There’s an old saying in poker: “All you need is a chip and a chair.” And right now, 70 players have chips and a chair as we get set to kick off the FedExCup Playoffs in Memphis, Tennessee.

But while 70 remain, oddsmakers have made a clear demarcation between the top three and the remaining 67 players in the race for the coveted and lucrative FedExCup.

Scottie Scheffler (+375) is the betting favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook as he enters the Playoffs at second in the points race behind only Jon Rahm (+400). Three-time FedExCup winner Rory McIlroy (+550) is third in the standings as he looks to repeat some of last year’s magic.

After those top three stars, the odds move out to +1200 for Viktor Hovland and +1600 for Patrick Cantlay while every other contender varies from +2800 all the way to +50000 to be the man hoisting the FedExCup at East Lake in Atlanta.

Why such a huge gap from the top three to the rest? Does this bring opportunity for bettors if they fancy someone else to go on a run over the next three weeks?

Well firstly, Scheffler and Rahm have clearly been the dominant forces of the season. Rahm leads thanks to his four victories, including the Masters, with an incredible 3,320 points.

Scheffler, who looked certain to win it all a year ago as he took a six-shot lead into the final round only to fall victim to a surging McIlroy, has been the model of consistency this year on his way to 3,146 points. The world No. 1 won twice, including at THE PLAYERS, while his T45 to open the season, and his last start T23 at The Open Championship were his worst two results! His other 18 efforts were all inside the top 12.

Those two are so far ahead that, despite the fact the winner of the first Playoffs event this week at TPC Southwind receives 2,000 points, those ranked 20th through 70th wouldn’t even pass Rahm with the win!

As a quick refresher, FedExCup points awarded to the winner of each of the first two Playoffs events is 2,000, four times the amount typically awarded during the FedExCup Regular Season (500). Points are quadrupled down the board for all finishes allowing for players outside the top 50 a realistic chance to make it to the BMW Championship (top 50) and for those outside the top 30 to make it to the TOUR Championship.

In other words, Rahm and Scheffler will get a leg up on the majority of the field in Atlanta, even if they play poorly over the next two weeks in Memphis and Chicago. And playing poorly is unlikely for the duo… Rahm was the winner of the BMW Championship the last time it was held at Olympia Fields in Chicago in 2020.

At third in the standings with 2,304 points, McIlroy is dangerous as the defending FedExCup champion. Both Playoffs venues prior to East Lake should suit his game and as stated earlier he’s a three-time winner in Atlanta so even spotting some (starting) strokes, he remains a threat to rally.

And even if we just break it down to who might make a move this week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship… well, the last eight TOUR sanctioned events held at TPC Southwind saw five of the winners rank first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green that week and the other three were all inside the top six of the metric.

Here are the top three players this PGA TOUR season in SG: Tee-to-Green.

1. Scottie Scheffler +2.807

2. Rory McIlroy +2.138

3. Jon Rahm +1.769

And hence – the gap at the top of the odds.

There’s a breakdown of all 70 players’ odds to be the ultimate winner with their current FedExCup rank in brackets below. Remember, you have to move into the top 30 of the points list over the next two weeks to even have a shot at the FedExCup.

History shows us that the majority of the players entering the post season inside the top 30 will stay there, certainly those inside the top 20. With that in mind, are there players inside that mark who could improve their position over the next fortnight and find themselves at East Lake starting high on the leaderboard? Could an underdog come from the clouds?

Right away Max Homa and Wyndham Clark, fourth and fifth in the standings, jump outat +3000. While Homa’s best form was early in the season, he’s slowly clawed himself back with three top 25s in his last three starts. If he maintains his position on the standings, can he overtake the big guns giving up four or five strokes? He was T5 at East Lake last year.

Clark was the breakout star of the spring and early summer winning at Quail Hollow and then taking out the U.S. Open. He’s cooled a little since, but he clearly has a chip on his shoulder when discounted as a chance. It will be his first start at East Lake.

