Betsided

BMW Championship power rankings (Who are the best golfers at Olympia Fields?)

Rory McIlroy tops the power rankings for this week's BMW Championship.

By Iain MacMillan

Aug 21, 2022; Wilmington, Delaware, USA; Patrick Cantlay poses with the BMW and Western Golf
Aug 21, 2022; Wilmington, Delaware, USA; Patrick Cantlay poses with the BMW and Western Golf / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit

Lucas Glover has won back-to-back events on the PGA Tour, which might just be the most shocking result from the entire season.

Regardless, the PGA Tour now heads to Chicago, Illinois, for the penultimate event on the schedule. The top 50 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings will play this week, with the final 30 heading to the Tour Championship.

Patrick Cantlay has won the event in back-to-back years, but now it heads back to Olympia Fields for the first time since 2020 when Jon Rahm beat Dustin Johnson in a playoff.

In this article, I'm going to power rank the top 10 golfers this week based on both their odds to win and my opinion on their chances. Let's dive into it.

BMW Championship Power Rankings

1) Rory McIlroy +700

Rory McIlroy had another Rory McIlroy-esque finish last week, finishing T3 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That now makes it eight-straight top 10 finishes including a win the Scottish Open.

As is usually the case, he turns up his game during the FedEx Cup and he had a T12 finish at this event last time it was hosted at Olympia Fields. He's the best player in the field this week.

2) Scottie Scheffler +700

Scottie Scheffler took a bit of a step back last week, finishing T31. But, now that they're playing at Olympia Fields, he should have a massive advantage on the field. It's one of the toughest courses that the Tour competes on. Only five players finished under par last time the BMW Championship was hosted here.

Heading into this week, Scheffler leads the field in bogey avoidance at 10.83%, bogey 1.24% fewer holes than the next best player. That's going to be huge at Olympia Fields.

3) Jon Rahm +1000

Jon Rahm had a tough week at the St. Jude, finishing T37. But, with that being said, he won this event the last time it was hosted at Olympia Fields. That's a huge bonus for him and makes his 10/1 price extremely attractive ahead of Thursday.

4) Patrick Cantlay +1000

Patrick Cantlay is the king of the BMW Championship, having won it two years in a row. He's also heading into this week in great form, losing in a playoff to Lucas Glover last week for a runner up finish.

Of course, you have to mention the BMW Championship was hosted at wildly different courses the last two weeks. Last time it was played at Olympia Fields, he finished T12.

5) Max Homa +2500

The top four guys this week is pretty inarguable. But, for number five, there's some major debating you could do and I'm going to take a leap and slot in Max Homa in that slot. His game is trending in the right direction, going T21, T12, T10, and T6 in his last four starts.

He's also very solid in avoiding bogeys, coming in at 15th in bogey avoidance. That could be huge for him this week.

6) Viktor Hovland +1600

Viktor Hovland has played great golf lately, going T25, T13, and T13 in his last three starts. To be fair, I do think he's a bit overpriced at 16/1, but if this week is all about ball striking, it's tough to not give him a look.

7) Xander Schauffele +1800

DataGolf.com has Xander Schauffele as the fifth best chance to win this week behind the big three (plus Cantlay), so you have to consider that when trying to figure out who to bet on. He's played solid golf for a while, but hasn't truly been in contention since the Wells Fargo in May. I'd rather bet on him to finish in the Top 10 then to win.

8) Tyrrell Hatton +2500

I may not bet on Tyrrell Hatton this week because of I've already lost a ton of money backing him this season, but I can't get over the fact he's fifth on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained. He also finished T16 the last time this event was at Olympia Fields and he's 17th on Tour in bogey avoidance.

9) Collin Morikawa +2500

I took Collin Morikawa to win last week and he didn't live up to my expectations, but he still finished T13 on the week. He gained strokes in all four areas, so he should feel good about his game this week.

10) Hideki Matsuyama +3500

Hideki Matsuyama finished T3 at this event the last time it was at Olympia Fields. He also ranks 16th in bogey avoidance this season, so he's a great fit for this course. On top of all that, he finished T16 last week so he's in good form.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Home/Golf