The PGA Tour heads to Texas for this week's Austin Championship, the penultimate event of the Fall series before focus turns to what may happen in 2027.
Plenty is on the line at this new venue, the Omni Barton Creek Resort, as the top 100 players in the FedEx Cup rankings at year's end will gain full status on the Tour. That would provide some valuable security with the fallout from the collapse of LIV Golf still not fully known.
Many eyes will be on teenager Blades Brown after he earned a playoff win over Ben James to take last week's World Wide Technology Championship, and there looks like a strong chance he can be right in the mix again in what is not a particularly strong field by Tour standards.
The fairways are generous and players of this standard should have few issues tackling a resort course that contains four reachable par-fives and a driveable par four.
Those strong off the tee may have an advantage, but plenty of players will be motivated to gain some assurance in an uncertain time, and that should lead to a highly competitive tournament where no one takes it easy.
Austin Championship picks and predictions
Jackson Koivun to win Austin Championship (+1300)
Brown showed how these Fall tournaments can be snapped up by the most promising young players in the game when he won in Mexico last week, and there looks to be a strong chance another starlet will head home with the trophy in Austin.
Jackson Koivun is just 21, but he already knows what it feels like to win on the PGA Tour. He secured the 3M Open at the end of July and, following a month off, he put in a decent performance at the World Wide Technology Championship last week after a slow start.
He finished 21st in Mexico and has already achieved plenty in his blossoming career, including a surprise and impressive debut representing the United States at the Presidents Cup.
This is not a strong field in Texas this week, and he can lead from the front and give favorite backers a successful Sunday as the year begins to draw to a close.
Pierceson Coody to win Austin Championship (+3000)
With little to no course form to go on for this week's tournament, Texans will inevitably come under the spotlight, and one who could prove a popular winner is Pierceson Coody.
Coody went to college in Austin and has the sort of ability that should make him a factor this week, so long as his putter behaves itself.
That didn't happen when he finished 33rd at the World Wide Technology Championship, but his first tour hole-in-one will have put a smile on his face, and that performance came after he finished sixth at the previous week's Mexico Open.
He is 60th in the FedEx Cup standings, so there is still a bit of work to do, and he will be conscious that he can qualify for the opening two signature events of 2027 if he can maintain that standing.
The motivation is there, and Coody, who was runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open at the start of the year, looks to have a strong chance to claim that all-important first PGA Tour victory.
Seamus Power to win Austin Championship (+4500)
Seamus Power looks a form horse, and his game is in a strong place as 2026 comes to a close.
He has taken a real shine to these Fall events, finishing seventh at the Biltmore Championship before he was beaten by Austin Smotherman in a playoff at the Bermuda Championship a fortnight ago.
The Irishman put that disappointment behind him to come home a creditable eighth at the World Wide Technology Championship, suggesting he can be a force again in this sort of company.
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Austin Championship outright odds
Jackson Koivun | +1300 |
Doug Ghim | +1700 |
Blades Brown | +2400 |
Jordan Smith | +2400 |
Brian Harman | +2700 |
Andrew Hovak | +3000 |
Pierceson Coody | +3000 |
Chris Kirk | +3200 |
Austin Smotherman | +3500 |
Ben Kohles | +3500 |
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time
