Scottie Scheffler plays a shot from the 8th tee during the second round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

A look at odds for the FedEx St. Jude Championship with reigning champion sidelined

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/7/23

It had been a crazy season of golf in 2022 when the FedEx Cup playoffs kicked off with the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Will Zalatoris won the event that weekend, while the world's top two golfers, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, both missed the cut. That proved to be just a bump in the road as both golfers battled all the way to the PGA Tour Championship, where Scheffler stumbled in the final round and McIlroy was crowned champion -- and took over as world No. 1 in the official world golf ranking.

Now the 2023 rendition of the FedEx St. Jude Championship is ready to tee off and McIlroy is back in the playoffs after another crazy season -- both on and off the links. But is he the favorite to top the leaderboard as the FedEx Cup playoffs get underway?

The 2023 FedExCup Playoffs begin at next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Field: pic.twitter.com/A9R0L3xCnm
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 7, 2023

As of Monday, DraftKings lists McIlroy at 8-1 to top the leaderboard at TPC Southwind and has an even better chance of finishing in the top 10 at 20-21 (-105 in American odds.) But Scheffler is the current favorite to win the event, listed at 13-2 at the start of the week.

Other notable competitors with decent odds include Jon Rahm (8-1), Patrick Cantlay (14-1), Xander Schauffele (16-1) and Viktor Hovland (18-1).

Sadly, Zalatoris will not be able to defend his 2022 victory as he is still sidelined from having back surgery in April. He is expected to return to Tour events in the fall.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship tees off on Thursday, August 10.

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