After a tumultuous year in the world of golf, the PGA Tour reaches its season-ending finale at East Lake with Scottie Scheffler leading in the race for the FedEx Cup.
The top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings have qualified for the Tour Championship and are set to battle it out for the title of FedEx Cup champion, as well as increased prize money, with a whopping $18 million on offer for the winner.
Last Year
Patrick Cantlay won the Tour Championship, giving him the FedEx Cup and the $15 million bonus last year after winning the final two playoff events, finishing one stroke ahead of Jon Rahm.
The Field
The Tour Championship is a no-cut event featuring the Top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings following the BMW Championship, so there's a chance that some of your favourite players may be missing out this week.
There are still question marks over the fitness of Cameron Smith, who didn't play last week due to injury problems - although the Australian's injury did seem coincidental as speculation over his commitment to LIV mounted...
Will Zalatoris, who was third place in the rankings heading in, has had to withdraw after being diagnosed with two herniated discs. This means that if the other 29 players complete four rounds this week, Zalatoris will finish in last place in the final standings and receive a $500,000 payout.
In total there are five previous FedEx Cup champions in the field this week, with Rory McIlroy seeking to become the first player to win the title three times after triumphing in 2016 and 2019.
Here's how the starting leaderboard will look on Thursday morning:
- -10 - Scottie Scheffler
- -8 - Patrick Cantlay
- -7 - Will Zalatoris
- -6 - Xander Schauffele
- -5 - Sam Burns
- -4 - Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im
- -3 - Jon Rahm, Scott Stallings, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick
- -2 - Max Homa, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Joaquin Niemann, Viktor Hovland
- -1 - Collin Morikawa, Billy Horschel, Tom Hoge, Corey Conners, Brian Harman
- Even - KH Lee, JT Poston, Sahith Theegala, Adam Scott, Aaron Wise
The Course
East Lake GC is a 7,346 par 70 layout in Atlanta, Georgia which has played permanent host to this event since 2004. The home of legendary golfer Bobby Jones, East Lake is tight and tree-lined with greens that could reach up to 13 on the Stimpmeter, meaning that it provides a full test of a golfer's game.
There are two straightforward par 5s but the tricky par 3s must be respected, whilst there is water in play on a number of holes as the name suggests.
Winning totals have often hovered in the low double digits under par (without starting strokes) but there is the possibility of storms this week, which could soften the course conditions and provide more opportunity for scoring.
Golfalot Tips...
These are our tips for lowest gross total this week, rather than finishing position with Starting Strokes.
Rory McIlroy @ 7/1
The Northern Irishman has had a couple of quiet weeks, missing the cut at the first playoff event, but he is something of an East Lake specialist after winning twice here already. He starts six strokes behind the leader Scheffler so will need to play positively too.
Collin Morikawa @ 28/1
No wins this season for the American who just hasn't quite found the same rhythm as in 2021 but there have still been plenty of good results too, with top fives in two majors and at the FedEx St Jude Champioship. East Lake should suit his precise game.