2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship: Latest Betting Odds, Favorites and Sleeper Picks for TPC Southwind

The first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs is here, and there is value to be found across the board.

“The name is Kim. Tom Kim.”

It seems like ever since Joohyung Kim requested he be called “Tom” because of his interest in Thomas the Tank Engine, the 20-year-old has been making noise on the PGA Tour. He channeled his inner “choo-choo” in the Wyndham Championship by steam rolling the competition with a final-round 61. Kim is now the second youngest winner on Tour since World War II, just behind 19-year-old Jordan Spieth.

As for the picks, midrange pick J.T. Poston excruciatingly missed a top 20 by one stroke after playing well all week, but favorite Russell Henley and sleeper Alex Smalley recorded a T5 and T13, respectively.

It’s now FedEx Cup playoffs time and we begin with the top 125 players of the season at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The goal is not only to win, but make sure you are in the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings to advance to next week’s BMW Championship. The former WGC event features a layout at just 7,250 yards, but with trouble throughout the course. Many bunkers and 10 water hazards will force the Tour’s best to be dialed with their approach shots to have any chance at victory. Those who can keep the ball in regulation should thrive.

According to SI Sportsbook, the favorite is resurgent Rory McIlroy at +1100. Right behind are three of the four major winners this year in Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler at +1600. Closing out the notables is last year’s FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay at +1800.

For a favorite, we’re going up the board a bit and playing the narrative in Will Zalatoris at +2500. If readers are not aware, the young star fired his longtime caddie Ryan Goble midway through the Wyndham Championship. He then went on to shoot 66-68 on the weekend to salvage an emotional week. However, we believe it could be just the shot in the arm Zalatoris needs to not only finish the season strong, but finally notch his first win on Tour. The course sets up very well for the man who ranks first on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach, second in tee-to-green and eighth in total. Willy Z may finally have the spark he needs.

For a midrange pick, we’re going with the value in Englishman Tyrrell Hatton at +5000. He’s quietly put together a solid season, only missing two cuts throughout and recording 12 top-25 finishes worldwide. Hatton has improved in each of his last four starts, culminating in last week’s T8 at the Wyndham Championship. His strengths certainly lie in areas closer to the green as well. Most notably, he ranks sixth in strokes gained: putting on Tour this season and no matter the layout, a solid flatstick travels everywhere. Look for Hatton to contend for his first win of the season yet again.

For a light sleeper, Aaron Wise at +6600 looks to be the right choice. Wise has turned up in some big events against elite fields all year. In his three major starts of the season, you could find Wise at the top of the leaderboard before fading just a bit too much on the weekend. His best play came at the Memorial with a solo second and now he is coming off a T13 at the Wyndham Championship. We also like his well-rounded play for TPC Southwind. Wise does not rank worse than 32nd in each of these key strokes gained categories: off-the-tee, approach, tee-to-green and total. If you’re looking for a player with serious upside, he would be the “wise” choice. (Sorry, we had to.)

2021-22 picks scoreboard:

Events: 38
Winners: 5
Top 5s: 13
Top 10s: 7
Top 20s: 4

Here are some notable odds, according to SI Sportsbook:

Rory McIlroy +1100
Cameron Smith +1600
Justin Thomas +1600
Scottie Scheffler +1600
Patrick Cantlay +1800
Xander Schauffele +1800
Jon Rahm +2000
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2200
Tony Finau +2200
Will Zalatoris +2500
Jordan Spieth +2800
Cameron Young +3000
Sam Burns +3000
Collin Morikawa +3300
Hideki Matsuyama +3300
Shane Lowry +3300
Sungjae Im +3300
Viktor Hovland +3300
Joohyung Kim +3500
Joaquin Niemann +4500
Billy Horschel +5000
Max Homa +5000
Tyrrell Hatton +5000
Corey Conners +6000
Russell Henley +6000
Aaron Wise +6600
Cameron Davis +8000
Davis Riley +8000
Seamus Power +8000
Adam Scott +8500
Alex Noren +9000
Webb Simpson +9000
Taylor Pendrith +9500
Adam Hadwin +10000
Brian Harman +10000
Chris Kirk +10000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +10000
Gary Woodland +10000
Harold Varner III +10000
Jason Day +10000
Justin Rose +10000
Keegan Bradley +10000
Keith Mitchell +10000
Mito Pereira +10000
Sahith Theegala +10000
Scott Stallings +10000
Si Woo Kim +10000
Brendan Steele +11000
Cameron Tringale +11000
Denny McCarthy +11000
J.T. Poston +11000
Maverick McNealy +11000
Sebastian Munoz +11000