The FedExCup Playoffs have arrived, and only the top 70 players in the standings remain to compete for massive purses and plenty of other perks.

After this week, that number gets whittled down to 50.

After that, 30.

And whoever outlasts that final field of 30 will be crowned FedExCup champion.

That’s the gist of how the FedExCup Playoffs work these days.

There used to be a thing called “Starting Strokes,” but everyone hated it, so they got rid of it.

Frankly, people aren’t exactly in love with the playoff format in general, and the new TOUR leadership has already made plans to scrap it after 2027 in favor of match play.

We support this endeavor.

Apparently, FedEx—who has spent more than $1 billion investing in the PGA TOUR since 2007—does not.

There are rumors circulating this week that FedEx is considering pulling out when its current deal expires after 2027.

Future of FedEx’s PGA TOUR Deal in Question as Playoffs Begin

So, as we tee off the penultimate playing of the FedExCup Playoffs in their current form, who is most in danger of missing the top 50, seeing their season come to an end, and what do they need to do to keep going?

Here’s the MINIMUM FINISH required at the FedEx St. Jude Championship for players to play their way into the top 50, make the BMW and qualify for 2027 Signature Events.

51. Harris English: solo 31st
52. Max Homa: two-way T25
53. Sungjae Im: two-way T24
54. Jordan Spieth: solo… pic.twitter.com/HtWVe0uXuD

— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) August 10, 2026

Key Stats for the St. Jude Championship

• Prioritize accuracy over raw distance. TPC Southwind favored accurate drivers last year, so lean toward players who consistently find fairways and avoid the big numbers rather than pure bombers.
• Ball-striking mattered more than putting. Approach play accounted for 37.6% of scoring variance, while off-the-tee jumped to 21.2%—well above the PGA TOUR average. Target strong Strokes Gained: Approach + Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee profiles.
• This is a course where talent tends to show up. The skill-separation slope was 1.34, meaning better players separated themselves significantly more than they do at a typical TOUR stop. Combined with the relatively low 2.48 scoring standard deviation, that points toward backing elite and favorite-tier players over lottery-ticket longshots.

 

The Details

Previous Winners

How to Watch

Featured Groups

The TOUR is doing something slightly different this week, with coverage available across both ESPN’s linear channels and ESPN+.

Frankly, it’s a little confusing.

→ You can read all about it here

---

Weekly Bets: St. Jude Championship

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew.

If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% off.

---

Keith Stewart’s Picks

 

Sam Burns (+2200, DraftKings)

If there was ever a venue built for Sam Burns’ 2026 season, TPC Southwind is the place.

A fantastic southern scorer, Burns has five career PGA TOUR wins south of Fort Worth, Texas.

Bermuda Burns is back, and the combination of his excellent iron play, driver acumen, and TOUR-leading putting has Sam poised to take home career title No. 6.

 

Tom Kim (+5100, DraftKings)

In 2022, Tom Kim won four starts after earning his first PGA TOUR victory at the Wyndham Championship.

Now, four starts after his fourth TOUR win at the Genesis Scottish Open, Kim gets another accuracy-driven course that fits his game perfectly.

Sedgefield and Southwind are strong comparison courses, and Tom’s success in Greensboro should translate well to this TPC layout.

On a mission to make the TOUR Championship, Kim should continue scoring on venues where precision matters more than power.

 

---

Caddyshanks Picks

 

Patrick Cantlay (+3100, DraftKings)

Ole Patty Ice hasn’t found the winner’s circle in a while, but he has a history of playing well at Southwind—and an even better history of winning in the playoffs.

The last time we saw him was at the Rocket Classic, where he finished T8, so we know the form is there.

 

Hideki Matsuyama (+2900, DraftKings)

Well, I think I’ve picked Hideki four other times this year, and I have been dead wrong every single time.

That will not deter me from picking him again.

His recent form has been really good, and his course history at Southwind is even better.

