Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2026 Tour Championship, which gets underway on Thursday in Atlanta.
The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall Series kicks off this week, starting with the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. For several players in the field, this brand-new event serves as a crucial final tune-up ahead of next week’s Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club, just outside of Chicago.
Nestled into a scenic valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains at an elevation of over 2,000 feet, this Jack Nicklaus-designed course sits between the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The layout transitions from old farmland on the front nine to more rugged, mountainous terrain on the back. With significant elevation changes, uneven lies, and heavily tree-lined fairways, the course promises to be both visually stunning and a demanding test of golf.
For players who finished the 2026 regular season ranked 51st or worse in the FedEx Cup standings, the stakes are incredibly high. While the top 50 are already exempt for next season and qualified for Signature Events, the rest of the field is fighting to secure their PGA Tour cards. Those finishing between 126-150 will receive conditional status for 2027, while anyone falling outside the top 150 will lose full playing privileges. Only five players in this week’s field currently reside inside the top 50 of the standings.
By Tour standards, the course is relatively short, playing as a par 71 at under 7,300 yards. The fairways are generous but bordered by extremely penal rough, reportedly measuring close to six inches high. The greens are a blend of Bentgrass and Poa Annua, smaller than average in size. To analyze the course, key metrics included Strokes Gained: Approach, Strokes Gained: Putting (Bent/Poa), Good Drives Gained, Scrambling, Birdie or Better Percentage, and Hole Proximity from 200+ yards. The layout features four relatively short par 5s, nine mid-length par 4s, and five par 3s that each stretch close to or beyond 200 yards.
With no official course history on hand, the course’s design strongly resembles TPC Deere Run, characterized by wide fairways and thick rough. To prepare, reasonable comps were identified, including the John Deere Classic (TPC Deere Run), the Canadian Open (TPC Toronto), the Rocket Classic (Detroit Golf Club), and the Procore Championship (Silverado in Napa).
The field consists of 135 golfers, with a standard 36-hole cut for the top 65 and ties.
Davis Thompson (28-1)
While not typically a player who chases popular trends, Thompson represents a proven winner from this region of the country who was on an impressive run before his season ended at the Wyndham Championship. He finished 7-8-14 to close out the regular season and captured the John Deere Classic in 2024. His eighth-place finish at the Rocket Classic featured four rounds in the 60s. Over his last 24 rounds, Thompson ranks first in the field for Strokes Gained: Approach and sixth in Birdie or Better Percentage.
Kevin Yu (40-1)
Yu has a history of success on driver-heavy layouts, having won a Fall Series event in the past at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He has also performed well at the comp courses, finishing 15-21-20-6 across four visits to TPC Deere Run and securing a third-place finish at TPC Toronto in 2025. Over the last 24 rounds, Yu ranks 20th in the field for Good Drives Gained and is first in Birdie or Better Percentage.
Jackson Suber (42-1)
Suber has been a frequent contender recently, finishing fourth at TPC Toronto and sixth two weeks later at the John Deere Classic. His summer form was among the best on the Tour, and he also finished sixth at the Rocket Classic in 2025. Over the last 24 rounds, Suber leads the field in Hole Proximity from 200+ yards.
Rico Hoey (70-1)
With a brand-new venue, the guessing game becomes more challenging, making longshots essential on the card. Hoey is an exceptional driver of the golf ball, ranking 31st on Tour in Total Driving. He finished ninth in Napa last year, has been 15th and sixth in Detroit, and placed 11th at the John Deere in 2025. Over the last 24 rounds, he ranks sixth in the field for Hole Proximity from 200+ yards.
Mackenzie Hughes (75-1)
Hughes possesses one of the best short games on the tour, ranking sixth in the field for Strokes Gained: Putting (Bent/Poa) and 28th in Scrambling. He has finished as high as 16th at the Deere and 14th at the Rocket Classic, along with seventh and fourth-place finishes in Napa in 2025 and 2024 respectively. Over his last 24 rounds, Hughes ranks sixth in the field for Birdie or Better Percentage.