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⛳ Preview & Picks: The Tour Championship

⛳ Preview & Picks: The Tour Championship

Creator Classic, Swing Drills, and more.

Josey Orr
August 28, 2024

Good afternoon. The Caddyshanks Brain Trust is coming down to the wire. All year, our goal has been to give away picks for fun and for free, with the hope that at the end of the season we’d be up units. We certainly aren’t sharps around here and we have a lot of fun. Heading into the season finale, we are down just 3.9 units on the year. This weeks card can make or break us.

You can see every single pick we made this year here.

Here's what we've got for ya today:

Best Drill I’ve Ever Seen
Preview & Picks: BMW Championship
Shots Heard Round The World
POV: Your Bring Your Girl Golfing One Time…
Thing We’d Buy: QG x HB

The Best Drill I’ve Ever Seen

Watch: Wedge Drills To Improve Your Short Game

Preview: Tour Championship

The top 30 players on Tour are at a familiar location—East Lake Golf Club—but the course itself might not look so familiar to them anymore.

Immediately after Viktor Hovland's victory last year, architect Andrew Green set about restoring Donald Ross’s original vision for East Lake. The course was torn up from top to bottom.

Notably, Green took inspiration from a previously undiscovered aerial photograph of the course from 1949, which showed Ross’s East Lake in remarkable detail.

Each green complex has been completely redesigned, with no trace remaining of what Rees Jones left behind. Some greens are now larger, others smaller; some have squared-off corners, and some have even been moved from their original locations.

You get the point - it’s a totally different course now.

Does the Tour Championship feel inconsequential?

Of course, it does. When you compare the PGA Tour finale to other sports, it seems downright silly. Heck, it even feels that way compared to the majors.

You could argue that the NFL and MLB playoffs are limited fields, just like the ones in the PGA Tour playoffs. That's almost apples to apples—almost. In other sports, you’re rewarded for having a good regular season, usually with a bye week. However, the scoreboard starts at 0-0 for every game.

For that reason, players being rewarded with a staggered start at the Tour Championship feels off. Letting Scottie Scheffler start at 10-under feels like essentially handing him the trophy—yet, despite starting in that position the last two years, he hasn't won, as unbelievable as that sounds.

So, with all that being said, it’s technically anyone's game. And if you’re the betting type, you can actually bet on the Tour Championship without starting strokes, as if it were just a regular tournament.

📖 Read: Breaking Down The Field At The Tour Championship

🚩Location: East Lake Golf Club

💰 Purse: $100M - $25M to first

👀 Watch On: Golf Channel, NBC, Peacock, ESPN+

👑 Previous Winners:

2023 - Viktor Hovland
2022 - Rory McIlroy
2021 - Patrick Cantlay

What The Analytics Say: New course, so we’ve got little to go off of!

What Our Guts Tell Us: Play it safe, end the season strong, move on to football betting.

How To Watch The BMW Championship

Thursday, August 29: 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, August 30: 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, August 31: 1-2:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 2:30-7 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday, September 1: 12-1:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 1:30-6 p.m. ET (NBC)

Weather Report - Atlanta

Hot and humid, with a chance of Thunderstorms.

Favorites: Tour Championship

Scottie Scheffler at +115, Xander Schauffele at +230, Hideki Matsuyama at +1200, Ludvig Åberg at +1800, Rory McIlroy at +1800, Sam Burns at +3500, Collin Morikawa at +3500, Keegan Bradley at +4000, Patrick Cantlay at +4000, and Wyndham Clark at +4500.

Full Field, Tee Times, Pairings For The First Two Rounds

Shanks Picks

Odds via Fanduel.

Winner: Xander Schauffele +470 without starting strokes.
Top 5: Sam Burns +280
Top 5: Keegan Bradley +300
Top 10: Tommy Fleetwood +190
Top 10: Hovland +140
Longshot: Patrick Cantlay +4000 winner with starting strokes

Our Promos

Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

With Lucy

Flavors & Strengths For Every Golfer

I brought Lucy’s nicotine pouches to the course the other day, and they were an instant hit with the squad.

Everyone loved the flavors, and we all agreed it kept us dialed in throughout the round.

From draining a crucial putt to unwinding at the 19th hole, Lucy’s nicotine pouches and gum are the perfect companions.

👍️ Special Offer: Visit Lucy today and use promo code SHANKS to enjoy 20% off your first order, plus FREE SHIPPING. Lucy also offers a 30-day refund policy if you change your mind.

⚠️ Disclaimer: Lucy products are ONLY for adults of legal age, and every order is age-verified. WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Shots Heard Round The World

👀 Watch The First Annual Creator Classic Tonight For the first time, the most popular golf creators from around the globe will face off in "The Creator Classic presented by Blackstone," a nine-hole competition at East Lake Golf Club prior to the TOUR Championship. Read

🍁 Xander Schauffele Says It Would Be A Terrible Idea To Schedule Big Events In The Fall Sure, there is a slate of fall events, but most of the top players tend to take off most if not all those tournaments. Read

🏌️‍♀️ Lexi Thompson Added To Women’s Solheim Cup Team Lexi Thompson is playing in the Solheim Cup for the seventh straight year, one of three captain’s picks announced Tuesday as the Americans try to win back the cup from Europe. Read.