He won here in 2024, and I think he can do it again.

Just like that, another PGA TOUR regular season has come and gone.

This week’s Wyndham Championship is the final event before the FedExCup Playoffs begin, and there is quite a bit on the line for some players.

The top dogs—guys like Scottie and Rory—can afford to take the week off. But only the top 70 players advance to the playoffs, which means there are always a handful of guys hovering just above or below that magic number.

We call them the Bubble Boys.

The FedExCup Playoffs may not carry the history or weight of the majors, but they still come with massive purses, valuable exemptions, and plenty of other perks.

That makes this week meaningful for the players, even though we all know nobody is going to ask them how many FedExCups they won when their careers are over.

This year, the list of guys on the bubble includes some notable names:

• Jackson Koivun
• Keegan Bradley
• Jason Day
• Brooks Koepka
• Tony Finau

Here’s what each player needs to do:

• Jackson Koivun basically needs to perform better than Mac Messnier, who is ranked 71st.
• Keegan Bradley needs a two-way tie for 38th or better.
• Jason Day needs a two-way tie for 12th or better.
• Brooks Koepka needs to finish solo fourth or better.
• Tony Finau needs a two-way tie for third or better.

Key Stats for the Wyndham Championship

• Prioritize putting and approach play. Strokes Gained: Putting has the strongest correlation with success here at 0.621, followed by Strokes Gained: Approach at 0.574.
• Accuracy matters far more than distance. Driving accuracy has a 0.336 correlation, while driving distance is nearly irrelevant at 0.034. Do not overvalue bombers this week.
• Target strong mid-iron players. More than 42% of approach shots come from 125–175 yards, making proximity and scoring performance from that range especially important.

The Details

Previous Winners

How to Watch

Featured Groups

 

ESPN+ will have featured-group coverage of the Wyndham Championship.

→ View all featured groups and tee times

---

Weekly Bets: Wyndham Championship

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew.

If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% off.

---

Keith Stewart’s Picks

 

Ben Griffin (+3300, FanDuel)

 

Bounce back, Ben Griffin? You bet.

Four of the last seven Wyndham winners—and eight of the last 20—have strong Carolina ties.

In four starts at Sedgefield, Griffin has finished T11, T7, missed cut, and fourth. The key to Ben’s success at this event is twofold.

First, Griffin is a great Bermudagrass player. Ranked second in the field on Bermuda greens and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting, he has a serious edge.

The second is his approach play. Griffin is a master with a wedge in his hands on a positional layout where the driver is used less frequently.

Blades Brown (+6000, DraftKings)

 

There’s one more young star on the PGA TOUR ready for a breakout win, and that’s Blades Brown.

Brown is a scoring machine who already has six top-10 finishes across the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR this year. Two of those have come in his last two starts.

With only one finish worse than T22 in his last 11 tournaments, the consistency Blades has shown at 19 years old is extremely impressive.

If Gen Z is trending, Brown is definitely one of its generational players.

---

Caddyshanks Picks

 

Aaron Rai (+3100, DraftKings)

 

Rai won the PGA Championship back in May, finished 10th at the U.S. Open in June, and then missed the cut at both the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open.

He doesn’t exactly check the box for recent form, but he certainly checks the box for course fit.

He won here in 2024, and he is the most accurate driver in the field.

 

Brian Harman (+5900, DraftKings)

 

Harman hasn’t had the best year of his career, but he did have his best week of the season last week, so that’s something, right?

He is another accurate driver of the golf ball. While his approach play hasn’t been good enough overall this year, it has been strong on shorter approaches from the fairway.

He should have plenty of those opportunities on a shorter course this week.

Some new things, some old.

Detroit Golf Club is one of the old things.

The club was founded in 1899, and Donald Ross completed his two course designs in 1916—which is also the year roughly 85% of Congress was born, funny enough.

