What a month of golf we have ahead of us! The next three weeks will see three massive FedEx Cup playoff events take place, culminating in the Tour Championship on the 4th of September! Following that, we head straight into the 2020 U.S. Open.
The playoffs get underway this week with the annual Northern Trust, set to be played from TPC Boston starting on Thursday! As usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the event below.
Northern Trust Betting Tips
With $9,500,000 up for grabs over the next two weeks and a whopping $15,000,000 on the line in the Tour Championship, imaginably, the fields for the next three weeks will be staked to the brim with the best talent in the world!
The Field
There is only one mode of qualification for the FedEx Cup playoffs, and that is of course, finishing in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings. The top 125 qualify for the Northern Trust, that field is then reduced to just 70 for the BMW Championship next week before being cut again to the top 30 for the Tour Championship.
As the only winner of three events this season, Justin Thomas tops the FedEx Cup standings and will enter the playoffs with a healthy advantage over his counterparts. Rounding out the top five is Colin Morikawa, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau and Sungjae Im.
Notable players to miss out on the top 125 in the standings include Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, J.B. Holmes, Branden Grace, Francesco Molinari and Luke Donald.
The Course
TPC Boston is a Par 71 at just over 7,340 yards. It was originally an Arnold Palmer design that opened in 2002 but was redesigned by Gil Hanse shortly after. The course was a long time host of another playoff event, the Dell Technologies Championship, but when the playoffs were reduced from four games to three, the event was scraped and TPC Boston became one of the courses in the rotating schedule for the Northern Trust.
TPC Boston was traditionally the easiest of the four courses when the playoffs ran across four events, and the average winning score was generally in the high teens under par. Rory McIlroy and Vijay Singh are the only two time winners at TPC Boston, while McIlroy also is the all-time leader in career earnings at the course.
Scoring is premium at TPC Boston so giving yourself the best chance to make birdie putts with high GIR% is super important. Taking advantage of the shorter Par 5’s is also critical. We’ll be targeting strong tee-to-green, GIR% and Par-5 scoring players this week.
Power Rankings
1. Justin Thomas ($13.00)
Justin Thomas sits atop the FedEx Cup standings and is the only player on tour with three wins this season. He is ranked No.1 in the world and is coming off a fantastic win at the WGC event a few weeks ago followed by a solid performance at the PGA Championship. He is an elite player from tee-to-green, ranking first in shots gained on approach and 1st in shots gained from tee-to-green. Is a former winner at TPC Boston, winning the Dell Technologies in 2017.
2. Jason Day ($23.00)
Is in some stellar form at the moment, finishing in the top 10 in his last four events on the trot. Finished T7 at the Workday, T4 at the Memorial, T6 at the WGC and T4 at the PGA Championship and also has really good pedigree at TPC Boston, missing the cut just once in his last 11 trips there including three top 10’s and eight top 25’s.
3. Bryson DeChambeau ($12.00)
Is primed to make a mockery of this course off the tee if he can hit the ball straight. Won the last tournament held at TPC Boston, the Dell Technologies Championship in 2018 and we all know what sort of form he is in at the moment. Tied for fourth at the PGA Championship a few weeks ago and is tied with Justin Thomas for the most top 10 finishes this season with nine apiece.
4. Collin Morikawa ($21.00)
The 23-year-old won his first major just a few weeks ago at the PGA Championship and at his young age is already one of the best iron players in the world. The win was his second in a matter of four weeks after winning the Workday Charity Open. Is ranked No.2 in the FedEx Cup standings and will be hunting a big pay-day at the Tour Championship in a few weeks.
5. Rory McIlroy ($15.00)
McIlroy has played six tournaments since the season resumed and although he hasn’t had a single top 10 finish, he has not missed a cut and has looked really dangerous at times. Just needs to put four quality rounds together and he will be right back in the mix. Loves TPC Boston, is a two time winner here and also a two time winner of the FedEx Cup, the only person outside of Tiger Woods to achieve that feat.
Best Bet
Give me Jason Day EVERY day this week. The Aussie has been in stellar form of late and it feels like a win is not far away. The last time he played at TPC Boston was the only time he has missed the cut in 11 tournaments there, and that was while he was battling injury. Has finished din the top 20 in seven of his 11 trips there and finished in the top 10 in his last four events in a row.
Dark Horses
Matt Kuchar ($101)
Hard to believe that Kuchar is at $101 this week. Has great pedigree at the course, playing 15 times at TPC Boston, making 13 cuts and finishing in the top 25 on six occasions and the top 10 twice.
Emiliana Grillo ($151)
Backed up two solid performances at the 3M Open and the Baracuda Championship with a T66 at the PGA Championship. Finished T7 in the last event played at TPC Boston, the 2018 Dell Technologies Championship.
