The Finale at East Lake Golf Club

image courtesy of pgatour.com

The past two weeks of PGA Tour golf have provided some of the best tournaments in recent memory; starting with Tony Finau taking home the trophy at the Northern Trust Open and now the battle between Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay over 6 playoffs holes-that included some of the most dramatic playoff golf we have ever seen. The pair matched each other, shot for shot all day long and it took 24-holes to finally crown Patrick Cantlay as the 2021 BMW Champion. Over the years we have grown accustom to the big names: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, etc. However, this new wave of talent on the PGA Tour is starting to provide golf fans with the same level of intensity and excitement as the legends we all love. Going into the final week of the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship we have a lot to look forward to because of these players.

Patrick Cantlay jumped to 1^st in the FedEx Cup rankings with his win on Sunday, giving him a 2-stroke advantage on 2^nd place starter Tony Finau. The format for the Tour Championship can be a bit confusing for viewers who have never watched the tournament or seen it before. Here’s a quick breakdown of where the players will start at East Lake Golf Club in relation to par:

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT

FedEx Cup Ranking – Start in Relation to Par

1^st Place = -10                      5^th Place = -5                                    21^st – 25^th Place = -1

2^nd Place = -8                       6^th  - 10^th Place = -4                        26^th – 30^th Place = E

3^rd Place = -7                        11^th – 15^th Place = -3

4^th Place = -6                        16^th – 20^th Place = -2

Given the format used for the FedEx Cup Finale, players inside the top-5 truly have their work cut out for them, even with the scoring differential to start the tournament. The way these guys have been playing lately we wouldn’t put it passed someone near the back of the pack to shoot a very low number day one and find themselves in the mix. More specifically the group between 11^th place and 20^th place, they are trailing the lead by 7 and 8, but with a round in the low to mid 60’s they could overcome the deficit quite quickly. In theory, this could happen yet with East Lake’s course layout they will have to bring their best game to the tee. Our pick, starting the FedEx Cup Playoffs’ Jon Rahm, has not disappointed and is one of the players to lookout for this week. If he is able to get the flat-stick going this week he easily could become the FedEx Cup Champion. As we saw last week, when Bryson DeChambeau is firing on all cylinders he is pretty great to watch. His near 59 during the 2^nd round of the BMW Championship and performance during Sunday’s final round make it tough to go against anyone who picks him to win this week. Regardless of who wins this upcoming Sunday, as golf fans, the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs have greatly exceeded our expectations.

Standings headed into the TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP:

1. Patrick Cantlay
2. Tony Finau
3. Bryson DeChambeau
4. Jon Rahm
5. Cameron Smith
6. Justin Thomas
7. Harris English
8. Abraham Ancer
9. Jordan Spieth
10. Sam Burns
11. Collin Morikawa
12. Sungjae Im
13. Viktor Hovland
14. Louis Oosthuizen
15. Dustin Johnson
16. Rory McIlroy
17. Xander Schauffele
18. Jason Kokrak
19. Kevin Na
20. Brooks Koepka
21. Corey Conners
22. Hideki Matsuyama
23. Stewart Cink
24. Joaquin Neimann
25. Scottie Scheffler
26. Daniel Berger
27. Erik van Rooyen
28. Sergio Garcia
29. Billy Horschel
30. Patrick Reed

We will have a full recap of the event next Wednesday!

Play More, Complain Less!