Last year, that old course underwent a renovation, with two notable changes:

• They changed the par from 72 to 70 by converting holes 7 and 17 from par 5s into long par 4s.
• They restored Ross’s original greens, which should hopefully challenge the players’ short games a bit more.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic itself is relatively new, as far as tournaments go, but Rocket Mortgage has announced that it will be ending its sponsorship after eight years.

That’s understandable, considering this tournament has largely been a dud due to weak fields, unknown winners, and soft scoring conditions.

But, funny enough, there’s another new wrinkle this year.

For whatever reason, 21 of the top 50 players decided to play this week, giving the newly renovated course its strongest field in tournament history.

Finally, the old stats might not matter, but here’s how Detroit Golf Club played last year, when the winning score was 22-under.

Key Stats for the Rocket Mortgage Classic

• Expect another birdie fest. Detroit Golf Club averaged 2.32 strokes under par per round, so prioritize elite birdie-makers and players who consistently gain strokes on easy courses.
• Lean toward distance over driving accuracy. The course favored bombers in 2025, suggesting longer hitters can attack the par 5s and leave themselves shorter approaches without being heavily punished off the tee.
• Approach play and putting should drive your card. Those two categories accounted for roughly 74% of the scoring variance, while the course produced less separation by overall skill than a typical TOUR stop. That makes hot iron players, strong putters, and longer-priced contenders more appealing.

The Details

Previous Winners

How to Watch

Featured Groups

PGA TOUR Studios is piloting an announcer-free stream for this week’s Rocket Classic. The stream will debut Thursday on PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ and cover all four rounds.

→ Learn More

---

Weekly Bets: Rocket Mortgage Classic

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew.

If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% off.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Si Woo Kim (+2200, FanDuel)

At some point, Si Woo Kim will be rewarded for all his exceptional play.

Coming off back-to-back top 10s across the Atlantic, Kim has gained strokes on the field tee to green in 18 of 20 starts—and in each of his last seven.

He ranks first in the field on approach over the last 20 rounds and sixth in birdies or better percentage, so Si Woo will score. The new greens should only increase his advantage.

His proximity to the hole from both short and long range is exemplary, and his around-the-green acumen helps him save shots when necessary.

With four top 10s in his last six starts, this shootout has Si Woo written all over it.

Davis Thompson (+6100, DraftKings)

Fresh off a T7 at the 3M Open, Davis Thompson fits the mold of a strong Rocket Classic contender.

Thompson gained 11 strokes on the field tee to green in Minnesota. A past champion at the John Deere Classic, Davis has already proven that he can win a regular-season event.

Generally a below-average putter on TOUR, Thompson has gained strokes on the greens throughout his starts at Detroit Golf Club.

In four appearances, Davis has gained an average of five total strokes on the field and finished runner-up here in 2024.

---

Caddyshanks Picks

Hideki Matsuyama (+3300, DraftKings)

Accuracy with the driver can sometimes hold Hideki back, but he won’t need it as much this week.

Plus, he’s hot right now. His last three finishes were T14, T14, and T3.

Akshay Bhatia (+4500, DraftKings)

Akshay hasn’t won since his triumph at the AP Invitational, but his strokes gained numbers this season—particularly with the putter—are among the best in the field.

Great putting is a superpower.

Yesterday, Jackson Koivun won the 3M Open in dominant fashion at the ripe old age of 21.

In the process, he held off a Sunday charge from Scottie Scheffler, set the tournament scoring record at 25-under, and joined a very short list of the youngest winners in PGA TOUR history.

It was an incredible performance, and golf social media has been on fire talking about him.

A reminder that @DataGolf had Koivun ranked as their best amateur golfer since 2010 ahead of some massive, massive names.

Now a win by 3 shots in his 3rd pro start as a 21 year old.

And by 5 shots over everyone that isn’t the number one player in the world.

SHEESH. pic.twitter.com/f9rXI3fto1

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 26, 2026

If you’re a casual golf fan, you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s already been anointed as the next “chosen one.”

The truth is, nobody knows.

