The PGA Tour season reaches its traditional conclusion at East Lake Golf Club this week and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the heavy favourite as he attempts to finish a stellar campaign with a successful defence of the Tour Championship.
Scheffler won the Tour Championship, and the season-long FedEx Cup bonus, last season when he started at 10-under-par – two shots clear of his closest rival – but the starting-strokes system has been abandoned for this year’s tournament, meaning all players will start at level par.
It won’t be a great look for the PGA Tour if the world’s best golfer is pipped to the $10 million prize by one of the outsiders in the 30-man Tour Championship field, but, after claiming victory at last week’s BMW Championship, there is every chance Scheffler can go in again.
East Lake is the long-time venue for the PGA Tour’s season finale. The 7,440-yard par-70 layout, near Atlanta, Georgia, hosted for the first time in 1998 and was significantly renovated ahead of the 2024 Tour Championship. Strong ball-striking tends to be the route to success.
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Tour Championship Tips
- Russell Henley to win & each-way @ 18/1
- Viktor Hovland to win & each-way @ 22/1
- Justin Rose to win & each-way @ 45/1
In-form Henley Could Bag Huge FedEx Prize
Scheffler will take some stopping but he’s never fired the lowest 72-hole score in five appearances at East Lake, and he has to deal with the psychological impact of starting on a par with his rivals despite a commanding FedEx Cup lead.
Rory McIlroy, a three-time FedEx Cup winner and something of an East Lake specialist, appeals more at the odds, but both superstars could have to play second fiddle to Russell Henley, who can finish a brilliant year with Tour Championship glory in his home state of Georgia.
Henley has sealed a place in the US Ryder Cup team, and, of those competing this week, only Scheffler and McIlroy are ranked higher than the 36-year-old greens-in-regulation machine.
With four each-way places on offer, he makes huge appeal at a course where he shot the fourth-lowest 72-hole score last year, signing off with a brilliant 62.
Former Champion Hovland Looks A Threat
Viktor Hovland made a mockery of the starting-strokes format in 2023, running away with the FedEx Cup by five shots having started at eight under par, and the Norwegian looks a likely East Lake winner again.
Hovland has had an up and down year, but he won the Valspar Championship in March and has been steadily rediscovering his best form in recent months, most recently when producing a superb iron performance to finish seventh at the BMW Championship last week.
With his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team seemingly assured, Hovland looks poised to demonstrate his affinity for East Lake again.
Rose Can Bloom Again At East Lake
Justin Rose has booked his ticket to Bethpage at the end of September thanks to a runner-up finish at the Masters in April and victory at the first FedEx Cup playoff event, the St Jude Championship.
Rose’s performances in big events have sealed a return to East Lake for the first time since 2019, and it would be wise not to write him off at a venue where he has thrived in the past.
While the course has changed significantly since he last appeared in this event, course form figures of 2-6-4-2-10-4 from 2012 to 2018 are difficult to ignore.
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