This week’s Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey marks the beginning of the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs. A field of 125 is in attendance with the top 70 in the season-long standings after this week advancing to the BMW Championship. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings for the 2021 Northern Trust, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.
The three-week playoff stretch will culminate with the top 30 golfers at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club Sept 2-5. Dustin Johnson is the reigning FedEx Cup (FEC) champion and winner of last season’s Northern Trust, but that victory was at TPC Boston. He begins this year’s postseason at No. 17 in the FEC standings.
Collin Morikawa enters this week atop the season-long standings with two wins on the season, including the British Open. Jon Rahm, who’s No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, is fifth in the FEC standings.
Also see: Northern Trust odds, picks and predictions
2021 Northern Trust: Fantasy Golf Top 20
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.
20. Scottie Scheffler (+3000)
Followed up a T-8 at the British Open with a 14th-place finish at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He has seven top-10 finishes against four missed cuts in 2021. His strong putting and short game will be emphasized at Liberty National.
19. Hideki Matsuyama (+4000)
Though he remains inconsistent on the greens he ranks among the field leaders in Strokes Gained: Approach per round. He tied for second against the elite field at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational prior to missing the cut at last week’s Wyndham Championship.
18. Matt Fitzpatrick (+6000)
One of the best putters on Tour this season with 0.65 SG: Putting per round. He hasn’t played at this venue before but should be a course fit.
17. Tony Finau (+6000)
Started 2021 with four top-five finishes through his first five events but has just two top-10 finishes since, both in majors. He can up his game in bigger events and his 0.38 SG: Around-the-Green per round for the season will play well here.
16. Daniel Berger (+3000)
Sixth among qualified golfers with 0.88 SG: Approach for the 2021-22 season and enters the week 20th in the FEC standings with one victory and eight top-10 finishes since the fall.
15. Bryson DeChambeau (+3000)
Tied for eighth at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational for his first top-10 finish since a T-9 at the Wells Fargo Championship in early May. He rarely gets enough credit for his excellent putting, but his short game is a weakness that could be exposed at Liberty National.
14. Harris English (+4000)
Vaulted to fourth in the FEC standings by claiming his second win of the season at the Travelers Championship and finishing fourth at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He has two other top-10 finishes through 17 events in 2021, including a third-place showing at the US Open.
13. Viktor Hovland (+3000)
Has never played this venue but is a strong fit for any course with 0.79 SG: Approach per round for the season. His short game is a weakness but it hasn’t stopped him from racking up two wins and seven top-10 finishes between the PGA Tour and European Tour in the 2020-21 season.
12. Abraham Ancer (+3000)
Won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to move to sixth in the season-long points standings. He finished second in this event in 2019 while leading the field in SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Tee-to-Green.
11. Xander Schauffele (+2000)
Missed the cut here in 2019 with 1.23 strokes lost putting per round and 0.78 strokes lost around the greens. He has been much better this season in both areas and is also averaging 0.82 SG: Approach per round.
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10. Paul Casey (+3000)
Second in the field with 1.04 SG: Approach per round while adding 0.27 SG: Around-the-Green per round. Followed up a T-4 at the Olympic Golf Competition with a T-5 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and hasn’t missed a cut since the RBC Heritage in mid-April.
9. Justin Thomas (+3000)
A rare value by the betting odds after slipping to 13th in the Golfweek rankings. He has just one top-10 finish through 12 international events since winning The Players Championship. He remains excellent with the irons but his putting has been a struggle.
8. Brooks Koepka (+2000)
Tied for 30th in 2019 with 1.20 SG: Off-the-Tee per round but 0.37 strokes lost per round with the putter. Tied for 54th in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational following a stretch of four finishes of T-6 or better within five events, including three majors.
7. Webb Simpson (+3000)
Leads all golfers in this field with more than eight rounds played at Liberty National with 2.64 strokes gained on the field per round. Tied for 18th in this event with 0.91 SG: Around-the-Green per round in 2019 and led last week’s Wyndham Championship field with 2.12 SG: Approach per round.
6. Rory McIlroy (+2000)
The two-time FedEx Cup champion tied for sixth in this event en route to winning his second title in 2019. He ranked fourth among those who made the cut with 1.27 SG: Off-the-Tee per round. He enters this year’s event 26th in the FEC standings.
5. Patrick Cantlay (+3000)
Third in the FEC standings with wins this season at the Zozo Championship in the fall and the Memorial Tournament in early June. He’s averaging 0.65 SG: Approach and 0.44 SG: Around-the-Green per round for the season.
4. Dustin Johnson (+1500)
It has been a disappointing 2021 campaign for the three-time winner in 2019, but he has corrected a bit of late with a T-8 finish at the British Open and a T-10 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The reigning Northern Trust champion tied for 24th at Liberty National in 2019.
3. Jon Rahm (+900)
The No. 1 golfer in both the Golfweek rankings and the Official World Golf Ranking enters the week fifth in the FEC standings. He tied for third in this event in 2019 and leads all golfers this season with 2.17 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
2. Jordan Spieth (+1500)
The resurgent Spieth is second in the FEC standings with one win and nine top-10 finishes this season. He tied for sixth here in 2019 with 2.09 SG: Putting per round and his short game and driver have been in much better form this season.
1. Collin Morikawa (+2000)
The British Open champ tied for fourth in the Olympics but then tied for 26th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to cap a difficult stretch of travel. He took last week off and comes to Liberty National GC better rested and still the Tour leader in SG: Approach. He tied for 52nd in his debut here as a 22-year-old in 2019.
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