Sports fans love fortune telling. We love believing we can spot greatness before everyone else. Sometimes we can.

If you watched Derrick Henry run over high school defenders, you knew he was going pro one day. LeBron James was on national television before he could legally buy a lottery ticket. Bryce Harper landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16.

But there are plenty of times when fans and prognosticators get it wrong.

For every LeBron, there’s a Greg Oden. For every Bryce Harper, there’s a Todd Marinovich. For every can’t-miss prospect who becomes exactly what everyone expected, there are dozens who looked every bit as inevitable… until they weren’t.

Golf is no different.

Peter Uihlein was the No. 1 amateur in the world for longer than several eventual PGA TOUR winners. After winning the U.S. Amateur in 2010, many people thought he was the next great American star.

He’s never won on the PGA TOUR.

Matthew Wolff looked destined to become one of the game’s biggest names after winning on TOUR at 20 and finishing runner-up in both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship before turning 22.

Today, he’s trying to rebuild his career.

Even Jordan Spieth reminds us how dangerous expectations can be, to a certain degree.

Spieth won on the PGA TOUR at 19. By 23, he had already won three majors.

At the time, it felt almost impossible that he’d go through the next decade without adding another one.

Yet here we are.

Today is Spieth’s 33rd birthday, and those three majors are still the only ones on his résumé.

Golf has a funny way of humbling predictions. So, we won’t make any about Jackson Koivun.

Jackson Koivun might become the next Tiger Woods.

He might become the next Jordan Spieth.

He might become the next Peter Uihlein.

Or he might carve out an entirely different career that none of us could possibly predict today.

The only thing we know for sure is this:

Winning a PGA TOUR event at 21 while staring down Scottie Scheffler is ridiculously impressive.

What’s Next?

The Rocket Mortgage Classic, which has a loaded field this year.

Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds

• Cameron Young (+1000)
• Xander Schauffele (+1650)
• Chris Gotterup (+1800)
• Si Woo Kim (+1850)
• Wyndham Clark (+1850)
• Patrick Cantlay (+2150)
• Jackson Koivun (+2300)
• Russell Henley (+2400)
• Ben Griffin (+2800)
• J.J. Spaun (+3400)

Let’s just get this out of the way – my predictions last week couldn’t have been more wrong. They were bad – laughably bad, even. And let that be a lesson to all of us: never bet on England, or an Englishman, for anything. They’ll always come up short. Tommy Fleetwood, as kind and likable as he is, is sort of the poster child for the phenomenon, and I’m not sure what it will take for the English to break their funk. But the funk is real, it is ongoing, and hopefully the Gulf Stream keeps it on that side of the pond. Back to America we go.

Quick 3M Open Preview

TPC Twin Cities is a far cry from the links golf we watched over the last two weeks, but they’re calling for some wind, and there is water on 15 of the 18 holes, so maybe the course will put up a little fight. With that being said, the wide fairways and benign rough set this course up to be a bit of a birdie fest, and it usually benefits the accurate drivers. Last year, Kurt Kitayama won with a score of 23-under. Right now, Vegas has the winning score line set at 261.5, which gives you an indication that scoring will likely end up in the 15- to 20-under range this year. Typically, the field for the 3M Open isn’t so top-heavy, but this year the world No. 1 is competing, and the odds reflect the disparity in talent. Scottie’s odds are just +250 to win, which, as you already know, is gross. Those are peak Tiger odds, despite the fact that he’s only won once this year. The next closest player on the odds board is Kurt Kitayama at +2500, but recent winner Tom Kim, along with major champions Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland, and Lucas Glover, highlight the field.

