Football 
Tennis 
Horse Racing FedEx St. Jude Championship Best Bet: 31.0 Pick For This Weekend’s Action
FedEx St. Jude Championship Best Bet: Thursday, August 10th
TPC Southwind is the host course for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. We have analysed the betting markets to bring you our FedEx St. Jude Championship best bet.
In this article:
FedEx St. Jude Championship Preview
Thursday, 10th August, 12:00 (UK)
TPC Southwind hosts the FedEx St. Jude Championship for only the second time as a FedEx Cup playoff event. However, TPC Southwind was the host course for a WGC event in 2020 and 2021 and hosted the FedEx St Jude Classic from 1989-2018. We’re not short of course form to analyse this week.
At 7,243 yards, TPC Southwind will play as a par 70, just as it has in previous years. Originally a Ron Prichard design, the course has undergone several renovations since it opened in 1988. Course alterations were made in 2004 and again in 2020.
TPC Southwind is one of only a handful of PGA Tour courses which has Zoysia Grass in the fairways. Bermuda rough and putting surfaces are more common however, with the rough set to be half an inch taller than last year’s event. The greens are slightly smaller than average and ball striking is very much the order of the day.
Expect to see plenty of balls in the water this week. Water hazards feature on almost every hole and since 2003, TPC Southwind has seen more balls find the water than any other course on the PGA Tour.
A mixed weather forecast could potentially cause several interruptions to play. Thunderstorms are forecast for every day apart from Friday and the course could well be softened by rain on each of those days.
Those players who are currently ranked 51st to 70th in the FedEx Rankings will be looking to improve their positions this week. Only the top 50 in the standings will progress to next week’s BMW Championship.
FedEx St. Jude Championship Best Bet
Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm make a return to action this week and they rightly head up the betting. All three have taken time off following The Open Championship though and given none of the trio have yet recorded a top three finish at TPC Southwind, I’m happy to consider others.
The top two at last year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship played the week before at the Wyndham Championship and in 2021, the winner and one of the two players who finished tied second also played the week before. In short, those players who have remained competitive are preferred to those players who have taken a few weeks off after the final Major of the year.
Looking at who played last week, Sungjae Im and Sam Burns are the two players who caught my eye. It is Burns though who makes most appeal and he looks primed for a strong end to the season. Finishes of 20th and 2nd at TPC Southwind indicate just how much he likes the course and a third consecutive top 20 wouldn’t be a surprise.
It should be noted that last year’s 20th place finish came off the back of several weeks off. Burns had been on holiday in Greece and then attended a friend’s wedding prior to teeing it up at TPC Southwind. He was certainly going into that event less prepared than he is this week.
Burns warmed up for the start of this year’s Playoffs with a 14th place finish at the Wyndham Championship. That finish was his second top 20 in his last three starts, the exception being a missed cut at The Open. I’m not overly concerned by that given the difference in course layouts, anyone can have a bad few days playing links golf.
A poor performance with the driver in last week’s opening round saw Burns lose strokes off the tee but the rest of his game was in good shape. Burns gained strokes on the greens and with his approach shots and a small improvement in his driving could see him go well at a venue he clearly likes.
Ranked number 19 in the standings, Burns grew up playing on Bermuda greens and it is without doubt his favoured putting surface. With only a 70 man field this week, you can take the five each way places with odds of 31.0 with bet365.
- Selection: Sam Burns EW (1/4 1-5)
- Best Odds: 31.00 (bet365)
- Stakes: 1/10
Odds via bet365 as at 11.55 August 8th 2023. Odds may now differ.
RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING
At bettingexpert, we always take a responsible approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Responsible Gambling hub.
