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After a wild season that featured chaos, must-see finishes and the remarkable success of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA playoffs start this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship – the first of three PGA Tour playoff events.
The event, which takes place from Aug. 15-18 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, features the top 70 golfers in the FedExCup standings. The top 50 golfers at TPC Southwind advance to the BMW Championship at Castle Pines in Denver, while the top 30 golfers there advance to the TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
Along with earning 2,000 FedEx points, the top golfer at the event will also earn $3.6 million of the $20 million purse. Whichever golfer wins this week will be in pole position to win the $18 million that comes with a FedEx Cup championship.
This is one of the biggest events on the golf calendar, so there will be plenty of betting markets and wagering opportunities. Additionally, most of our favorite online sportsbooks provide a welcome offer for new bettors interested in joining ahead of the event.
Here’s everything you need to know about the championship, including odds for the tournament at our favorite golf betting sites.
FedEx St. Jude Championship Odds
Here are the golfers with the best odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Note: Odds are subject to change.
- Scottie Scheffler: +360
- Xander Schauffele: +700
- Rory McIlroy: +850
- Collin Morikawa: +1400
- Ludvig Aberg: +2000
- Patrick Cantlay: +2000
- Tommy Fleetwood: +2200
- Hideki Matsuyama: +2800
- Viktor Hovland: +3000
- Tony Finau: +3000
- Tom Kim: +3000
- Justin Thomas: +3500
- Corey Conners: +3500
- Aaron Rai: +3500
- Russell Henley: +3500
- Billy Horschel: +4000
- Sungjae Im: +4000
- Sahith Theegala: +4000
Tournament Stakes
This is the start of the three FedEx Cup playoff events that will help crown the FedEx Championship.
All the golfers who participate in the events earn FedEx points, and the golfer with the most points at the end of the playoffs wins the championship. The winner of the FedEx St. Jude Championship will earn 2,000 points, while 70th place will earn just 12 points.
It’s a no-cut event, meaning all 70 golfers will play for all four days. That said, only the top 50 golfers will advance to the BMW Championship next week.
As mentioned, there’s a financial incentive as well. The tournament has a $20 million purse with $3.6 million going to the winner.
What is the Course Like?
While this is only TPC Southwind’s third year hosting the FedEx St. Jude Championship, it’s hosted PGA Tour events since 1989. It plays extremely fast thanks to its Bermuda greens and rough, rewarding players with strong tee-to-green skills. It’s also known for its abundance of water hazards.
The two previous tournament winners at the course both shot 15-under, and this year’s truncated field should lead to another low winning score.
The course opened in 1988 and is a 7,244-yard par 70. The course record is 61, which has been shot three times. It has 94 bunkers and 10 water hazards, and hole No. 14 is a 239-yard Par 3 that ranks as one of the toughest Par 3’s on the PGA Tour.
Who Are the Favorites?
As usual, Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite for this event. Not only does he have six PGA wins this year, but he’s also coming off an Olympic gold medal in Paris. The world’s No. 1 golfer is at the top of his game.
Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy are the only other golfers with outright odds under +1000, and for good reason. Schauffele closed the PGA Tour season with wins at the PGA Championship and Open Championship, while McIlroy came tantalizingly close to winning the U.S. Open and has two wins on the year.
Despite having just one win over the past three years, Collin Morikawa has the fourth-best odds thanks to his steady play, while Ludvig Aberg rounds out the top five despite appearing to lose steam as the Tour went on.
Reigning champion Lucas Glover — who made three huge putts down the stretch last year and beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff — didn’t qualify for this year’s playoffs and won’t be back to defend his crown.
Past FedEx St. Jude Championship Winners
Only seven players have won multiple St. Jude Championships: Vijay Singh (four wins), Dustin Johnson (three wins), Jack Nicklaus (two wins), Seve Ballesteros (two), Ernie Els (two), Sergio Garcia (two) and Patrick Reed (two).
Here are the 10 most recent winners at the event:
- 2023: Lucas Glover (-15)
- 2022: Will Zalatoris (-15)
- 2021: Tony Finau (-20)
- 2020: Dustin Johnson (-30)
- 2019: Patrick Reed (-16)
- 2018: Bryson DeChambeau (-18)
- 2017: Dustin Johnson (-13)
- 2016: Patrick Reed (-9)
- 2015: Jason Day (-15)
- 2014: Hunter Mahan (-14)
2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship Recap
Glover came out of nowhere to win last year’s St. Jude championship, going from 112th in the standings at the end of July to win the title — his second straight PGA victory.
He made three putts of 12-plus yards in the final three holes to force a playoff with Cantlay, which he won when Cantlay hit a shot in the water. Glover became only the third player in his forties to win back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood finished in a tie for third, while Scheffler finished in a tie for 31st at six-under.
Here were the odds for the top 10 players in the field going into last year’s tournament.
- Scottie Scheffler: +650
- Jon Rahm: +850
- Rory McIlroy: +950
- Patrick Cantlay: +1700
- Viktor Hovland: +1900
- Xander Schauffele: +1900
- Collin Morikawa: +2200
- Tyrrell Hatton: +2700
- Rickie Fowler: +3000
- Tommy Fleetwood: +3000
Photo by James Gilbert/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
