Preview - TOUR Championship
COURSE: East Lake Golf Club - (Atlanta, Georgia)
ARCHITECT: Tom Bendelow
YARDS/PAR: 7,346 yards/Par 70
PRIZE Money/FedEx Champ/First Place Winnings: $60,000,000/$15,000,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Dustin Johnson
PAST RESULTS: (link)
PAST FedEx Cup CHAMPIONS: (link)
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @Playofffinale
OFFICIAL SITE: (TOUR Championship)
TV COVERAGE: Thursday, September 2 and Friday, September 3: Coverage from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.
On Saturday, September 4, Round 3 coverage 1:00pm to 2:30pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. NBC Sports takes over from 2:30pm to 7:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, September 5: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 12:00pm to 1:30pm (EDT) and NBC wraps it up from 1:30pm to 6:00pm (EDT).
PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 11:00am to 6:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live.
On Saturday, PGA Live coverage runs from 12:00pm Noon to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 11:00am to 6:00pm or conclusion (EDT).
PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the TOUR Championship with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 12:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins Saturday from 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday’s finale from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) or conclusion. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92).
How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)
TOUR Championship/Final of the FedExCup
ATLANTA - The 50-event 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season will conclude at the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned. Patrick Cantlay, the PGA TOUR leader in wins this season (3), enters the TOUR Championship at No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and will begin the tournament at 10-under via FedExCup Starting Strokes.
The FedExCup Starting Strokes system was implented at the 2019 TOUR Championship. That year, No. 1 seed Justin Thomas went on to finish T3, while Rory McIlroy, who began the tournament in fifth place at 5-under came from five strokes back to win. Dustin Johnson entered as the No. 1 seed in 2020 before going on to defeat Thomas and Xander Schauffele by three strokes, becoming just the second No. 1 seed entering TOUR Championship to win the FedExCup.
The players who’ve qualified for the TOUR Championship are eligible for the following tournaments in the 2021-22 season: Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship.
Patrick Reed, who has just recovered from a case of pneumonia (both lungs), is in the field this week at No. 30. He is also playing for possible selection for the USA Ryder Cup team. (Reed to play)
Two players in the field qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time: Sam Burns and first-year member Erik van Rooyen. Burns earned his first victory on TOUR earlier in the season at the Valspar Championship, while van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship. 20 players in the field qualified in 2020 and 29 of the 30 players are in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, both record-highs for the FedExCup era (van Rooyen, No. 55).
The Basics:
With the limited field of 30 players, TOUR Championship Tee Times Thursday run from 11:40am to 2:00pm (EDT) with players playing in pairs.
Weather: Thursday forecast is for sunny skies and a comfortable 75-degrees. Humidity will be 65% with only a 10% chance of rain (link)
PGATourBrunch will post at 10:00am (EDT) on Thursday.
Last Week: The BMW Championship (link)
TOUR Championship - Field and Tee Times:
The Field - (link)
Tee Times: (link)
Odds for the TOUR Championship
(Odds by William Hill)
Patrick Cantlay 4-1
Jon Rahm 4-1
Bryson DeChambeau 5-1
Tony Finau 15-2
Justin Thomas 16-1
Dustin Johnson 25-1
Cameron Smith 25-1
Jordan Spieth 25-1
Rory McIlroy 25-1
Abraham Ancer 28-1
Xander Schauffele 28-1
Harris English 33-1
Sam Burns 33-1
Collin Morikawa 35-1
Louis Oosthuizen 40-1
Sungjae Im 40-1
Viktor Hovland 40-1
Brooks Koepka 50-1
Scottie Scheffler 80-1
Jason Kokrak 80-1
Hideki Matsuyama 100-1
Kevin Na 125-1
Corey Conners 125-1
Daniel Berger 125-1
Patrick Reed 150-1
Sergio Garcia 150-1
Joaquin Niemann 150-1
Erik Van Rooyen 175-1
Billy Horschel 250-1
Stewart Cink 250-1
TL’s Wedge for an Edge: For the final round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs - the TOUR Championship, I’ll be hitting full throttle in my PGA Fantasy game foursome which will include: Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. The bench players will be: Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy. For my one and done, I’ve saved and will be going with Jon Rahm. If you want a real long shot, give Stewart Cink a whirl as East Lake is is home course and he is listed at 250-1.
What They’re Saying:
The First Look at the TOUR Championship (PGATourCom)
Power Rankings for the TOUR Championship (PGATourCom)
Five Things to Know about East Lake (PGATourCom)
Thirty “One-Liners” for East Lake (PGATourCom)
How to Watch This Week (PGATourCom)
FedExCup Standings (PGATourCom)
#SportsBiz, Sports Gambling and Golf Industry News
Predictions for the TOUR Championship (CBS Sports HQ)
Fantasy Insider for the TOUR Championship (PGATourCom)
Expert Picks for the TOUR Championship - (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks for the TOUR Championship - (PGATourCom)
Horses for the Course - East Lake - (PGATourCom)
FedEx Cup Bonus Money - (PGATourCom)
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan News Conference (link)
Tour: Banning fans for “Brooksie” Comments (ESPN)
On This Day in Golf History:
September 1, 1996 - Tiger Woods collected his first paycheck of his professional career - $2,544 - for placing 60th at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Woods shot 67-69-73-68 for (277) total and 12 shots away from Loren Roberts who won the tournament in a playoff over Jerry Kelly. - Courtesy of Randy Walker, Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt:
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Note: This tournament marks the end of weekly PGA Tour Brunch e-News. We will next publish in advance of the Ryder Cup.