(Photo credit score: Chris Day-The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Images)
The second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs begins Thursday with the highest 50 gamers within the standings teeing off on the BMW Championship in St. Louis.
Only the highest 30 after this week advance to the Tour Championship, and our golf consultants preview the occasion at Bellerive Country Club whereas sharing their favourite prop picks and finest bets to win.
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: St. Louis, Aug. 20-23
Course: Bellerive Country Club (Par 70, 7,448 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $3.6M)
Defending Champion: Scottie Scheffler
FedEx Cup Leader: Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 10 a.m.-noon ET (ESPN), 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS); Sunday: noon-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 9:15 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
X: @BMWChamps
PROP PICKS
–J.J. Spaun to Beat Rickie Fowler (-116 at DraftKings): Both gamers tied for thirty fourth final week, and Fowler enters this week sitting on the Tour Championship bubble at No. 30. Fowler has put collectively a strong stretch of golf with three top-20s in his previous 4 begins. Spaun tied for twenty third ultimately 12 months’s BMW, and customarily has posted stronger leads to marquee occasions over the previous two years, together with a T7, a T12 and a T5 in his previous three signature occasions.
–Si Woo Kim Top Asian Finisher (+110 at BetMGM): Kim has but to win this season however he is as much as a career-best thirteenth on this planet rankings following his runner-up end final week. That was Kim’s fifth top-10 end in his previous eight begins. The different two gamers on this prop are Tom Kim at +188 and Sungjae Im at +260. Im is coming off a T5 that vaulted him into this occasion, whereas Tom Kim posted a strong T12 final week as nicely.
–Hideki Matsuyama Top 10 Finish (+168 at DraftKings): Our top-20 end prop on Matsuyama paid final week and we will maintain driving the Japanese star. Matsuyama has grinded by means of the summer time and has quietly stacked up six consecutive finishes of T14 or higher. That contains 4 consecutive top-10s, and he solely must beat 40 gamers to run that streak to 5 this week.
BEST BETS
–Scheffler (+275 at BetMGM) is the defending champion and coming off an eight-stroke victory final week. He has been backed by 17.3% of the outright winner bets and 24.3% of the full cash, greater than twice as a lot in each markets than some other participant within the area.
–Ludvig Aberg (+1600) additionally has consecutive top-10s, together with a T7 final week and a T9 at The Open Championship.
–Rory McIlroy (+1600) is the one participant with three FedExCup titles and has seven top-10 finishes in 15 earlier occasion begins. Despite a 66th-place end final week, McIlroy is second within the area with 9.1% of all cash wagered on this week’s winner.
–Tommy Fleetwood (+1600) has completed no decrease than T14 in his previous seven begins.
–Sam Burns (+1600) has six consecutive top-20 finishes, together with a runner-up on the U.S. Open and a T3 final week to achieve a career-high seventh on this planet rankings. He’s the guide’s second-biggest legal responsibility this week, having been backed by 7.4% of the full bets.
–Xander Schauffele (+1800) hasn’t received in 2026 however has posted consecutive top-10 finishes coming into this week.
–Matt Fitzpatrick (+2200) has three victories this season together with three extra top-3 finishes.
–Si Woo Kim (+2500) at No. 4 is the highest-ranked participant within the FedExCup standings with out a win in 2026. He is coming off a runner-up final week.
–Viktor Hovland (+2800) received the BMW in 2023 en path to profitable the FedExCup title. He has just lately returned to his earlier swing coach, and is the guide’s largest legal responsibility this week. The Norwegian has been backed by 8.8% of all cash wagered on the winner.
NOTES
–The 50 gamers who certified for the second leg of the playoffs additionally earn entry into all signature occasions and The Players Championship in 2027.
–There are not any cuts in playoff occasions.
–Fleetwood is looking for to develop into the primary participant to efficiently defend a FedExCup title.
–The BMW dates again to 1899 and is the oldest non-major occasion on the PGA Tour. Bellerive additionally performed host to the occasion in 2008, when it was received by Camilo Villegas. Adam Scott is the one participant on this week’s area who additionally performed in 2008. There are 17 gamers who competed within the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive.
–Of the 50 gamers within the area, 10 will make their debuts on the BMW Championship and 17 will probably be looking for to advance to the Tour Championship for the primary time.
–Im was the lone participant to maneuver inside the highest 50 after the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which bounced Keith Mitchell out of this week’s occasion.
TOP 30 BUBBLE
Ryan Fox (No. 25), Tom Kim (No. 26), Scott (No. 27), Kurt Kitayama (No. 28), Bud Cauley (No. 29), Fowler (No. 30), Gary Woodland (No. 31), J.T. Poston (No. 32), Nicolai Hojgaard (No. 33), Alex Noren (No. 34), Jake Knapp (No. 35).
–Field Level Media