Justin Thomas FedEx Cup Favorite Following BMW Win-Tour Championship Presents Uneven Playing Field

Justin Thomas is the favorite heading into the Professional Golfers Assn. (PGA) Tour Championship at East Lake after winning the BMW Championship to take the lead into the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

A $15 million first-place check is on the line, and record total purse of $70 million. The PGA Tour removed the complicated points standings for the final event and ever-changing projections, with a simpler staggered beginning leaderboard.

Thomas will begin the Tour Championship on Thursday at -10. Patrick Cantlay will tee off at -8, Brooks Koepka -7, Patrick Reed -6, and Rory McIlroy -5.

As a result of the staggered start, the in Las Vegas has JT the favorite at 9/4 to win come Sunday. At those odds, bettors will need to risk $44.44 to win $100.

Cantlay and Koepka are next at 9/2, McIlroy at 8/1, and Reed and Jon Rahm rounding out the top five shortest lines at 16/1.

Following the top five players, the next five start at -4, the next five at -3, and so on, until the final five – Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Charles Howell III, Lucas Glover, and Jason Kokrak – begin at even par.

Starting as much as 10 shots back is why the odds are so heavily in the top five players favor. DeChambeau and Oosthuizen have the shortest odds of the last five at 200/1.

A couple notable one-on-one player match-ups include Rickie Fowler (+115) vs. Justin Rose (-135), and DeChambeau (even) vs. Oosthuizen (-120).

All 30 players will be winners come Sunday regardless of their play, as each golfer will earn a minimum of $395,000 for qualifying for the Tour Championship. The runner-up will receive a $5 million bonus, third place $4 million, fourth $3 million, and fifth $2.5 million. The winner will also receive a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

Defending won t be at East Lake after finishing T37 at the BMW. Woods, who added a 15th major to his Hall of Fame career in April at the Masters, failed to find his way into the top 30 on the FedEx Cup points list.

Tiger competed in only 12 events this year, the fewest of any player in the top 50. Of those moving on to the Tour Championship, Justin Rose at 16 events played the fewest rounds.

It s virtually the end of the season for me. I m going to play one Tour event in Japan. I sometimes used to go to Japan or South Africa or Australia in the fall and play. That s basically the same thing for me, Woods said Sunday.

Tiger will captain the US Presidents Cup team in December at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. But since he finished 13th on the points list, far shy of the top eight automatic qualifiers, Woods would need to name himself one of his four captain s picks if he plans on teeing it up.

The US will be heavily favored against the International squad captained by Ernie Els.