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Tour Championship: Expert Picks

Can Rory do it again?

By Mark Abell
TOUR Championship - Final Round Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

Final round of the Playoffs – field is cut from 70 players down to 30.

Tournament Information

Tour Championship
Date: September 3rd – 6th
Course: East Lake Golf Club
Purse: $9MM ($1.6MM to winner)
2019 Winner: Rory McIlroy (-5)

Course

East Lake Golf Club — This par 70, 7,385 yard course in Atlanta hosts the FedEx Championship. It was created in 1904 and built by Donald Ross and Reese Jones with a 76.2 course rating. It underwent a transformation from one of the worst project areas to a beautiful and vibrant bucolic area. The fairways are generous with a few rolling hills, traps and lakes sprinkled throughout. I’m partial to hole 8 with a nice lake running alongside and traps to complement. Hole 8 provides a great visual for the beauty that is in this course.

TOUR Championship - Final Round Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

My Starting 4

Xander Schauffele (2nd selection this year) — Schauffele has finished in the top seven each of the last three years here (including a win in 2017). He’s my favorite to win with seven consecutive top 25 finishes coming into this tournament.

Rory McIlroy (4th selection this year) — McIlroy has ALSO finished in the top seven each of the last three years here (including a win in 2019). The downside — he has just one top 25 finish over his last five tournaments.

Hideki Matsuyama (3rd selection this year) — Matsuyama has finished in the top 10 each of the last two years here.

Dustin Johnson (3rd selection this year) — For the record, I am not optimistic about this. Last week I wasn’t optimistic because Johnson has a track record of dropping after two consecutive top tournaments which would have been last tournament. He’s just been so dominant though I can’t NOT pick him.

My Bench 2

Tony Finau (3rd selection this year) — Finau had a decent finish at Northern Trust where he finished 29th. He has missed one cut in his last nine tournaments and is among the most accurate drivers on tour (6th). He isn’t very powerful and his work around the green holds him back.

Webb Simpsons (5th selection this year) — Simpsons has finished in the top 16 each of the last three years. He’s not the best here but he’s certainly above average.

Fun Fact: Starting in 2019, the Tour Championship winner is directly awarded the FedEx Cup and a 5 year PGA Tour Exemption.

2020 Stats

Starting 4: Avg finish 42nd (31st percentile)
Bench 2: Avg finish 58th (42nd percentile)