The final leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs will see the top 29 players battling for the 2022 Tour Championship title and the $18 million grand prize that goes along with it starting Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

There would have been 30 players competing at the season-ending championship, but Will Zalatoris, who won the first FedEx Cup playoff event and was ranked sixth on the list for the postseason finale, withdrew on Tuesday with a back injury.

Players will start at staggered scores based on which position they came into the Tour Championship on the FedEx Cup points list.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is on top to begin the week, with BMW Champion Patrick Cantlay in second place.

The starting scores for the field are as follows:

S. Scheffler -10

P. Cantlay -8

X. Schauffele -6

S. Burns -5

C. Smith/R. McIlroy/T. Finau/S. Straka/S. Im -4

J. Rahm/S. Stallings/J. Thomas/C. Young/M. Fitzpatrick -3

M. Homa/H. Matsuyama/J. Spieth/J. Niemann/V. Hovland -2

C. Morikawa/B. Horschel/T. Hoge/C. Conners/B. Harman -1

K.H. Lee/J.T. Poston/S. Theegala/A. Scott/A. Wise EVEN

Corey Conners is the lone Canadian to advance to the tournament, and he’s a whopping nine strokes off the pace.

With that being the case, the 30-year-old from Listowel, Ont., sports incredibly long +9500 odds to win the FedEx Cup.

Let’s start with some outright winners likely to snag the trophy, then follow that with first-round leaders and sleepers.

OUTRIGHT WINNERS

Xander Schauffele +650

Starting in third position is Xander Schauffele, who begins the tournament four adrift of top spot.

He’s treated East Lake as his personal playground in the five consecutive years he’s made it to the playoff finale.

He won it in his debut performance in 2017, then followed that up with a tie for seventh the following year.

In the last three iterations, he was runner-up in both 2019 and 2020, and tied for fifth last season.

That doesn’t fully tell the whole story, however.

If you take starting strokes out of the equation, Schauffele was second in 2019, would’ve won the event in 2020, and was third a year ago.

In 20 all-time rounds at this venue, he’s shot in the 60s in all but two occasions (when he shot 70 on the par-71 track).

The X-Man is first in a trio of ‘strokes gained’ categories at this course, including total strokes gained, short game and putting.

He’s also third tee-to-green, and fourth in ball striking.

Schauffele also comes into this championship with a ton of form, as he has three victories in his last 10 starts.

He very nearly made it four last weekend, where he eventually settled for a third-place tie at the BMW Championship.

The 28-year-old American sports the third-shortest odds for the tournament at +650 on FanDuel, but his recent great play plus his comfort level at this track makes him a great option.

Sam Burns +2000

Starting just one stroke behind Schauffele (and five back overall) is Sam Burns.

He’s had a phenomenal campaign, as he’s racked up titles at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Valspar Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge.

In the first two playoff events Burns was solid, with a pair of top-2 finishes.

In Memphis, he gained more than six shots on the field tee-to-green.

Then at the BMW, he picked up nearly four strokes over his competitors on the greens.

If the 26-year-old can marry together those two skills, he could be a force to be reckoned with.

Burns can make birdies in bunches, as he ranks seventh in birdie average for the campaign.

That will be a necessity for him to bridge the five-shot gap over Scheffler.

Considering he starts in fourth place, his +2000 odds at FanDuel are enticing.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERS

Patrick Cantlay +220

When looking at possible first-round leaders, it realistically boils down to Scottie Scheffler (-140), Patrick Cantlay (+220) or Xander Schauffele (+1000).

No other player has shorter than +2700 odds that Sam Burns is installed at right now.

Since Schauffele is four behind top spot, naturally the best value is in Cantlay, especially since he won the second playoff event at the BMW.

Last weekend, the 30-year-old gained nearly nine shots over his peers tee-to-green.

He’s also seventh in first-round scoring on the season.

Cantlay is third in birdie average, which obviously he’ll need plenty of in order to overtake Scheffler.

In his last 12 rounds, Cantlay, who also won the Zurich Classic this year, is third in total strokes gained.

He also ranks in the top 10 in a slew of ‘strokes gained’ categories.

As we outlined earlier in the story, Schauffele is outstanding at East Lake, but the four-shot gap might be too tall a task to overcome over 18 holes, leaving Cantlay as the best option to be ahead after Thursday.

SLEEPERS

Jon Rahm Top 5 - +190

By his lofty standards, 2022 hasn’t exactly been a phenomenal year for Jon Rahm as he has just the one title (Vidanta Mexico Open) to his credit.

However, it’s not as if the former World No. 1 has been playing poorly, and in the postseason his game has really been sharp, as he’s posted  T-5 and T-8 finishes.

For those two events, the fiery Spaniard ranks first in SG: off-the-tee, and fourth in total strokes gained.

He’s also been very strong at this venue, finishing fourth in 2020 and last year, he was the runner-up.

Had you taken the starting strokes out of the equation, Rahm tied for the lowest 72-hole score a year ago.

In his 20 career rounds at this course, the 27-year-old is fifth in total strokes gained.

He begins seven behind Scheffler, so a run at the title will be difficult, but getting into the top-five certainly is doable for the best player off-the-tee on the campaign.

Adam Scott Top 10 - +410

It won’t be easy for Adam Scott to overtake plenty of golfers to make his way into the top 10, by virtue of the 42-year-old Australian starting at even par, 10 behind the leader.

However, his game has been really stellar in the postseason as he’s put together back-to-back top-five results.

For years, Scott’s putting was considered a weakness, but in those two events he picked up over nine shots on the dance floor compared to his fellow players.

That ranks him tops over the entire field on the greens over those eight rounds.

He’s also seen success at this venue, with top-10 finishes in his past three attempts.

In his last 12 rounds at East Lake, he’s the best in ball striking and tee-to-green play, and fourth in total strokes gained.

It’s likely far too tall a task to expect him to contend for the title at the Tour Championship, but a top-10 result isn’t out of the realm of possibilities as he’s priced at +410 on FanDuel.