ATLANTA — A memorable PGA Tour season, filled with Tiger Woods returnThe Emergence of rivalsLIV Golf Invitational Series is over. The Tour Championship will begin Thursday at East Lake Golf Club.
The 30 players who progressed to the season-ending championship have a lot at stake, with a $18 million bonus for the winner. The second-place finisher will earn $6.5million, with $5 million going towards third, $4million to fourth, and $3million to fifth. The player who finishes in 30th place will be awarded $500,000.
It will once more be a starting strokes format with world No. 1 golfer Scottie SchefflerStart the tournament with a 2 stroke advantage over the rest of the field. This advantage has proven to be a winning strategy in the past. Each of the three Tour Championship winners began the tournament at a minimum 5-under par in 2019.
Scheffler replied, Just the same as every week, just go to the field and try my best, when Scheffler was asked how he would approach this unusual format. This is the only week in the year when you actually get strokes, but I think its best if I ignore that and just go out and play my best.
Heres a list of all the players who are likely to win the tournament.
1. Scottie Scheffler (10 under)
Scheffler was the only four-time winner this season. He bounced back from missing the FedEx St. Jude Championship cut with a tie for third at BMW Championship, which moved Scheffler back to the top in the points standings. He finished 22nd in the Tour Championship last season.
2. Patrick Cantlay (8 under)
The FedEx Cup champion is heating things up again. He became the first player at the BMW Championship to defend a playoff win. He won by 1 stroke last year after he had won four rounds in the 60s. Jon RahmEast Lake. Cantlay would become the FedEx Cups first back to back winner.
Its over once the tongues come out😂 pic.twitter.com/jtdM8WQmHg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 22, 2022
3. Xander Schauffele (6 under)
Schauffele has qualified in the Tour Championship every year since he became a PGA Tour member. In four of his five previous appearances, he has been in the top five in playoffs. He has two victories and a tie in third in the BMW Championship over his last five starts.
4. Cameron Smith (4 under)
The BMW Championship was skipped by the Australian because of lingering hip discomfortAccording to his manager, it was. Smith was penalized two strokes for playing his golf after an unintentional drop in Memphis, Tennessee. If Smith wins the Open Championship, he might make his last start on the PGA Tour. Reports about him joining rival LIV golf are accurate.
5. Sam Burns (5 under)
Burns, Cantlay, and This Seasons Three-Time Winner on Tour are Burns, Cantlay, and Justin ThomasThe only players to finish in top 10 in FedEx Cup points standings in 2021 & 2022 are Burns and Woods. Burns didnt do well at East Lake last season. He was 2-under over 72.
6. Will Zalatoris (7 under)
After Taking his firstZalatoris pulled out of the BMW Championship third round with a lower back injury after he won the FedEx St. Jude Championship PGA Tour. He was unable to play at the Tour Championship, where he had a 2-shot lead. Instead, he will start 3 strokes behind Scheffler.
7. Rory McIlroy (4 under)
McIlroy didn’t win the major championship he wanted this season, but he had a fantastic campaign. He was in the top 10 in eight out of 13 starts on the PGA Tour. This includes all four majors. McIlroy will attempt to be the FedEx Cups third winner.
8. Justin Thomas (3 under)
Despite winning the PGA Championship in Southern Hills, Stop a five year droughtJT didnt win a major championship, so he probably didn’t have the consistency he desired this season. Although he had nine top-10 finishes in 20 tour starts, he has not been in contention since the RBC Canadian Open in June. He was fourth at last seasons Tour Championship.
9. Jon Rahm (3 under)
The Spaniard almost chased Cantlay down after starting the 2021 Tour Championship 4 strokes behind Cantlay. Rahm finished second after playing the 54th hole with Cantlay. He is coming off consecutive top-10s. He tied for fifth in Memphis and eighth at Wilmington, Delaware.
10. Tony Finau (4 under)
Finau has performed well in the playoffs after he won back-to-back at the 3M Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic and 3M Open. He finished fifth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and 28th at The BMW Championship. He earned an automatic spot on U.S. Team in Next months Presidents CupQuail Hollow in Charlotte North Carolina, with Thomas, Burns and Scheffler.
11. Cameron Young (3 under)
The Favorite for PGA Tour Rookies of the YearYoung has been a disappointment in his first FedEx Cup Playoffs. Young was 31st in FedEx St. Jude Championship. He was 23rd at BMW Championship.
12. Sungjae Im (4 under)
After finishing 12th at FedEx St. Jude Championship, and tied for 15th at BMW Championship, the South Korean golfer is now looking for his best FedEx Cup finish. His best finish in FedEx Cup history was 11th in 2020.
13. Matt Fitzpatrick (3 under)
Fitzpatrick would love to compete at East Lake. His first major championship victoryIn the U.S. Open at Brookline Country Club in Brookline (Massachusetts) in June. When Fitzpatrick was asked about three former PGA Tour players not being allowed to play in the playoffs, he took a dig at LIV Golf. Fitzpatrick stated, Yeah. I think only three of them werent there, itsnt a huge loss in my view.
