Winner’s bag: Justin Thomas, BMW Championship

As we roll through the second half of the season, players look to make the final push for the FedExCup at Firestone. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN PGA.com: Featured Group Coverage – (8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET). Telecast: TNT (1 – 7 p.m. ET) NOTABLE PAIRINGS Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Jason Dufner 8:15 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler 8:25 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Chris Kirk 8:35 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Daniel Berger, Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner 8:45 a.m. ET off the 10th tee Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed 1:15 p.m. ET off the 1st tee Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth 1:35 p.m. off the 1st tee Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson 1:45 p.m. off the 1st tee Thorbjorn Olesen, Brendan Steele, Hudson Swafford 2:00 p.m. off the 10th tee

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PGA TOUR bettors have jumped on Muirfield Village specialist Jon Rahm ahead of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday but Ireland’s Shane Lowry leads the handle tally at BetMGM in the leadup to the elevated invitational event hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Rahm has shown recent dominance in the event, winning in 2020 by three shots and then fashioning a six-shot lead through three rounds in 2021 only to be forced to withdraw following a positive COVID-19 test result. Course history is a proven trend at Muirfield Village which also places a premium on finding the fairway and hitting good iron shots, more so than putting. Rahm ranks No. 1 on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green this season. Because of this, and being ranked No. 2 in the world, it’s no surprise the Spaniard has the best golf odds to win this week at +1000. At BetMGM as of Tuesday, Rahm was pulling in the most tickets at 6.3% but the fourth-most handle at 7.8%. Regarding handle, Lowry (+2500) and Hideki Matsuyama (+2800) were pulling in the most money, with Lowry at 12% and Matsuyama right behind at 10.3%. Lowry enters in great form – three top-3 finishes in his last 11 worldwide starts as well as a T-6 finish at the tournament last year – while Matsuyama won the event in 2014 and has three finishes of T-13 or better since. Japan’s superstar has been up-and-down this year, though, which may scare away some bettors. Current Handle & Tickets Handle 1. Shane Lowry – 12% 2. Hideki Matsuyama – 10.3% 3. Collin Morikawa – 8.8% 4. Jon Rahm – 7.8% 5. Patrick Cantlay – 7.3% Tickets 1. Jon Rahm – 6.3% 2. Collin Morikawa – 5.6% 3. Cameron Smith – 5.1% 4. Jordan Spieth – 5.1% 5. Patrick Cantlay – 4.6% According to the odds, Rory McIlroy is the second favorite at +1100 but he was only pulling in 3.8% of the tickets and 3.1% of the handle. Collin Morikawa (+2000) is BetMGM’s biggest liability. He’s had some success at Muirfield Village as a runner-up last year while he also won the Workday Charity Open, which was held at the course in 2020 during the COVID-19 affected schedule. Last year’s winner, Patrick Cantlay, has tightened from +1800 to +1600, but the FedExCup champion is coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Scottie Scheffler was rewarded Sunday for his strong start to his first PGA TOUR season. Scheffler, who will enter the new year ranked 20th in the FedExCup, won the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition for making the most birdies and eagles in the fall portion of the 2020 schedule. Scheffler finished with 139 birdies and eagles, one more than Lanto Griffin. “It’s awesome. It’s great for RSM to put that up,â€� said Scheffler, the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year. “It’s really them doing all the work, I was just lucky enough to make enough birdies. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m going to do with it.â€� For winning the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition, Scheffler earned $300,000 for the charity of his choice. He finished fifth in The RSM Classic after shooting 15-under 267. It was his fifth top-25 in seven starts this fall, and third top-10. Griffin, the Houston Open champion, started the week with the lead in Birdies Fore Love, but shot a first-round 74. He rallied with a second-round 65 but fell one shot short of the cut. He could only watch as Scheffler shot 63-68 on the weekend at Sea Island’s Seaside Course. Scheffler made eight birdies Saturday but didn’t have one on his front nine Sunday. He made four on the back nine to squeak by Griffin. Griffin earned $150,000 for the charity of his choice for finishing second in the Birdies Fore Love competition, while Denny McCarthy earned $50,000 for finishing third.

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