2023 Tour Championship fantasy golf picks, rankings, strategy: Back Xander Schauffele, fade Jon Rahm

The 2022-23 PGA Tour season concludes this week with a headline-grabbing event in Atlanta. The 2023 Tour Championship will take place at East Lake Golf Club, with the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings taking part. The FedEx Cup title will be awarded, and East Lake Golf Club has hosted the Tour Championship each year since 2005. Scottie Scheffler begins the tournament with a two-stroke lead on the field at 10-under par, while Viktor Hovland begins at 8-under par and Rory McIlroy begins at 7-under.

Scottie Scheffler (+140) is the betting favorite in the latest 2023 Tour Championship odds, followed by Rory McIlroy (+330) and Viktor Hovland (+500). In addition to the top players in the odds, can fan favorite Max Homa (+2800) provide strong value among your 2023 Tour Championship fantasy golf picks? Before you consider your 2023 Tour Championship fantasy golf picks, you have to see the Tour Championship fantasy golf rankings from SportsLine handicapper Eric Cohen.

Cohen is an avid golf bettor who correctly predicted the pre-tournament outright winner of the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic (Rickie Fowler +1400), 2023 PGA Championship (Brooks Koepka +2000), 2023 Honda Classic (Chris Kirk +3500), 2022 Open Championship (Cameron Smith +2200), 2022 U.S. Open (Matt Fitzpatrick +2500), and 2022 Phoenix Open (Scottie Scheffler’s first career victory at +2800). 

He is a daily contributor to SportsLine’s YouTube Show “Early Edge in 5” and is a guest on “The Early Wedge” SportsLine YouTube golf show hosted by Jonathan Coachman. Anyone who has followed Cohen’s predictions has made positive gains on their golf picks.

Now, Cohen has ranked his top golfers for the 2023 Tour Championship. Cohen’s picks are only available at SportsLine.

2023 Tour Championship expert picks

One player Cohen loves this week is Xander Schauffele. The 29-year-old is a previous winner at East Lake, taking home the 2017 Tour Championship. Schauffele also has six consecutive top-seven finishes at the Tour Championship, and he is one of the most consistent players in the world. In fact, Schauffele has made 32 straight cuts in PGA Tour events, the longest active streak of any player, and that includes all 21 events this season. He also has 11 top-10 finishes during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, including a top-eight finish last week at Olympia Fields. Schauffele is No. 6 on the tour in strokes gained overall, No. 4 in strokes gained putting, No. 5 in strokes gained on approach, and No. 14 in strokes gained tee-to-green this season.

On the flip side, the expert is fading Jon Rahm. As usual, Rahm is priced as one of the top options in the field, but he has drawbacks in this setting. He lost more than seven strokes tee to green on the same course a year ago and, in recent weeks, Rahm hasn’t played at the top of his capability. Last week, Rahm lost more than three strokes tee to green and his overall results have slipped in the second half of the season. That includes finishes outside the top 30 at the BMW Championship and St. Jude Championship in back-to-back weeks. Rahm is a well-rounded player, but he does also have weaknesses. That includes ranking outside the top 100 in driving accuracy and scrambling from the rough, as well as the No. 92 sand save rate (50.53%) and the No. 86 mark in putting inside 10 feet (88.08%) on the tour this season. See all of Cohen’s Tour Championship picks at SportsLine. 

How to set 2023 Tour Championship fantasy golf lineups

For this week, Cohen is backing several underdogs in his 2023 Tour Championship fantasy golf picks, including one massive longshot who comes in at 45-1. Cohen notes that this player “gained strokes putting in nine straight tournaments” and he is a strong candidate to “take home plenty of cash on Sunday.” See who it is, and get all of Cohen’s fantasy golf picks, at SportsLine. 

Who wins the Tour Championship 2023, and who are the top players to target for your Tour Championship fantasy golf picks? Visit SportsLine now to get Eric Cohen’s fantasy golf rankings, all from the fantasy expert with his finger on the pulse of the game, and find out.