14. Scott Stallings (3 under)
After finishing second at the BMW Championship solo, Stallings will be making his first start in Tour Championship. He finished 1 stroke behind Cantlay. That result earned the 37-year old $1.62million and a trip from Atlanta.
15. Max Homa (2 under)
Homa will also be making his debut in the Tour Championship. He was 30th in the points standings when he entered the BMW Championship and advanced by tying 23rd in Wilmington.
16. Sepp Straka (4 under)
Straka, the first Austrian-born player to win the PGA Tour, might still be reeling from Zalatoris dramatic playoff loss in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He finished 28th in the BMW Championship.
17. Jordan Spieth (2 under)
Spieth admitted that his game was rusty due to a nearly one-month-long layoff after he missed the Memphis cut. He came back to the BMW Championship tied for 19th. Spieth could have finished better if he had listened more to Michael Greller, his caddie who tried to convince him not to hit a difficult shot on the fifth green at Wilmington Country Club. Spieth made a double bogey after his ball hit the water.
Double bogey to get out of the lead
Jordan Spieth and Michael Greller talk about the bunker shot that finally found the water on the 5th Hole. pic.twitter.com/9qPs1eqkdG
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2022
18. Joaquin Niemann (2 under)
Niemann, a Chilean golfer, won his second PGA Tour victory with a wire to wire win at The Genesis in February. After tying for 13th place in Memphis and eighth at Wilmington, Niemann will be entering the Tour Championship with a nice run.
19. Hideki Matsuyama (2 under)
The 2021 Masters champion is currently out of action due to injuries. He may be able to take some consolation from a good finish in Atlanta, though. Matsuyama was 35th at BMW Championship after pulling out of the 3M Open due to a wrist injury and the FedEx St. Jude Championship as a result of a neck issue.
20. Viktor Hovland (2 under)
Hovland tied 35th last weekend and made a difference in the life of a young chapdie. The Evans Scholars Foundation, which offers college scholarships, benefits from the BMW Championship. Scholarships for young caddies. BMW offered a four year $125,000 scholarship to any player who scored a hole in one prior to the event. Hovland made it on Sundays par-3 sixth hole.
21. Billy Horschel (1 under)
A good showing in Atlanta could help Horschel secure one of the six U.S. team captains for the Presidents Cup.
22. Brian Harman (1 under)
Harman is back in Tour Championship after a tie in Memphis for third. The avid hunterHe will finish his golf season this weekend just in-time for dove hunting season which begins on Sept. 3.
23. Collin Morikawa (1 under)
For most of this strange season, the two-time major champions game seemed a little off. Further evidence: He tied with 44th in BMW Championship after finishing fifth in FedEx St. Jude Championship. After making a quintuple-bogey 10, on the par-5 12th hole, he shot an 8-over 79 round. It was the worst score of his PGA Tour career, which includes more than 4,000 holes played, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
24. Adam Scott (Even)
To advance to Atlanta, the Australian made a remarkable par from a greenside bunker on 72nd hole at BMW Championship. This is his ninth appearance at the Tour Championship, but it is his first since 2019. He made a remarkable move from 77th position to 29th by tied for fifth at each of the first two playoff events.
Pure class👏@AdamScottHe plays his way into the @PlayoffFinaleGrab a clutch and save on 18. pic.twitter.com/YrLTQVOu8g
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2022
25. Sahith Theegala (Even)
Young may have won rookie honors, but Theegala could win some votes if he does something extraordinary at East Lake. After finishing 13th in Memphis, and 15th in Wilmington, he was the only rookie to make it to Atlanta. Theegala finished in the top 30 points, earning him a spot in each major, the Players, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, as well as the Memorial in 2023.
26. Corey Conners (1 under)
Conners won one of the Presidents Cup spots by advancing to Atlanta. Conners, who is a Canadian, was joined in Atlanta by Niemann and Im. Joohyung Kim Mito Pereira as automatic qualifiers.
27. Aaron Wise (Even)
Wise may not have been the final player to make the 30-man field but hes been playing some sneaky good golf for a while. Wise was averaging just five missed cuts and 10 top-25 finishes across 23 starts this season. He is back at East Lake after his 2018 PGA Tour rookie year.
28. K.H. Lee (Even)
Lee made a bogey at the 72nd hole of last years BMW Championship and was 31st in points. This is one spot less than the Tour Championship. He didnt leave Wilmington to chance, shooting a 6-under-71 and tied for fifth.
29. J.T. Poston (Even)
Poston finished 120th in FedEx Cup points after tied for third at RBC Heritage in mid April. Poston won the John Deere Classic, his second PGA Tour win. He played well down the stretch and made it into the top 30.
30. Tom Hoge (1 under)
A first-time winner on tour at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Hoges game has been out of sorts for much of the summer. After finishing tied for ninth at PGA Championship, he missed cut in seven of eight events. He tied for fourth at 3M Open the other.