It's a knockout!
Aug 14, 2026
FedEx Cup Playoffs: FedEx St. Jude Championship
FedEx Cup playoff series begins today and from this point on, we are in knockout mode! The top 70 on the 2026 Tour standings will play in the FedEx St Jude Championship, after which the top 50 will play in the BMW Championship next week and then the top 30 will advance to the Tour Championship finale.
Making the top 50 is huge in other ways too, as it also guarantees entry into every Signature Event next year, the most lucrative played on the PGA Tour.
Jackson Koivun made it in to this week's event at #70 just a few weeks after turning pro and winning the 3M Open, 3 shots in front of world number one, Scottie Scheffler. Ahead of the final round there I noted ....
21 yo Jackson Koivun turned pro last month after finishing 23rd at the US Open as an amateur and this is his third event subsequently ( 10th in his second) and he leads by three shots. Koivun attended Auburn University, where, as a freshman he had one of the best seasons in collegiate golf history and in 2024 he became the first player ever to sweep all four major collegiate awards in the same season, the Haskins Award, Jack Nicklaus Award, Ben Hogan Award and Phil Mickelson Award. He reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in June 2025.
I would never bet a winless golfer at short odds on Sunday, especially after shooting ultra low on Saturday ( -10!), but Koivun has genuine superstar potential and if anyone is the real deal, it feels like it is he! ESPN wrote a great background piece on him which you can read here and it was originally posted BEFORE he played the US Open.
To advance to the BMW, Koivun is likely to need a top 5 finish this week. Other big names playing who are currently outside the 50, will also have firm targets to make the cut/cull. Max Homa, Sungjae Im and Jordan Spieth will need to finish Top 20 as a minimum IMO. Corey Conners, Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor and Brian Harman have to be looking for top 10.
Sungae Im is 28yo and whilst he has only won twice on Tour, he is a wonderfully consistent golfer and, in 229 career starts on the PGA Tour, he has made the cut in 178 and finished top 25 in over 47% and top 10 in 22.27% ( which equates to odds of 4.5). In his seven previous seasons on Tour, he has played in not just the BMW, but also the Tour Champions each year and recorded two very high finishes in the season finale, collecting big bonus payments. He has finished top 15 in three of his last four starts coming into this event and has shot eight straight rounds in the 60's and posted some of his best combined stats for the season in B2B weeks. He was 6th here at TPC Southwind in 2023 on the back of 14th place at the Wyndham and guess where he finished in that event last week, yes, you nailed it! He has recorded top 17 finishes in this event in 4 of the last 5 years and with full focus on not just breaking into the 50, but getting as close to the top 30 as possible, he has to go well.
Sungae Im is quoted at between 3.0-3.60 for Top 20 and if you could find 3.40+ I would make him a strong bet for that ....2.5 units.
If not, he is a more across the board 6.0-6.50 general quote for top 10 (bigger in a few spots) and I am still more than ok with that..... 2 units.
Good luck!
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