
FedEx St. Jude Championship matchup, prop picks: Justin Thomas or Russell Henley?
Below, we search for the best value prop bets for the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship from BetMGM Sportsbook's odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
There are 70 players in the FedExCup Playoffs, but only 69 are playing this week because Rory McIlroy is skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The top 50 players in the standings after this week will advance to the BMW Championship, with McIlroy already locking up a spot in the top 50.
Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win in Memphis at +300, with Xander Schauffele (+1400) coming in as the second-favorite. Tommy Fleetwood (+2200), Justin Thomas (+2500) and Ludvig Aberg (+2500) are among the top contenders to win, as well.
TPC Southwind is a difficult course that plays at 7,288 yards as a par 70, featuring water hazards throughout the property. The winning score has been between 13-under and 17-under each year since 2019, with this being the fourth year as a FedExCup Playoffs event on the calendar.
FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-5 picks
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 7:37 p.m. ET.
Hovland has contended here in recent years, finishing second in 2024, 13th in 2023 and 20th in 2022. That's a testament to his ball-striking, which gives him a big advantage with how well he hits his irons.
Thomas won this event in 2020 before it was a playoff event, so he knows how to take care of business at TPC Southwind. Since 2019, he also has finishes of 12th, 13th and 26th, showing his victory was no fluke.
FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-10 picks
It's hard to bet Fleetwood to win at this point after seeing him give away the Travelers Championship in June, but this course is perfect for him. He's finished third, fourth and 22nd in 3 of his 5 starts since 2019, coming close to winning here in the past.
Straka is as good an iron player as there is right now so he's someone to take seriously at a course like TPC Southwind. He finished second in 2022 when he lost in a playoff to Will Zalatoris, nearly taking home the title that week.
Berger's coures history is the best of any player in the field, winning in 2016 and 2017, with finishes of second and fifth in 2020 and 2021, respectively. His lone hiccup was a missed cut in 2018, but other than that, he's been lights out in his last 5 starts here.
FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-20 picks
Spieth must kick things into gear now and TPC Southwind is a good place for him to get going, having come in 12th in 2019, 12th in 2021 and sixth in 2023. He struggled here last year but if he can dial in his irons, he'll have a chance to contend.
Im was sixth in 2023 and 12th in 2022 at this event, playing well 2 years in a row at TPC Southwind. It's been a disappointing year for him in 2025, but he did show signs of improvement last week with a T-27 at the Wyndham Championship.
Rose can never be counted out at this point in his career, especially at a place where he's come in 22nd and 20th the last two years, with an 11th-place showing in 2019. He nearly won the Masters and finished 16th at the Open Championship, so he's been in good form.
WATCH: Get ESPN+
FedEx St. Jude Championship – Matchups
Suggested play is golfer in bold.
Justin Thomas (+105) vs. Russell Henley (-135)
Thomas is a former champion and could be poised to go on a run in the playoffs. His worst finish in this event since 2019 is 26th, so his floor should be fairly high.
FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top English
Fleetwood is the favorite in this market over Matt Fitzpatrick (+250) and Aaron Rai (+300), and he should be. He's played great all year and while he doesn't have a win, he has been in contention.
FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top Korean
It's Im vs. Si Woo Kim (-125) in this market as the only two Koreans in the field. Take the underdog Im at a course where he's played well before.
FedEx St. Jude Championship – First-round leader
Fleetwood fired rounds of 66 and 66 in the last two years to open this event, so he's been close to claiming the first-round lead each time. He's comfortable at TPC Southwind and could be in for a big week.
Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now!
