Rory McIlroy has a third title in his sights, but he is among many with some work to do at the 2022 Tour Championship, which starts Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. McIlroy won the FedEx Cup title in 2016 and 2019, and a third would ease some of the sting of seeing The Open Championship slip away at St. Andrews last month. The $18 million prize that goes to the winner also would help with that. But the Northern Irishman will be starting six strokes behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler. The world's No. 1 player will be 10 under par when tees off at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday. Two strokes behind Scheffler will be reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay at 8 under. McIlroy and four others will need to get past those two, as well as Xander Schauffele (6 under) and Sam Burns (5 under). The 11th through 15 places will start at 3 under, a group that includes Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas, while Jordan Spieth is in the next group of five, which will have eight strokes to make up.
Scheffler is the 11-5 favorite to win the FedEx Cup title in the latest Tour Championship odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Cantlay (7-2), Schauffele (13-2) and McIlroy (9-1) also are top contenders, while Rahm (14-1), Thomas (25-1) and Spieth (66-1) are longer shots. Caesars also lists McIlroy as the 7-1 favorite to win without starting strokes, followed by Rahm (9-1). Scheffler (10-1), Schauffle (10-1) and Cantlay (10-1) also are favorites from the Tour Championship 2022 field to win without strokes.
Will McIlroy make history and be a relative bargain ($10,800 at DraftKings) as the anchor for your 2022 Tour Championship Fantasy golf picks? Can a player like Thomas ($9,400) or Spieth ($7,800) be the difference between whether you win or lose? Before you lock in any Fantasy golf rankings or place any bets on the 2022 Tour Championship, you need to see the Fantasy golf projections from SportsLine fantasy expert Riley Gates.
Gates is a writer for 247Sports and has covered a range of sports for nearly six years. He has followed golf closely for much longer and has a profound knowledge of the sport. He also knows what it takes to win, on the course and in fantasy sports.
Gates had another strong week at the BMW Championship, as he tabbed Cantlay as a player well worth the price ($9,900 at DraftKings) to lead your Fantasy golf picks. The reigning BMW and FedEx Cup champion was as steady as ever in the final round, hitting pressure shots and making clutch putts to close out his eighth tour victory.
At the previous week's FedEx St. Jude Championship, the expert found excellent value in his picks. All of his steals of the week made the weekend and J.T. Poston ($7,300 at DraftKings) posting a top-20 finish. He hit even bigger on another steal at the Travelers, as he was all over Sahith Theegala ($7,300) before his runner-up finish there.
Gates has been on a roll all season. He nailed the Open Championship, going with winner Cameron Smith among his outright winners despite many experts writing off the Australian. For the John Deere Classic, Gates was on 40-1 longshot Poston as a potential winner before his second tour win. Anyone who followed Gates' advice has cashed in on their Fantasy golf picks.
Now, Gates has ranked his top golfers for the 2022 Tour Championship, and you'll really want to see what he has to say. You can only see his fantasy golf rankings and Tour Championship picks at SportsLine.
2022 Tour Championship Fantasy golf expert picks
Gates loved what he saw from Rahm at last week's BMW and is backing him as a worthy anchor for your Fantasy golf team. The expert also saw how well the Spaniard played at East Lake last year and knows he is one of the most well-rounded players on the planet. Rahm finished in the top four the past two years at the Tour Championship, and his 14 under in 2021 tied for the best mark in the field without strokes. He is third on tour in total strokes gained.
On the flip side, Gates is keeping his distance from British Open champion Cameron Smith. The Australian is the sixth-most expensive player in the field at $10,400, and his game is not a good fit for East Lake. He misses too many fairways and is 149th in total driving, so he's likely to find a lot of trouble. There also has been trouble brewing around the 29-year-old for a few weeks, and he pulled out of last week's event, so he might not be in the right frame of mind to succeed. You can see who else to back and fade here.
How to set your 2022 Tour Championship Fantasy golf rankings
For the 2022 BMW Championship, Gates is touting a massive sleeper for fantasy rosters who is priced at less than $7,000 at DraftKings and is well over 60-1 to win (without strokes) at Caesars. This golfer showed at the BMW that he can go really low, and the pressure will be elsewhere this week. He could pull off a shocking result and be a huge bargain for your Tour Championship Fantasy golf picks. You can find out who it is and see the rest of Gates' Tour Championship fantasy golf picks at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 Tour Championship, and who are the top players to target for your Fantasy picks? Which overlooked players can help you win your league this week? Visit SportsLine now to get Riley Gates' Fantasy golf rankings for the 2022 Tour Championship, all from the fantasy expert who has been on fire with his picks, and find out.
