012026 페덱스컵 폴 개막… 노스캐롤라이나 홈필드와 상승세 흐름이 열쇠
2026시즌 PGA 투어 페덱스컵 폴(FedExCup Fall) 시리즈가 미국 노스캐롤라이나주 서부 블루리짓 산맥에 위치한 더 클리프스에서 열리는 '빌트모어 챔피언십 아슈빌'을 시작으로 8개 대회의 대장정에 돌입한다. 이번 가을 시리즈는 내년도(2027년) PGA 투어 시드 확보 및 순위 상승을 노리는 선수들에게 치열한 경쟁의 장이다. 이에 스포츠베팅 플랫폼 드래프트킹스(DraftKings)는 단순 우승자 예측을 넘어 다양한 베팅 시장에서 주목할 만한 추천 선수들을 공개했다.
가장 주목받는 선수는 노스캐롤라이나 출신의 J.T. 포스턴이다. 웨스턴 캐롤라이나 대학교를 졸업한 포스턴은 이번 대회가 열리는 잭 니클라우스 설계 코스에서 강한 면모를 보여왔다. 이미 올해 같은 니클라우스 코스인 뮤어필드 빌리지에서 열린 메모리얼 토너먼트 정상을 차지했던 그는, 페덱스 세인트 주드 챔피언십 공동 24위, BMW 챔피언십 공동 22위 등 플레이오프 시리즈에서도 견조한 샷감을 유지하며 유력한 상위권 후보로 평가받고 있다.
신예들과 반등에 성공한 베테랑들의 기세도 매섭다. 프로 전향 단 3경기 만에 세계 1위 스코티 셰플러를 3타 차로 제치고 3M 오픈을 제패하며 프레지던츠컵 팀까지 발탁된 21세 초특급 신인을 비롯해, 7월 이후 5개 대회 연속 컷 통과와 함께 상위권 진입을 이어가고 있는 노르웨이 출신 선수 등 최근 경기력이 올라온 선수들이 베팅 팬들의 눈길을 끌고 있다.
그룹 베팅 부문에서는 프레지던츠컵 단장 추천으로 선발된 니콜라스 에차바리아가 윈덤 챔피언십과 멤피스 대회 연속 공동 12위를 기록한 기세를 바탕으로 에밀리아노 그리요를 위협하는 유력 후보로 지목됐다. 또한 콘페리 투어 상위권 진입으로 내년 PGA 투어 시드가 확실시되는 브라운 등 최근까지 실전 감각을 끌어올린 선수들이 기대를 모은다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
The FedExCup Fall begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina at the Biltmore Championship Asheville. The first of eight events to wrap up 2026 offers players ample chances to improve their final standing and earn guaranteed starts on the PGA Tour in 2027. DraftKings Sportsbook provides angles across multiple markets within each tournament to increase your chances of selecting winners outside of the event champion. Let’s dig in!
(Editor’s Note: For more expert betting picks, fantasy advice and event previews, visit DraftKings Network.)
The Jack Nicklaus design may invoke memories of Old Greenwood’s mountain course at Tahoe Mountain Club, where two of the last three winners of the Barracuda Championship, 2025 winner Ryan Gerard (from Chapel Hill) and 2023 champion Akshay Bhatia (Raleigh), both have ties to North Carolina. Poston, a Western Carolina alum and Hickory, North Carolina, native, has one win this season, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village, another Jack Nicklaus design. Steady throughout the bag, Poston arrives after earning T24 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and T22 at the BMW Championship to wrap up his 2026.
I am a believer. Over the last three years, the pressure and spotlight have been directly on “the next biggest thing” in golf. He earned status on Tour through the PGA Tour University Accelerated in 2025 but waited until 2026 to make the leap to the professional ranks. Turning pro after the U.S. Open in June, he defeated Scottie Scheffler by three shots in late July to win the 3M Open for his first win on Tour in just his third start as a professional. Last week, he was selected to join the Presidents Cup team. Oh, and he’s 21. Fade him at your own risk.
The 31-year-old Norwegian missed the weekend in 11 of his first 13 starts of 2026 but has recovered nicely since early July. Earning a T5 at the ISCO Championship began a run of five consecutive events cashing a check, including three paydays of T15 or better, including another T5 at the Rocket Classic. During his run, he produced 14 rounds of 20 at 68 or better. His worst round during this streak is 72, three times. Let’s gamble.
I am leaning on a bit of recency and regional bias. James, a graduate of the University of Virginia, opened with 62 and closed with 61 at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro in his last start. Hitting the podium in third place, he earned his second top-five payday in his last four starts (T4, Corales Puntacana Championship). Kohles, another University of Virginia graduate, is shopping for his 13th consecutive payday across the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour this summer. In his previous 12 outings, he’s cashed T29 or better 11 times and lifted the trophy at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina on the Korn Ferry Tour. Thompson completes the trio and enters the week smoldering. His last three events of the 2026 regular season included T7 at the 3M Open followed by T8 at the Rocket Classic and T14 at the Wyndham Championship. On a brand-new layout, I am backing the most recent form to produce.
This time last year, he was entering his freshman season at the University of Tennessee, but he had time to make the cut at the Procore Championship on his PGA Tour debut. Playing the Sanderson Farms Championship three weeks later, he picked up his second weekend tee time in as many PGA Tour events. The 2025 Sunnehanna Amateur Champion added the 2026 Northeast Amateur to his trophy cabinet, reinforcing his class and pedigree. The No. 2-ranked amateur in the world was also a member of the 2026 Walker Cup team that was on the losing side at Lahinch on the first weekend of September. Time for a fresh restart.
While Emiliano Grillo (+176) is the favorite in the six-man group, I am backing the newly minted Presidents Cup captain’s pick. Before Geoff Ogilvy made his selections, the Colombian, a three-time winner on Tour, planted the seed with a T12 result at the Wyndham Championship followed by another T12 in the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs in Memphis. The other four players in the group are truly outsiders, so I will pile on Echavarria in his quest to prove Ogilvy right.
Currently ranked No. 11 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with three events remaining, Brown is almost guaranteed a spot on the PGA Tour in 2027. A victory this week in North Carolina would confirm his place. Bouncing back and forth between Tours this summer, he earned paydays of T18 or better in six of eight PGA Tour events this year when he has made the cut. Unlike the other four PGA Tour members in this group who have not played competitive golf in weeks, Brown returned to action last week in Nashville (T49) and knocked off any rust that accumulated during the three-week break.
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