Key Stats For The 3M Open

• Prioritize accurate drivers over bombers. TPC Twin Cities has consistently favored players who keep the ball in play, and 2025 strongly rewarded driving accuracy. With water lurking throughout the course, avoiding penalty strokes is often more valuable than chasing extra distance.
• Target elite iron players. Nearly 40% of the scoring separation at TPC Twin Cities comes from approach play, making Strokes Gained: Approach one of the most predictive stats. Golfers flushing their irons tend to separate themselves here.
• Expect a birdie fest, not a survival test. TPC Twin Cities routinely plays well under par, and calm conditions can push winning scores into the 20-under range. Lean toward players with high Birdie or Better rates who can stay aggressive for four straight days.

The Details

Previous Winners

How To Watch

Featured Groups

More Details Here

---

Weekly Bets: 3M Open

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community. Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% OFF.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Jackson Suber (+5000 BetMGM)

In his last seven starts, Jackson Suber has three top-6 finishes. In contention again at The Open Championship, it didn’t work out, but consider the moment. Suber has been great in these weaker-field events, gaining a ton of shots tee-to-green. That DNA is exactly what we need for the 3M. Compound his competitive play with a FedExCup rank of 79. Jackson can’t take a week off after The Open. Suber needs to push himself if he plans to make the playoffs.

Max Homa (+6000 Fanatics)

Max Homa is gaining an average of 5.9 strokes on the field over his last five starts. Now Homa heads to a venue where he has played well. Max finished T3 here in 2020 and has played the weekend in every 3M start (3) of his career. When Homa is excelling tee-to-green, he keeps the ball in play, and that’s a major key at TPC Twin Cities. Positive vibes at this venue and a ball-striking trend that cannot be ignored. Looking for a former PGA TOUR winner with odds value in Minnesota? You’ll be happy with Homa.

---

Caddyshanks Picks

Scottie Scheffler (+250 FanDuel)

The “bet Scottie every week” strategy will likely be unprofitable – I will go down with this ship.

Emiliano Grillo (+10000 DraftKings)

Alright, there’s an element to this pick that is… unscientific. The man’s wife just gave birth to a baby boy, which is good vibes (see how well Sam Burns played last week?), and he has a history of playing well at this course specifically, with multiple top-10 finishes.

Lucas Glover (+10000 FanDuel)

Lucas Glover has been heating up, with top-5 finishes in each of his last two starts, and the number on him provides a lot of value. I also love him as a Top 20 if you’re not feeling the outright market.

The final men’s major of the year starts this week.

It is July.

That feels insane, because it is insane.

Rory McIlroy said this week that he’d like to see golf’s major championship season stretched out beyond its current four-month sprint. The calendar got squeezed when the PGA Championship moved from August to May, and now the sport basically crams its four biggest events into one giant blur from April through July.

From a player perspective, you can see the benefit. If you find something, you can ride it. Get hot at the Masters, carry it into the PGA, survive the U.S. Open, and show up at The Open still feeling like you’re in rhythm.

For the rest of us, it’s a little different.

Golf spends all winter trying to convince casual fans that the season has started. Then the Masters shows up, everyone remembers golf exists, and we get the best stretch of the entire year. Augusta. PGA. U.S. Open. The Open.

Four months of actual juice.

And then the Claret Jug gets handed out before August, and the sport basically asks everyone to stay emotionally invested through FedExCup math, Ryder Cup speculation, and whatever LIV headline is making everyone tired that week.

This is where Rory is right.

Golf’s biggest problem is not that it lacks good events. It’s that the events people care about most are packed too tightly together. The majors should feel like tentpoles. Right now, they feel like a bender.

The Guardian reported that Rory is not alone here, either. Scottie Scheffler has also acknowledged the season feels condensed, and Jon Rahm has pushed the idea even further, suggesting golf should think bigger globally with a major in places like Australia, Asia, or another part of Europe.

That is probably a much harder conversation, because the majors are run by different organizations, with different histories, different priorities, and different television deals. Nobody is just moving the Masters because we all think September needs a little more golf.

But the broader point is still obvious.

The current setup does not serve the fan as well as it could.

Give us the Masters in April. Give us the U.S. Open in June. Give us The Open later in July, and move the PGA back to August. Let the season breathe a little bit. Let every major have its own runway.

