The conclusion to another fantastic season on the PGA Tour concludes this week in Atlanta as the 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs wrap with its final leg held at East Lake Golf Club. A massive $10 million winner’s share is on the line for whomever finishes atop the leaderboard at the 2025 Tour Championship, and there is no one who enters the tournament with more wind in his sails than Scottie Scheffler.
Already a five-time winner on the PGA Tour for the second straight season — the first to accomplish that feat since Tiger Woods (1999-2003, 2006-07) — Scheffler will begin play in Atlanta not only as the reigning Tour Championship winner but having captured last week’s BMW Championship just outside Baltimore. While Rory McIlroy has won the FedEx Cup three times, Scheffler is looking to become the first to step into the winner’s circle across consecutive campaigns.
McIlroy’s season has been filled with strikes and gutters, the most notable of the former coming at Augusta National back in April when he finally won the Masters and completed the long-desired career grand slam. While the Ulsterman has seen other successes in 2025, he’s fallen flat in some significant moments and struggled in these playoffs, purposefully skipping the St. Jude Championship two weeks ago before finishing 12 shots back of Scheffler last week.
Scheffler (3/2) and McIlroy (17/2) are the clear favorites this week at East Lake, and they will open play together at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday. But with changes to the Tour Championship scoring format, they no longer possess an advantage beyond their obvious talent. Prior season finales saw the top 30 players begin play with staggered strokes (Scheffler would have started 10 under with McIlroy at 8 under … and so on); however, the PGA Tour this year decided that every competitor in Atlanta will begin at even par providing an equal opportunity at the $10 million first-place payout.
Even if one does not lift the FedEx Cup at the end of the Tour Championship, there are still eight other seven-figure paydays available. Second place will earn $5 million while eighth will bring in a shade over $1 million for playing the final 72 holes of the season.
Will the Tour Championship ultimately come down to Scheffler, McIlroy or the field? Might captain Keegan Bradley make a run ahead of the Ryder Cup? Could Tommy Fleetwood bounce back from his excruciating final round at the St. Jude Championship for the biggest victory of his career? Our CBS Sports experts debate exactly that below. Let’s take a look at a full set of Tour Championship picks and predictions as we attempt to project who will win — and what will happen — at the final PGA Tour event of 2025.
2025 Tour Championship picks
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Patrick McDonald
Winner — Russell Henley (20-1): It’s a 30-man field. Half of the players aren’t in the best of form, yet Henley is still priced at 20-1. Sign me up on Tuesday and twice on Sunday. Henley has rattled off six straight top-20 finishes dating back to the beginning of June and returns to his home state of Georgia where he notched a podium finish last season in the final Tour Championship to feature starting strokes. The top 30 all starting at even par this week should only bolster his case.
Sleeper — Harris English (45-1): Coming off a quiet T12 finish at the BMW Championship, English should be able to roll that momentum into some more at East Lake. Another Georgia Bulldog, the Farmers Insurance Open winner has found his footing this season with driver in hand. That hasn’t been the case for his previous trips to Atlanta, but with a steady diet of fairways and greens on his menu, English should be able to roll into contention.
Favorite who definitely won’t win — Rory McIlroy (17/2): The three-time FedEx Cup champion may have one eye on upcoming starts at the BMW PGA Championship and Irish Open with the other on the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. His first start back since The Open was uninspiring despite the T12 result that it produced at Caves Valley. He drove it nicely in Baltimore — certainly not the case for him over the last few months — but big numbers added up fast, and he ultimately stood nowhere close to the top of the leaderboard.
Surprise prediction — U.S. Ryder Cup picture becomes crystal clear: It seems like everyone and their mother is jockeying for the final couple of spots on this United States team, but after play concludes at the Tour Championship, the guessing will be over. While picks will be announced next Wednesday, captain Keegan Bradley will have no mulling over to do after Sunday’s final round concludes. And yes, a good start from the captain himself will help in this effort.
Robby Kalland
Winner — Scottie Scheffler (3/2): There’s no reason to jump off my choice from before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, even if he’s an overwhelming favorite with a $100 paying just $150 in profits and even if it’s frankly hysterical to see someone at this odds given a field of this strength. Scheffler is comfortable at East Lake, where he won last year, and he’s playing the best golf of his career right now, which is terrifying for everyone else. Look for Scheffler for the first golfer to go back to back at the Tour Championship.
Sleeper — Harris English (45-1): English has played well all year, and he’s shown up on the first page of the leaderboard in plenty significant tournaments. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s there again on the weekend at the Tour Championship. Locking up a guaranteed spot on the Ryder Cup team last Sunday, he can play freely without burden this week in Atlanta.
Favorite who definitely won’t win — Patrick Cantlay (25-1): Sure, he’s played well at East Lake in the past, but what form has Cantlay shown of late that warrants him being seventh on the odds sheet?! The particularly concerning issue with his game right now is the fall-off with the putter, which was long a strength but has dropped off to being merely average this season (59th in strokes gained).
Surprise prediction — Scheffler vs. McIlroy final pairing on Sunday: All year we wanted some kind of Scottie-Rory showdown in which the two best players in the world were at the top of the leaderboard at the same time near the end of a tournament. What if we finally get it at the Tour Championship? The duo combined to win three of the four majors this season, and they were the only two golfers with three or more tournament victories on the season. The closest we got to an actual duel was Saturday at The Open Championship when McIlroy made his charge only for Scheffler to continue pulling away. They both have great track records at East Lake, and perhaps we’ll get a Sunday preview of what would be the biggest Ryder Cup singles match possible this year in New York.
Who will win the Tour Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that’s nailed 16 golf majors heading into the weekend, including the past four Masters, and is up over $8,000 since June 2020.