.Rose First Round Leader (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back S.Garcia to beat X.Schauffele for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back J.Spieth to beat J.Thomas for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Unibet
Back him here:
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