Matthew Ireland’s selections for the first event of the play-offs include an in-form Korean and a three-time FedEx Cup winner.
The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings are in Memphis, Tennessee this week for the first play-off event, the St Jude Championship.
Major winners Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele head an all-star cast at TPC Southwind for the first of three lucrative events which culminate in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club next month.
There is no cut with the top 50 in the field on Sunday night going on to next week’s BMW Championship in Denver.
Best bets
Sungjae Im to win
33/1
Rory McIlroy to win
17/2
Davis Thompson to win
66/1
Im in trim for Southwind win
It’s a loaded field heading for Memphis and with few of the usual statistical categories offering much in the way of the gold, punters could well be inclined to simply home in on the top dogs.
Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy will have loads of support and understandably so, in Scheffler’s case even though he hasn’t posted a top-ten in five previous visits to Southwind.
And you do get big-priced winners here – just look at Lucas Glover last year. And Glover, of course, was going back-to-back after winning the Wyndham a week earlier; does that mean Englishman Aaron Rai, triumphant in North Carolina, gets shunted up the shortlist?
As ever, there is much to consider, and the first vote goes to Sungjae Im, who was pre-tournament favourite at the Wyndham and nicely in touch after rounds of 68-67-67. His final-round 72 was very much an exception, especially of late when his form has been electric.
Since winning in Korea in April, Im has played ten events and been top-12 in seven of them with three top-fives.
He has been top-12 on each of his last two trips to the St Jude and fares well at East Lake, one of the comparable courses to Southwind.
McIlroy can flourish in his comfort zone
Rory McIlroy went well at the St Jude last year, carding 67-66-68-65 to finish in a tie for third place and one shot outside the play-off.
The world number three has had a nice break following the Olympics in Paris, where he finished with two rounds of 66 for a share of fifth, and he continues to look a threat whenever he tees it up in events that aren’t majors.
This isn’t a bomber’s course by any stretch but McIlroy has enjoyed wins this year in Dubai and at Quail Hollow as well as a string of top-tens.
With the US Open at his mercy he blinked first in his battle with Bryson DeChambeau while at the Open Championship at Troon he simply played the wrong type of game. He was never going to win.
The St Jude might be a big deal to many but it’s not as big a deal as a major which has become McIlroy’s stumbling block. At Southwind, however, he should be a huge contender.
Can Davis dream of debut delight?
At a much bigger price, consider Davis Thompson, who is making his TPC Southwind debut after bulldozing his way into the world’s top 50.
The Atlanta golfer’s 2024 has turned into an unforgettable campaign with six top-20 finishes since the middle of May, including victory at the John Deere Classic.
He was T12 at the Wyndham at the weekend with three rounds of 66 offset by a final-day 71, and he looks nerveless, a useful commodity for a first-timer.
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