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Golfweek:
Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Peter Malnati is 'very concerned' after Rory McIlroy opts to skip first FedExCup Playoffs event
The FedExCup Playoffs are getting started in Memphis, but Rory McIlroy is taking the week off. While that's not something that's going to impact his postseason status whatsoever — McIlroy is entering the playoffs firmly in second in the standings, and will qualify for the Tour Championship regardless — at least one PGA Tour player board member isn't happy that McIlroy isn't at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. 'Very concerned,' Peter Malnati told Golfweek on Tuesday, adding that there may be 'stuff in the works' to try and prevent golfers from skipping postseason events in the future. The PGA Tour adjusted its playoff format slightly this season to remove the starting strokes format at the Tour Championship. This year, the 30 golfers who make it to East Lake will all start at even par. That, though, was the only change and left golfers the ability to skip events of their choosing. Since McIlroy entered the postseason with 3,444 points in the FedExCup race and only trails top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, he has absolutely no need to play in the first playoff event. He doesn't really need to play in the BMW Championship next week either, if he didn't want to. Even if he drops a few spots in the standings, he'd still enter the Tour Championship on even footing with the rest of the field. If anything, the format change to the Tour championship made the decision to skip the first tournament that much easier. McIlroy has won three times on Tour this season, most recently at the Masters — which made him just the sixth golfer in history to complete the career grand slam. He's had eight top-10 finishes this season and missed only a single cut while earning more than $16 million in prize money alone. He's going to play in several international, non-Tour events later this year, too. He also told The Telegraph last fall that he'd not be competing, so the move shouldn't come as a surprise. "I'll probably not play the first playoff event in Memphis," he said in November. "I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings." Though Malnati wasn't too thrilled, Webb Simpson, who is also a player director on the Tour board, doesn't have an issue with McIlroy skipping this week. After all, Simpson did the same thing back in 2020. 'I knew I couldn't fall more than one spot and I thought losing one stroke at East Lake was worth a week of rest because I was toast,' he said. 'I don't know Rory's reason but I totally get it. It's a hard to thing to fix.' Simpson and McIlroy are far from alone here. Tiger Woods, for example, skipped the first playoff event in 2007 and then won the second two tournaments to win the inaugural FedExCup. Jim Furyk also won the FedExCup in 2010 while missing a tournament. As for implementing some sort of 'Rory rule' and forcing golfers to play, Simpson doesn't think that's very possible either. 'I think it's too hard of a thing to make guys have to play,' Simpson said. 'We're still a sport where you can play when you want to play.' McIlroy's absence this week certainly isn't the best look for the Tour as it kicks off the postseason, and it's unclear if new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp will move to actually implement some sort of rule to fix that in the future, but the FedEx St. Jude Championship will go on as scheduled. It'll just have a 69-man field instead of the full 70. And in a few weeks, McIlroy will have just as good of a shot as any to claim what would be his record fourth FedExCup. His absence this week will simply be a things of the past.


Newsweek
8 minutes ago
- Newsweek
BetMGM Bonus Code NW150: Get $150 Betting Bonus For MLB, NFL Preseason
Sign up for a new account with the BetMGM bonus code NW150 to get a $150 bonus offer or a $1,500 first bet safety net for MLB games and more. Sign up for a new account with the BetMGM bonus code NW150 to get a $150 bonus offer or a $1,500 first bet safety net for MLB games and more. Claim one of two welcome offers with the latest BetMGM bonus code NW150 for MLB games, the NFL preseason and more. You will get a $150 bonus offer or a $1,500 first bet safety net depending on your location when you create a new account. All you have to do to sign up is click here. Create an account in MI, NJ, PA and WV to get the $150 bonus offer, which requires a winning $10 wager to start your account. Sign up in other states to secure the $1,500 first bet safety net to start. Now is a good time to capitalize on either of these offers. Bet on any MLB game tonight or the Aces-Valkyries WNBA game with the promo you receive. This will set up your account to take advantage of the first full weekend of NFL preseason games. Sign up now to capitalize on your welcome offer and other promos available within the BetMGM Sportsbook app. BetMGM Bonus Code NW150 For MLB Games, NFL Preseason Let's start with the $150 bonus offer, as this has an important caveat. You must win your initial $10 bet to get the bonus bets. This wager can be placed on any market across BetMGM Sportsbook. Make sure to look at a wide range of markets to find one that you believe has a good chance of settling as a win. If you plan to bet on one of the MLB games taking place tonight, you might want to look at some prop options. These might be easier to predict than other markets like the moneyline, spread or total. You could bet on players like Roman Anthony to record a hit or George Kirby to strike out a certain number of batters. With the $1,500 first bet offer, you can bet up to that amount and get a bonus refund if your bet settles as a loss. Maybe you would like to bet $1,000 on the Eagles to beat the Bengals on Thursday night. If the Eagles do win, you will get a large cash payout. An Eagles loss would trigger a $1,000 bonus refund to your account. BetMGM Sportsbook In-App Promos When you are set up with a new BetMGM Sportsbook account, you will have the opportunity to capitalize on several in-app offers in addition to your welcome promo. For Wednesday, you can bet an MLB parlay boost token, an odds boost token to use for any sport and a golf second chance offer. You can also win prizes with the MLB Daily Swing free-to-play game or watch the free game of the day within the BetMGM Sportsbook app. Create Account With BetMGM Bonus Code NW150 Create your account with BetMGM Sportsbook by clicking here and providing basic personal information, like your name, date of birth, mailing address, etc. Enter the bonus code NW150 to redeem your welcome offer. Enable location settings during this process to ensure you receive the offer you are eligible for. Use a secure payment method, like a credit card, debit card or several other options, to make an initial deposit to your account. This will cover your first bet to activate the welcome offer you are eligible for. Any bonus bets you receive from either of these offers will be valid for seven days before they expire. Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator's terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.


NBC Sports
20 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
FedExCup Playoffs need more 'volatility'
Ryan Lavner, Rex Hoggard, Todd Lewis, and Eamon Lynch dive into several topics ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, including PGA Tour scheduling, FedExCup Playoffs structure, and Ryder Cup storylines.