Because right now, the best part of the golf calendar is over before most of America has even gone on summer vacation.

That’s bad business. It’s bad momentum. And most importantly, it gives all of us way too much time to start pretending we understand the FedExCup standings or even care about them.

The Genesis Scottish Open has been on a really good run the last few years.

Xander’s win in 2022. Rory with that insane, sawed-off long iron in 2023. Bobby Mac winning his home Open. And, of course, the kid from New Jersey staring down Rory on Sunday last year.

All to say, the Scottish Open is quietly becoming one of the better events on TOUR.

The field is always strong because it falls the week before The Open, and guys want to get over there, get adjusted, and remember what golf looks like when it’s played the way it was meant to be played.

It would be great to see these guys play links golf more than twice a year. I’m not sure how feasible that is, but every time they do it, the product is better.

Who’s In The Field?

Chris Gotterup will be looking to defend his title against the best of the best.

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele headline a full field of 156 players this week.

Full Field Here

Key Stats For The Genesis Scottish Open

Here are the key stats for this week at The Renaissance Club:

• Start with putting, then approach. SG: Putting has the strongest correlation with SG: Total here at 0.631, with SG: Approach next at 0.532. This is not a pure ball-striking week. Guys need to make putts when chances come, especially if conditions get firm or windy.
• Distance helps more than accuracy. Driving accuracy is way down at 48.1%, but the missed fairway penalty is only 0.31, which is actually lighter than TOUR average. Distance correlates better than accuracy here, so don’t over-penalize bombers who miss fairways.
• Long approach play matters. The approach distribution leans heavier from 200–225 yards and 250+ yards, so this is a good week to favor players who handle longer irons, hybrids, and fairway woods. Wedge-only profiles are less attractive than guys who can survive from distance and still convert on the greens.

The Details

Previous Winners

How To Watch

Featured Groups

Coverage on ESPN+ begins at 3:15 AM ET.

Featured Groups Here

Weekly Bets: Genesis Scottish Open

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% OFF.

 

Keith Stewart’s Picks

 

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2100 DraftKings)

 

T2 in Canada, T4 at the Travelers, and three top-six results at the Scottish Open in his last five starts. Matt Fitzpatrick is ready for win number four this year.

Elite ball striking has been the DNA of his 2026 campaign, and now he heads to a place where he has never lost strokes with the putter. In seven starts at the Scottish Open, Fitzpatrick has gained an average of +4.6 strokes on the field with his flatstick.

Combine that with gaining strokes tee-to-green in 11 straight starts dating back to API, and few players are more suited to seal the deal in Scotland.

 

Nicolai Højgaard (+4800 DraftKings)

 

Nicolai Højgaard was in a bit of a slump, but he turned things around at the Travelers. Not a bad time to find something, especially considering his history at The Renaissance Club.

He has two top-six results here in the last three years, along with the ball speed and putting touch to get the job done.

Højgaard’s secret weapon? Iron play.

In his last three Scottish Open starts, Nicolai has gained an average of +5.3 strokes on approach. Combine that with his driver, and that’s a pretty strong formula.

Did I mention Højgaard ranked first in the field over the last two months in making putts inside 10 feet?

 

---

Caddyshanks Picks

 

Scottie Scheffler (+480 DraftKings)

 

The “bet Scottie every week” strategy is running out of time, but we’ve still managed to pick four outright winners this year, so it hasn’t killed us yet.

He’s due.

 

Wyndham Clark (+3300 DraftKings)

 

Wyndham’s putter is on fire, and when you’re putting like that, it can become a superpower.

Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup both already have three wins this season. Clark has a good chance to add his name to that list here.

 

Justin Thomas (+4000 DraftKings)

 

Justin Thomas has been rounding into form.

He has six straight top-20 finishes, and he’s in better form this year than he was last season, when he finished T22 at the Scottish Open.