2026 FedEx Cup Playoffs: Expert picks, sleepers, predictions
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- Scottie Scheffler is Patrick McDonald's pick to win the 2026 FedEx Cup at 7/2 odds, posting five runner-up finishes and three other top-five results since the majors began despite only one win this season.
- The PGA Tour eliminated starting strokes at the Tour Championship, and Tommy Fleetwood exploited the level playing field last year to capture his first PGA Tour title after years of close calls.
- Jordan Spieth (No. 54) needs at least a 23rd-place finish at the St. Jude Championship to have a mathematical chance of cracking the top 50, which would lock him into all 2027 signature events; he has yet to record a top-10 finish this season.
- Wyndham Clark is the consensus pick among both CBS Sports experts to disappoint, having missed his last two cuts after winning twice this summer including his second U.S. Open.
- Sam Burns (33/2) is Robby Kalland's pick to win, drawing a Fleetwood-like comparison after a third-place finish at The Open and a T7 at last year's Tour Championship.
- Justin Thomas at 70-1 is McDonald's sleeper, needing to climb from outside the top 30 into the Tour Championship field where 'anything goes' given his major-winning pedigree.
- The 2026 FedEx Cup Playoffs begin with 70 players at the St. Jude Championship, trimmed to 50 for the BMW Championship and 30 for the Tour Championship at East Lake.
Why it matters: The flat-start Tour Championship format creates genuine variance after last year's Fleetwood breakthrough, and the bubble stakes are unusually high — players like Jordan Spieth (No. 54) and Keith Mitchell (No. 49) are fighting for top-50 spots that lock them into 2027 signature events, making the opening playoff stops career-defining beyond just the trophy.
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