Jul 17, 2022; St. Andrews, SCT; Rory McIlroy tees off on the third hole during the final round of the 150th Open Championship golf tournament at St. Andrews Old Course. Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy early favorite to win St. Jude's Championship

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/8/22

After what has been a very topsy-turvy PGA Tour season, the FedEx Cup playoffs have finally arrived. Things get kicked off this week with the St. Jude's Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, and a familiar face is the early favorite to win this week's big event.

Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 6 in the FedEx standings with two big Tour wins on the season, currently leads the pack in the latest betting odds at most sportsbooks across the country. DraftKings has him listed at 9-1 in the odds posted Monday morning, while other books have him listed as the 11-1 favorite.

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McIlroy hasn't played since the Open Championship on July 17 -- an event he was also favored to win -- when he maintained the lead until partway through the final round before being overtaken by Australian phenom Cameron Smith. Smith enters the field as an 18-1 long shot.

McIlroy is having a strong season overall heading into the championship portion of the campaign and has even improved over his last eight events.

Rory McIlroy has gained 98.01 strokes to the field in his last eight starts. That's the best 8-event stretch of any golfer dating back to the start of last season.

98.01 - Rory*
90.01 - Rahm '21 TOUR Champ
85.18 - Xander*
83.51 Finau*
82.65 Spieth '21 Open

*current pic.twitter.com/8fD9S4wjVd
— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) August 8, 2022

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Other notable golfers high up on the odds chart include world No.1-ranked Scottie Scheffler, who sits in a five-way tie at 14-1 odds heading into this week's event. Scheffler has four wins on the season including the Masters back in April. His highest finishes since then were a pair of second-place performances at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the U.S. Open.

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