Then there are some known East Lake performers. Consider Xander Schauffele for example. He won at East Lake on debut in 2017 making his career results there now read, 1-T7-2-T2-T5-4. This is why, despite being 16th in the standings at the moment, he’s +2800 and not higher.

Cantlay, the 2021 winner of the FedExCup, sits 13th in standings but +1600 to win it all because of his proven Atlanta effort. He’s also the two-time defending champion of the BMW Championship.

Open Championship winner Brian Harman is given little chance at +4000 to win the Cup despite entering the Playoffs in sixth on the standings. Harman will be at East Lake but with Memphis and Chicago likely to reward the big hitters, he’s expected to slide. He failed to contend in the two times prior playing in Atlanta also.

Tony Finau is a sleeper at +4000. He’s built for the first two Playoffs venues, but can he deliver at East Lake under the pump…?

What about Australian Jason Day at +6000? He’s won multiple FedExCup Playoffs events in the past and already sits 11th in the standings. Memphis shapes as being a big part of his chances as he’ll need to maintain accuracy off the tee to avoid the numerous water hazards. While Day hasn’t been at East Lake since 2018, he does have three career top 10s there.

While Day’s odds are up there considering he’s already secure at East Lake in some capacity, others with that likelihood are even higher. Nick Taylor (12th), Sepp Straka (15th), Si Woo Kim (18th), Russell Henley (20th) and Emiliano Grillo (21st) are all +10000 to make a run to the Cup.

Sure, the superstars have been the major holders of the Cup of late, but Billy Horschel (2014) and Bill Haas (2011) are among those who also shocked the TOUR with a Playoffs surge.

The highest odds offered on anyone currently inside the top 30 is 29th ranked Seamus Power at +30000.

There are 22 players at +50000, all currently outside the top 30, however Adam Svensson is the closest to an East Lake berth at 38th.

Odds to win FedExCup (Current FedExCup standings position in brackets)

+375: Scottie Scheffler (2)

+400: Jon Rahm (1)

+550: Rory McIlroy (3)

+1200: Viktor Hovland (7)

+1600: Patrick Cantlay (13)

+2800: Xander Schauffele (16)

+3000: Max Homa (4), Wyndham Clark (5), Rickie Fowler (9), Jordan Spieth (31)

+4000: Brian Harman (6), Tony Finau (10), Collin Morikawa (22), Tommy Fleetwood (26)

+5000: Keegan Bradley (8), Tom Kim (14), Tyrrell Hatton (17), Sam Burns (19), Cameron Young (48)

+6000: Jason Day (11), Denny McCarthy (27)

+6600: Matt Fitzpatrick (36)

+8000: Sungjae Im (32), Justin Rose (33), J.T. Poston (45), Hideki Matsuyama (57)

+10000: Nick Taylor (12), Sepp Straka (15), Si Woo Kim (18), Russell Henley (20), Emiliano Grillo (21), Corey Conners (30)

+12500: Taylor Moore (25)

+15000: Sahith Theegala (34)

+20000: Kurt Kitayama (23), Adam Schenk (24), Chris Kirk (28), Lee Hodges (35), Brendon Todd (39)

+25000: Eric Cole (40), Harris English (42), Lucas Glover (49), Nick Hardy (50)

+30000: Seamus Power (29), Byeong Hun An (37), Patrick Rodgers (43), Adam Hadwin (44), Tom Hoge (46)

+50000: Adam Svensson (38), Andrew Putnam (41), Mackenzie Hughes (47), Alex Smalley (51), Thomas Detry (52), Taylor Montgomery (53), Davis Riley (54), Brandon Wu (55), Hayden Buckley (56), Keith Mitchell (58), Mark Hubbard (59), Matt Kuchar (60), Stephan Jaeger (61), Cam Davis (62), Sam Ryder (63), Sam Stevens (64), Aaron Rai (65), Beau Hossler (66), Matt NeSmith (67), Vincent Normann (68), J.J. Spaun (69), Ben Griffin (70)

At the end of the day, the smart play is likely to pick one of the big three with your main bank, and then take a flyer on someone else with smaller units. I like Scheffler’s revenge at the top and perhaps Fowler, Finau and or Day as your flyers!