2026 TOUR Championship picks for East Lake: Why Chris Gotterup, Hideki Matsuyama and Russell Henley stand out
Fortunately, new PGA TOUR commissioner Brian Rolapp announced a new postseason format earlier this week that will start in 2028.The top 90 players will compete in a final stroke-play event (the first round of the playoffs) before the top 32 advance to a two-week, match-play TOUR Championship.'PAR TALK': WHY WYNDHAM CLARK DESERVES PGA TOUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR, LIV GOLF'S FINAL HOORAH, AND SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER'S MONEYDesigned by the legend Donald Ross, East Lake is a 7,455-yard, par-70 that has hosted the TOUR Championship every year since 2004.
It is a driver-heavy layout with wide fairways, long approach shots and fast Bermuda greens, rewarding players who can bomb it off the tee and create birdie looks with their irons.This has been a nightmare season for me betting on golf.I've donked off -50.94 units (u) in 2026, finished 4,133rd out of 5,297 entries in the Race for the Mayo Cup (one-and-done league) and I've only hit one outright: Nico Echavarria at the Cognizant Classic (+5900).That said, I'm trying to minimize the loss and end the season on a high note by backing these three dudes.The following odds are from when I bet on the golfers listed below.
Subject to change.Chris Gotterup +2654 (0.75u) and Top-10 with ties +124 (1u), both at Kalshi Hideki Matsuyama +3200 at DraftKings (0.63u) and Top-10 with ties +146 at Kalshi (1u) Russell Henley +3500 (0.57u) and Top-10 with ties +167 (1u), both at KalshiI love Gotterup's price because, as I wrote last week, his game travels.
His four wins over the last 13 months have been at different types of courses and conditions: 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, Sony Open in Hawaii, WM Phoenix Open in Arizona, and the John Deere Classic in Illinois.East Lake is a driver-heavy course that favors distance over accuracy and has easy Bermuda greens, according to Betsperts Golf.Well, Gotterup ranks second in this field for Strokes Gained (SG): Off-the-Tee (OTT) and second in driving distance over the last 30 rounds.He's picked up more th...