Tour Championship
Purse: $40 million/€34.3 million ($10 million/€8.55 million to the winner).
Where: Atlanta, Georgia.
The course: East Lake Golf Club – 7,490 yards, par 70 – was the home course of the legendary Bobby Jones. The course was originally designed by Tom Bendelow and the full 18 holes opened for play in 1907 before being upgraded by Donald Ross in 1913. The course fell into neglect in the 1960s and into the ‘80s but was effectively resurrected in the early ‘90s by the East Lake Foundation, which brought in Rees Jones as designer to restore Ross’s layout and conditioning. The signature hole is the par 3 15th which requires a carry of over 200 yards across the lake. The course returns to a par 70 this year after playing to a par 71 last year. The 14th was played as a par 5 and it now reverts to being a par 4.
The field: Let’s just say it is an elite field, limited to the leading 30 players on the FedEx Cup standings, headed by world number one Scottie Scheffler, who has already won five times on the PGA Tour this season. In this case, money really does talk: this is the conclusion of the FedEx Cup playoffs and, so, has a $10 million paydapay-dayhe winner. Unlike recent years, however, there is no staggered start based on positions in the FedEx Cup standings, so each of the 30 players starts the 72-holes strokeplay event at even par. The winner wins the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. All to play for, really.
Quote-Unquote: “Any one of the 30 has a chance to win the FedExCup this year, which is obviously a lot different than it’s been in previous years. I think with that, it’s a clean slate for everyone, and it’s a great opportunity for one of the guys that maybe wasn’t a huge part of the season to put their hand up and have a chance to win the big prize at the end of the year. It’s also a great opportunity for some of the guys that have had great years to sort of rubberstamp the season a little bit and end on a really, really positive note.” – Rory McIlroy on the level playing field to this Tour Championship.
Irish in the field: Shane Lowry has made it to East Lake again to make it back-to-back appearances. Lowry is paired with Hideki Matsuyama (4.49pm tee time Irish time); McIlroy, a three-time winner of the Tour Championship, is paired with Scheffler (7pm).
Betting: Is there any stopping Scheffler these days? The world number one’s win in the BMW was his fifth of a season which has already included capturing the Wanamaker Trophy and the Claret Jug and his dominance is reflected in tight odds of 13-8 favouritism. McIlroy, a three-time winner at East Lake, is rated an 8-1 shot and there was evidence in his final round of the BMW that his game was sharpening up after a three-week break. Sam Burns, with his propensity to hit a hot streak, looks decent value at 28-1.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports Golf from 6pm.
Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard plays his second shot on the first hole during the Pro-Am prior to the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Betfred British Masters
Purse: €3 million (€500,000 to the winner).
Where: Sutton Coldfield, England.
The course: The Brabazon Course at The Belfry – 7,310 yards, par 72 – was designed by Dave Thomas and Peter Alliss and has proven a popular venue on the European Tour with numerous tournaments through the years, going back to the English Classic in 1979. It is more famously associated with the Ryder Cup, which it held on four occasions from 1985 to 2002. The signature hole is the drivable par 4 10th of 319 yards/292 metres to a green guarded by a water hazard and also with trees in play, making for a genuine risk and reward tee shot.
The field: Although Europe’s top guns are in action across the Atlantic in the FedEx Cup finale, there is a strong field in the British Masters which concludes the qualifying for Europe’s Ryder Cup team (five of the six places have been confirmed, with Shane Lowry – in East Lake – occupying the sixth spot). Rasmus Hojgaard, currently eighth in the standings, could leapfrog Lowry into sixth to earn his place on Luke Donald’s team if he manages to finish no worse than tied-29th (with one other) at The Belfry.
Quote-Unquote: “Golf is a beautiful game where you get another chance and it’s the week after … I j…st need to [stop] a few things I was doing last week. Golf is so small, it could be little tiny things and that is what I have found.” – Matt Wallace, aiming to bounce back from a disappointing 69th place finish in Denmark in his bid to catch Donald’s eye at The Belfry, where he was previously the attached tour professional. Wallace, even with a win, can’t force his way into the automatic qualifiers.
Irish in the field: Conor Purcell, yet again, is the lone Irish player competing. The Dubliner is on a run of fourth straight cuts made, so has decent form but will be looking to kick on in his attempts to improve his standing on the Race to Dubai (currently 139th). Purcell is in a three-ball with Nicolas Colsaerts and Mikael Lindberg (off the 10th at 2.10pm).
Betting: Aaron Rai and Matt Fitzpatrick have switched their attentions away from the PGA Tour back to the DP World Tour and head the market, with two-gloves Rai at 10-1 and Fitzpatrick at 11-1. Rasmus Hojgaard will look to bounce back from his near miss in Denmark and is rated a 16-1 shot, with his conqueror of last week Marco Penge at 18-1, which looks tempting. Some each-way value can be found with Martin Couvra at 80s.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports from 12.30pm.
