The Punter's De-brief: Scheffler secures second Tour Championship in three years

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10:00 - August 31, 2026 - Superb Scheffler cruises to another East Lake success

After his facile victory at the FedEx St Jude, a nasty dose of the hand, foot and mouth virus derailed Scottie Scheffler at the second of the three FedEx Cup playoff events, the BMW Championship, but there was nothing to stop the world number one at East Lake last week.

Trailing by three with a round to play, the pre-event 4.57/2 chance had work to do to win his second Tour Championship in three years but after just four holes of his final round he was tied with the 54-hole leader, Viktor Hovland.

With nobody else muscling in on the proceedings, Scheffler edged ahead a couple of times, but it was nip and tuck for much of the final round between him and Hovland.

The pair were momentarily tied again when Scheffler bogeyed the 14^th and Hovland was matched at a low of 2.285/4 in-running but the Norwegian ran out of steam towards the end.

Scheffler edged ahead just minutes after his bogey at 14 when Hovland dropped a shot at 13 and the world number one eventually won cosily by three after he'd birdied the 16^th and Hovland had dropped another shot at 17.

It was a great way to end what had been a bit of a frustrating season for Scheffler and I can't help but think if he hadn't caught the hand. foot and mouth virus, he may well have won all three playoff events.

Earlier in the day, my 210.0209/1 Find Me a 100 Winner pick, Marcus Helligkilde, made an early move in round four of the British Masters.

Despite beginning the final round six off the lead in a tie for 16^th, the Dane was on the fringes of contention after birdies at two and three but it was one of his playing partners, Joe Dean, who had been a column pick in the event last year at 250.0249/1 that started smartly and kicked on.

Dean, who had been a 140.0139/1 chance before the off, had begun the final round seven off the lead and tied for 25^th, and he was understandably matched at a high of 200.0199/1 on Sunday morning, but after four birdies in his first six holes, he was creeping into the picture.

With the round three pacesetters all floundering, Dean was firmly in the frame when he birdied the 10^th, and he was tied for the lead after two more at 13 and 14.

The 54-hole leader, Daniel Hillier, who never got going in round four, was matched at a low of 2.68/5 and Marco Penge, who had looked the most likely winner for much of the weekend, was matched at a low of 1.42/5, but the Englishman finished poorly once Dean had birdied the last two holes to post an incredible nine-under-par 63.

Penge bogeyed the last two holes to finish the week tied for six and having begun the final round seven off the pace, Dean went on to win by three.

It was frustrating not to be on Dean from the start having backed him umpteen times at tree-lined tracks because I knew he played a lot of golf at tree-lined Hillsborough Golf Club in Sheffield and it wasn't a shock that someone won from off the pace given I wrote this paragraph yesterday morning...

"Although the soft conditions should favour the frontrunners, after such a marathon stint over the last couple of days, mental and physical fatigue could be an issue and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see someone get hot at just the right time and post a score nobody can get to."

Oh well, on to this week and thankfully we've got a brilliant event to look forward to - the Omega European Masters - which I've previewed here.

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11:15 - August 30, 2026 - Scheffler fancied to claim the spoils at East Lake

They're still playing catch up at the British Masters and it's a bit of a messy picture.

Round three restarted at 7:00 this morning but in an attempt to get four rounds in to make it a regulation 72-hole event, there's been no redraw between rounds three and four and players have gone out in round four in the same order and in the same groups as they did for round three.

Angel Hidalgo made a huge move early on this morning and he was matched at a low of 7.06/1 when he got to 12-under-par for the week but a bogey at the 18^th hole in round three and another at his first in round four, has hampered him and it was Daniel Hillier and Marco Penge that sat at the top of the leaderboard after 54 holes.

Hillier posted a steady three-under-par 69 to get to -12 and Penge recovered well after a disastrous start to the day.

After finishing the front nine with a triple bogey seven at the eighth and a bogey at the ninth, the Englishman posted a two-under-par back nine to get back to -10, two behind Hillier, with 18 to play.

The fourth round is now well underway and live on Sky Sports and the leaders have just started. It's due to finish at around 16:00, so they might just miss the poor weather forecasted for later in the day.

Hillier was trading at around 2/13.00 after he'd completed his third round and that was mildly tempting but I'm leaving the event alone for now.

Although the soft conditions should favour the frontrunners, after such a marathon stint over the last couple of days, mental and physical fatigue could be an issue and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see someone get hot at just the right time and post a score nobody can get to.

Over on the PGA Tour, there have been no such issues with the weather, and the Tour Championship is on track.

It looked for much of the third round that we might have a very bunched leaderboard to assess today but co-36-hole leader, Ryan Gerard, remained on course with a steady four-under-par 66 that was sealed with a birdie at the 18^th and his fellow 36 hole leader, Viktor Hovland, birdied four of his last six holes to hit the front.

Here's the 54-hole leaderboard with prices to back on the Betfair Exchange at 11:05.

