STAR PREVIEW Fri: 2020 Tour Championship with BLUE HORSESHOE

And then there were thirty. The thirty top money earners for the season square up to fight it out at the Eastlake golf club in Atlanta for an absolute barrow load of cash and the honour of being called Tour Champion for the 2020 season.

But how on earth can this week top last week? I’m not sure its possible. What a tournament the BMW Championship was and what a fightback from Jon Rahm, to snatch victory from the clutches of Dustin Johnson.

As I said in my Video preview, I really dislike the handicapped format for this week. I get it, reward the most successful for the season and all that, but I still think it stinks from a betting perspective. If DJ (starting on ten under par) or Rahm (starting on 8 under) slip the field on the first day with their improved starting scores it might just turn into a bit of a dull procession. I hope not, but the handicap set up certainly flavours the thinking when trying to make selections. With DJ and Rahm so massively short in the odds department due to their starting advantage I have tried to find a bit of value from some players who have the ability to make a birdie run and grab a place at good money, or maybe even the win if we’re lucky.

Blue Horseshoe Loves

Xander Schauffele currently at 25/1 with starsports.bet

Schauffele has good form at East Lake. He caused a shock when, still somewhat of an unknown, he stormed up the leader board to this tournament at this venue in 2017. His form hasn’t been to that standard in 2020 and he might even feel a little fortunate to be in the last thirty. But despite him not picking up a win this year he is always there or there abouts and there are signs that he is getting on top of his game. If he can keep that one sloppy round of his card, he might just cause another shock.

Justin Thomas currently at 11/2 with starsports.bet

If anyone can mow down a leader it’s JT. He starts on seven under so three shots to make up across three rounds is perfectly doable, provided DJ and Rahm don’t get off to flyers themselves. Thomas has been playing some absolutely superb golf this year and he’s a real street fighter so having to fight to catch the front two runners will be just the sort of challenge JT loves. He’s short enough price wise, but we’ll take him for the win and expect him to be right there come Monday.

Daniel Berger currently at 25/1 with starsports.bet

Mr Consistency also loves a good challenge and he won’t shirk from the fight of working to catch the leaders. He starts on four under, so he’s got a mountain to climb, but he leads the PGA tour on scoring average post lockdown and he represents good each way value.

Tony Finau currently at 55/1 with starsports.bet

It was another case of close but no cigar for Finau at the BMW Championship. A disappointing three over par third round seemed to put pay to his chances. But Finau came roaring back into contention late in the fourth round with a quite remarkable thirty strokes for the final nine to finish up five under par for the round and one under par for the tournament. That score saw him take the clubhouse lead and eventually finish tied for fifth. I have been saying for a while now that to disregard Finau due to his putting could be a major profit opportunity missed. He has been working hard on that aspect of his game with putting guru Brad Faxon, and even though he is still fragile with the flat stick it looked as though something clicked for him on the back nine at Olympia Fields, as he was draining them from everywhere. As we know, the rest of Finau’s game is solid as a rock. He certainly has the length to convert par holes into birdies across the four days and possibly grab a place from a starting point of two under par on what is a long layout at 7300 yards plus.

RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-100 points)
BACK XANDER SCHAUFFELE 1.5pt each way at 25/1 with starsports.bet
BACK JUSTIN THOMAS 2.5pt each way at 11/2 with starsports.bet
BACK DANIEL BERGER 1.5pt each way at 25/1 with starsports.bet
BACK TONY FINAU 1pt each way at 55/1 with starsports.bet

EW Terms 1/5 4 Places

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