The Fortinet Championship 2023 is finally very close. The tournament begins on Thursday this week, on the 14th of September. Five of the former title winners are returning this year, besides defending champion Max Homa. Stewart Cink, Cameron Champ, Kevin Tway, Bae Sang-moon, and Jimmy Walker are on the field list this year.

With a total 174-player field, the event undoubtedly promises a strong, competitive, and nail-biting four days. Among them, however, there can be only one who walks away with the trophy on Sunday. So let’s dive into the crème de la crème of that list, who we believe are the likeliest to do so!

Which star is most likely to outshine the others at the Fortinet Championship in 2023?

The Fortinet Championship boasts an extremely competitive field, including several former champions. However, there are five players who stand out as a result of how they’ve performed this season. They are as below:

1. Max Homa:

Max Homa is the defending champion of the Fortinet Championship this year. Notably, he played as the defending champion last year as well and won the title consecutively for the second time in 2022. Moreover, in the 2023 season too, Homa has been more-than-impressive. He has won two titles and finished as the runner-up once. Homa finished 17 events in the top 25, of which 12 were top-10 finishes. In all four of his most recent events, he has finished in the top 10. We rest our case.

2. Justin Thomas:

Justin Thomas is the only other player after Max Homa playing in this tournament who holds a current world rank of less than 25. He’s a former World No. 1 and has won 15 PGA Tour events, including two major championships. Thomas may not have had the best season this year, but he has pulled himself back into form with the most recent Wyndham Championship.

JT finished in a shared 12th place in the event. Overall, he has placed in the top 25 in 10 of the 20 events he has played. With the recent Ryder Cup pushing his momentum and motivation far, he might do some real magic in the upcoming Fortinet Championship.

3. Sahith Theegala:

Sahith Theegala is an up-and-coming golfer who finished ninth in the Master’s Tournament in 2023. Theegala finished last year’s Fortinet Championship within the top ten positions. Looking at his current season, he has finished 12 events within the top 25 positions. Of the 25, he finished within the top 10 in seven events.

The American star made the cut for all three FedEx Cup Playoffs. In both the St. Jude event and the BMW Championship, he finished within the top 15 positions. With his consistent and progressive form throughout the season, he is likely to be one of the important players to watch out for in the tournament.

4. Eric Cole:

Eric Cole has had an impressive season this year. He made the cut for the St.Jude Championship for the FedEx Cup and qualified for the BMW Championship as well. He finished the BMW Championship in a shared 25th position. Speaking of top-25 finishes, he has had ten of them this season. In three events, he finished in the top 10. Cole notably finished the Mexico Open in April this year in a shared 5th position. He repeated the energetic finish later in the RBC Canadian Open as well, in which he finished in a shared 6th position.

5. Cam Davis:

Cam Davis’ career high is probably his big win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2021. The 28-year-old Australian golfer finished nine tournaments this season within the top 25 positions. Of the nine, Davis had six top-10 finishes, including the PGA Championship in 2023. Davis has shown a pattern of either playing really well and finishing in the top 10 or sometimes not making the cut at all. Unpredictability aside, he has performed impressively this season.

Even though these players have been chosen as the top 5 to win, it is certainly not going to be a cakewalk for any of them. After all, with the ever-competitive 174-player field and the stakes being in the millions, everyone is fighting for the top spot.

How much is the prize money for the Fortinet Championship?

The North Course at the Silverado Resort will host the event once again this year, just like it has since 2014. At the par 72 course this year, aside from the five stars listed above, Ryder Cup USA team skipper Zach Johnson will also be in the ranks, trying to get his hand on the multi-million dollar winner’s check.

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The prize money for the event is $8.4 million for the current year, which is a five percent increase from last year’s $8 million. Of that whopping seven-figure amount, the winner stands to gain $1.512 million in addition to his shiny trophy. The title winner will additionally receive 500 FedEx Cup points at the end of the tournament, as well as 30 points for the World Rankings (OWGR).

Key details about the tournament and its timing

The championship will be played at the north course of the Silverado Resort and Spa. The tournament gates will open at 7 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 8 a.m. on the weekend days. A concert pass is part of the ticket as well. On Friday and Saturday, the concert gates will open at 5.30 PM, and on the weekend days, at 5 PM.

As per the official website for the tournament, “All Friday and Saturday tournament tickets include admission to the concert after golf (there are no concert-only tickets).” The concert gates at the South Course, hole number 2, open 90 minutes prior to the beginning of the concert on each day. More clearly, on Thursday and Friday, the concert will begin at 7 p.m., and on the weekend days at 6.30 p.m.

As per the information on the website, there are two types of tickets available for purchase: Daily Grounds and Premium Pass. “All tickets must be purchased by the day (Thursday through Sunday).” More information about the tickets is available on the official website of the tournament.

For online fans, the tournament can be streamed live on Fubo TV.

Do you agree with our picks for the top contenders? Who do you think we missed out on? Tell us in the comments!

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