Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler Battle for the FedEx Cup
Viktor Hovland needed to shoot a course-record 61 at Olympia Fields near Chicago on Sunday to fend off Scottie Scheffler’s final-round charge and claim the BMW Championship. Now the Norwegian has to play to an equally high standard at this week’s Tour Championship to beat the world No.1 and scoop the £14.24million jackpot which goes to the FedEx Cup winner.
Scheffler heads into the season finale at East Lake near Atlanta topping the points chart and with a two-shot lead at ten-under over Hovland in the handicap scoring system which determines the victor. It would appear the battle to finish top of an outstanding heap is between these two class acts but the statistics show that while Dustin Johnson and Patrick Cantlay finished in pole position when starting as top seeds in 2020 and 2021 respectively, Rory McIlroy won from five back in 2019 and from six shots in arrears 12 months ago.
Odds Favorites for the FedEx Cup
Scheffler is no bigger than 6/4 with Sky Bet to win the FedEx Cup with McIlroy 5/2 second favourite with Betfair and Paddy Power. But we’ll remain loyal to Hovland after he cashed our 18/1 ante-post tip at the weekend, especially as he’s nicely priced at 7/2 with the same couple of firms. We’ll also back Viktor at 12/1 with BoyleSports to top the leaderboard after 72 holes.
Max Homa, who landed the each-way part of our ante-post bet at 25/1 on Sunday, should be backed at similar terms at 18/1 with the same firm as well as Unibet and BetUK while Russell Henley is finishing the season strongly and catches the eye at 28/1 with William Hill. Our final each-way selection is Matt Fitzpatrick, who fared well when finishing tied second with Scheffler at the BMW following a final-round 66. His recent form has been a tad inconsistent but if he stays strong he’s good value at 33/1 with Sky Bet.
Other Tips for Ebor Festival and Chelsea FC
• Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Oaks winner Savethelastdance is 7/2 with William Hill to win the Yorkshire Oaks at the Ebor Festival. Our other day-two tips are Flora Bermuda at 9/2 with William Hill in the Lowther, Dragon Leader (6/1 Coral) in the Yearling Stakes and Sonny Liston each-way at 10/1 with bet365 in the Clipper Handicap.
• Chelsea have just one point from two games despite starting the Premier League in decent fashion. The Blues are struggling to turn dominance into goals but are 6/1 with bet365 to beat Luton 2-0 under the Friday night lights at Stamford Bridge.
Conclusion
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler will battle it out for the FedEx Cup this week, with Scheffler being the favorite. However, Hovland is still a great value bet at 7/2 with Betfair and Paddy Power. We also recommend backing Max Homa, Russell Henley, and Matt Fitzpatrick each-way for a chance to win big. Lastly, Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Oaks winner Savethelastdance is 7/2 with William Hill to win the Yorkshire Oaks at the Ebor Festival, and Chelsea are 6/1 with bet365 to beat Luton 2-0 under the Friday night lights at Stamford Bridge.