This week’s tournament is the grand finale of the FedEx Cup, which takes the form of the TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP.
Now this event has been the subject of some power-wrangling between the PGA Tour and the sponsors (FedEx)… because in previous years, the winner of the Tour Championship wasn’t always guaranteed to win the FedEx Cup.
Why?
Because the events which make up the FedEx Cup (four of them in previous years, just the three since last year) see golfers collect ranking points for where they finish each week. Trouble is… sometimes the guy who wins the last event, the Tour Championship, might be so far behind the points leader in the overall standings that even winning this show-stopper event wouldn’t see him top the FedEx Cup standings.
FedEx didn’t like this. They wanted the winner of the Tour Championship to be guaranteed to win the FedEx Cup outright as well.
So what we have now is a format where the current points leader starts this week’s tournament with a notional handicap start, to represent their standing in the FedEx Cup points table… and so the winner of the Tour Championship (taking into account this handicap) will also become the FedEx Cup winner.
Confused? Me too!!
Therefore the current points leader (Dustin Johnson) starts this week on 10-under-par, the next player (Jon Rahm) is on 8-under-par, then Justin Thomas on 7-under-par and so on… down to the last players in the 30-man field all starting on level par.
Like this…

-10  Dustin Johnson
-8  Jon Rahm
-7  Justin Thomas
-6  Webb Simpson
-5  Collin Morikawa
-4  Daniel Berger, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Sungjae Im, Hideki Matsuyama
-3  Brendon Todd, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele, Sebastian Munoz
-2  Lanto Griffin, Scottie Scheffler, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton, Tony Finau
-1  Kevin Kisner, Abraham Ancer, Ryan Palmer, Kevin Na, Marc Leishman
E  Cameron Smith, Viktor Hovland, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ, Billy Horschel

Just two Aussies made the final 30, with Cam Smith starting 10 shots behind leader DJ, meanwhile Marc Leishman starts 9 shots back.
Scoring will be as normal (eagles, birdies, pars, bogeys etc) but Johnson tees-off tomorrow a full 10 shots ahead of guys like Viktor Hovland, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ and Billy Horschel.
Which means FedEx will get their wish, and the guy who “wins” the tournament (using this handicap scoring system) will lift the trophy and pocket a massive pay-cheque.
All of this is, of course, hugely contrived to satisfy the sponsors… and maybe rightly so, as FedEx are pumping serious amounts of cash into the PGA’s coffers. But from a purely betting point of view it makes the tournament something of a farce.
So bookmakers are also pricing up this week’s competition as if it were a “regular” NON-HANDICAP, 72-HOLE TOURNAMENT where over the four rounds of the tournament INGORING THE HANDICAP it will mean THE PLAYER WHO SHOOTS THE LOWEST SCORE WINS.
So for the Tour Championship, who will shoot the lowest 72 hole score? This is what the Golf Insider will look at.
With this all cleared up, here’s a preview of the action…

The Tournament
This used to be the grand finale to the PGA Tour season, now it’s the grand finale of the FedEx Cup, which started in 2007 (and so after the action at East Lake, the 2020/21 season kicks-off in a week’s time). The event is effectively a play-off for the PGA’s Top 30 players as determined by the points (it used to be dollars) they have accumulated during the year – or what there’s been of a golfing year. As such it has the feel of a mini-Major with most of the top players qualifying to play in Georgia this week.

The Course
East Lake Golf Club is a 7,385 yard, par 70. The course was opened in 1904, designed by Tom Bendelow, and was revamped five years later by Donald Ross. It’s located just outside Atlanta, Georgia and is a firm favourite with fans and players alike. It used to play relatively easy a few years back, but a number of recent tweaks to the greens now make it a much tougher track that will reward only the best players… don’t expect a birdie-fest here this week!

72-Hole Record – 257, Tiger Woods (2007)
18-Hole Record – 60, Zach Johnson (2007)
Past Winners – Rory McIlroy (2019), Tiger Woods (2018), Xander Schauffele (2017), Rory McIlroy (2016), Jordan Spieth (2015).

The Field
A field of just 30 golfers attend this week. Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson are co-favourites.

The Weather
You want to be in Georgia this week. Minimal chance of rain, light winds, some cloud cover, temperatures in the mid 80s. The only issue will be where to find shade and cool drink. Perfect for golf, watching golf, or most other things!

Here is the Golf Insider's thought for who might shoot the best 72 hole score:

XANDER SCHAUFFELE
“There’s no doubt that the ultra-consistent Schauffele is due another win soon. His recent performances read 25-25-10-6-13-14-20-64-3 and among them his 10th place at the USPGA confirms his ability to go well in big events – not to mention his exceptional record at East Lake which reads 1-7-2 (with no rounds worse than par). All parts of his game have been working well, Schauffele ranking well for both length and accuracy off the tee as well as round the greens. He also comes into this week with just a sniff of the outright win, lying 7-shots behind the “handicap leader” Dustin Johnson – this should guarantee Schauffele is on it right from the get-go. I expect him to challenge this week.”

COLLIN MORIKAWA
“He started slowly in Chicago (shooting 76-73), but his play for the weekend with back-to-back 68’s was much more like the true form of the recent Major winner. He makes his debut at the Tour Championship this year, but an accurate player off the tee, with great iron-play, Morikawa should find the layout to his liking. Like Schauffele, Morikawa has a chance of the overall win should the top players fail to fire (he’s just 5-shots back from DJ).”

BILLY HORSCHEL
“Horschel so nearly did us a favour in the Wyndham Championship a few weeks back, when he finished runner-up. And there’s no doubt that he’s trending the right way at the moment. Horschel has gone MC-33 since then, but back at East Lake, where he has a great record, I’m expecting Horschel to go well. In three starts here the Floridian has finished 7-1-2 and clearly the course suits his eye. It was his usually reliable putting which let him down last week at Olympia Fields, and with a bit more luck on the greens Horschel can challenge for the honours in the non-handicap market.”

VIKTOR HOVLAND
“The young Norwegian is very much a star of the future, and his tee-to-green game will stand him in good stead on his East Lake debut. Hovland ranks 20th Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee, 23rd for Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green, and 10th for Strokes Gained: Around the Green. All it needs is a good week with the putter, and I’ve no doubts that Hovland has the temperament to mix it with the big boys. He’s been a model of consistency since lockdown, with no MCs and a host of Top 25 finishes. He’s sure to perform well in his first start in Georgia.”

Image from Wikipedia