Viktor Hovland -15 2.6613/8
Ryan Gerard -14 5.79/2
Scottie Scheffler -12 5.69/2
Chris Gotterup -12 13.012/1
Ludvig Aberg -12 13.012/1
Adam Scott -12 20.019/1
Rory McIlroy -10 30.029/1
Cameron Young -10 55.054/1
-9 and 130.0129/1 bar

Between 2008 and 2011, three of the four winners came form off the pace. Bill Haas won the 2011 edition from three adrift with a round to go, Phil Mickelson trailed by four in 2009 and Camilo Villegas won from five back so Rory McIlroy and Cam Young backers still have hope but it's highly likely that one of the front six will get the job done.

Hovland has led with 18 to play five times in total and the only time he failed to convert was at the Boise Open on the Korn Ferry Tour back in 2019, when he finished second.

On the last occasion he was in front with a round to go, at the Travelers Championship in June, it looked like he might get beat by the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, who was matched at a low of 1.152/13, but he beat him in a Monday playoff with a birdie three at the first extra hole.

His record is strong and he's fairly priced at around 7/42.75 but at odds in excess of 9/25.50 on the Betfair Exchange, I've backed Scheffler to get revenge for his River Highlands defeat.

Trailing by three, Scheffler is a point bigger than he went off at the start of the week and that looks very fair.

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15:35 - August 29, 2026 - Hovland and Gerard tied for the lead but Scottie Scheffler heads the market

Play started on time at the British Masters this morning and at the time of writing, Marco Penge leads the event by a stroke after he completed his seven-under-par second round at the Belfry this morning.

The entire field has now either completed round two or is playing round two and I'll revisit the event either later today or first thing tomorrow, depending on a finishing time and whether they declare the tournament a 54-hole event, but for now I'm concentrating on the FedEx Cup finale on the PGA Tour, the Tour Championship, where two men are tied at the top at the halfway stage.

Here's the 36-hole leaderboard with prices to back on the Betfair Exchange at 15:25.

Viktor Hovland -10 6.25/1
Ryan Gerard -10 9.89/1
Collin Morikawa -9 8.88/1
Chris Gotterup -9 8.88/1
Scottie Scheffler -8 4.57/2
Cameron Young -8 13.525/2
Ludvig Aberg -7 22.021/1
Matt Fitzpatrick -7 30.029/1
Justin Rose -7 40.039/1
Adam Scott -7 48.047/1
Sam Burns -6 40.039/1
-6 and 90.089/1 bar

Tommy Fleetwood was tied for the lead at this stage before he went on to win last year but if we disregard the six editions between 2019 and 2024, when a handicap system was in place before the off, there have been four instances recently when someone has come from five strokes off the pace at halfway to win.

The 2008 winner, Camilo Villegas, the 2009 champ, Phil Mickelson, the 2012 winner, Brandt Snedeker, and the 2016 playoff protagonists, Rory McIlroy (winner) and Ryan Moore, were all five adrift at the halfway stage so it's possible that we see someone come from off the pace at a huge price and the one I like is Russell Henley.

Henley, who was tied for the lead at this stage last year, having led by two after round one, started slowly this week with a level par 70 but he's now only five off the lead after a five-under-par 65 yesterday, and he's a better performer off the pace than he is on it.

I was happy to chance him at 100.099/1 and I've also had a small bet on Cameron Young, who stated the event even slower.

Young, who has a new putter in the bag this week, was three-over-par after the first five holes on Thursday but after getting it back to level, he shot a brilliant eight-under-par 62 yesterday to get to within two of the lead.

Young won the Wyndham Championship at another Donald Ross layout, Sedgefield Country Club, last year and form there stands up brilliantly at East Lake so it's no surprise that the venue clearly suits him and I thought 14.013/1 was a fair price.

Alongside Young in a tie for fifth, the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, is back to the head of the market on the Betfair Exchange, but he's been tough to get right this year and I was happy to scan further down the betting list.

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21:00 - August 28, 2026 - Englishman surges to the front at weather-affected British Masters

It's somewhat Ironic that as we near the end of the one of the driest summers ever seen in England, that the first non-major on English soil in 2026, the British Masters, has been severely disrupted by wet weather.

More than seven hours were lost on day one, there was another lengthy delay of over two hours on Friday afternoon, and the first round was only completed at 17:19 local time on Friday evening.

Play has been suspended for the day due to darkness and England's Marco Penge has stolen a march on the rest.

He currently sits on 11-under-par with four holes of round two to play and he's two in front of Daniel Hillier and four clear of the remainder.

Marco Penge leads by two on Friday evening with the second round concluding on Saturday #HusqvarnaBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/cU4tNgiKB7

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 28, 2026

Half the field are yet to start their second rounds and the first-round leader, Nacho Elvira, is four back. The Spaniard is due to start his second round at 9:55 on Saturday morning.

Penge is definitely a bit short at around 9/43.25 on the Betfair Exchange if they manage to get 72 holes played but if the tournament gets reduced to 54 holes the price looks much fairer, although still not hugely appealing.

Given it's hard to gauge how long the event is going to be, I'm happy to leave it alone and see how tomorrow pans out.

Play will resume at 7.30, with those yet to start their second rounds teeing off between 8.45 and 10.45. According to the DP World Tour website, round three will not start before 16:00.

The second round of the Tour Championship is still ongoing, and I'll look at the event at the halfway stage tomorrow.

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