The FedEx Cup Playoffs concludes this week on the PGA Tour as it visits East Lake Golf Club for the 2021 Tour Championship. Read on below to see my prediction for who will win the tournament, as well as my predictions for who will finish in the top 10, my dark horse, and my player to fade.
Winner: Jon Rahm- Rahm has been the man to beat on Tour all season, with a win, 14 top 10’s, and just 1 missed cut in 21 starts. Coming off of a stretch of 4 straight top 10’s where he went a combined -53, including a win at the U.S. Open, Rahm has a stellar track record at East Lake, with 2 top 10’s and no finishes outside the top 12. Rahm plays his best on the biggest stages and I predict that he will win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup on Sunday!
Top 10: Sam Burns- Burns has had a great season, with a win, 5 top 5’s, and 8 top 10’s in 25 starts. Burns has been heating up towards the end of summer, with 4 top 25’s in his last 5 starts, including a top 10 finish at the BMW Championship and a playoff loss at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Making his Tour Championship debut, I predict that Burns will finish in the top 10 and that he will be in the hunt for a W on Sunday too.
Dark Horse: Erik Van Rooyen- Van Rooyen has been the Cinderella Story of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, with a pair of top 10’s in both playoff events to qualify for his first Tour Championship. A win is unlikely given that he starts the tournament 10 strokes behind the leader, but a top 15 finish is certainly within his grasp.
Player to Fade: Joaquin Niemann- A consistent player on Tour, Niemann has been playing well, but finishing mid-pack, with just 3 top 30 finishes in his last 7 starts. With a 27th place finish here in his lone start in 2020 and in a field of just 30 players, Niemann’s pedestrian-like play will easily result in him finishing in the bottom half of the field.