The 2026 PGA Tour season comes to a close this week at the Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup champion will be decided. This is the 20th FedEx Cup finale, and they have all been at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win Player of the Year and the FedEx Cup, but he has struggled at this golf course. Meanwhile, Wyndham Clark is now a three-time winner this year, including a major championship.
Three players played their way into the Tour Championship based on their finishes at the BMW Championship. Gary Woodland, Robert MacIntyre and Patrick Cantlay all had great weeks that saw them make the trip to East Lake Golf Club. Woodland was in contention to win on Sunday before a topped tee shot led to a very costly double bogey. Cantlay finished strong with three straight birdies on the closing holes to finish second. MacIntyre recovered from a cyst behind his knee that forced him to withdraw at the FedEx St. Jude two weeks ago.
Scheffler battled through hand, foot, and mouth disease all week. I know that when I came down with that when my children were small, I would have never been able to play a golf tournament. I don’t think I left my bed for a few days. Meanwhile, Scheffler was chipping in from off the greens and making a decent run up the leaderboard on Sunday.
Scheffler’s main competition for Player of the Year seems to be Rory McIlroy and Clark, with Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup being the dark horses. Scheffler will need to find his form from the 2024 Tour Championship if he wants to win his second FedEx Cup and put any doubts about his Player of the Year credentials to bed.
With only 30 golfers in the field, this is not the week to bet big or play too heavy in DFS. There’s no reason to chase any losses with DFS players using 20 percent of the field in their lineups.
My model this week will concentrate on driving distance, strokes gained on approach, strokes gained at East Lake Golf Club, strokes gained around the green, bogey avoidance, strokes gained putting from 8 feet and club head speed.
Course information
Course: East Lake Golf Club
Designer: Tom Bendelow (redesigned by Donald Ross, Rees Jones, and Andrew Green)
Par: 70
Length: 7,440 yards
Average green size: 6,238 sq. feet
Past champions
2025: Tommy Fleetwood
2024: Scottie Scheffler
2023: Viktor Hovland
2022: Rory McIlroy
2021: Patrick Cantlay
2020: Dustin Johnson
2019: McIlroy
2018: Tiger Woods
2017: Xander Schauffele
2016: McIlroy
2015: Jordan Spieth
Betting slip
Rory McIlroy (+1000) played great on Thursday at the BMW Championship after struggling at the FedEx St. Jude. He gained 4.5 strokes on the field in the opening round and then had a solid weekend where he found himself in contention before finally settling for a third-place finish. The three-time winner of the Tour Championship had his worst showing in 2025, and it all came down to poor putting and shaky iron play. He looked like he was close to putting it all together last week, and getting double-digit odds on Rory here seems like a solid play.
Patrick Cantlay (+1600) has been incredible with his approach play lately. He has gained over 19 strokes on approach in his last three tournaments combined. The putter has been shaky, but it was solid over his last few holes on Sunday. Maybe that gives him some confidence coming into this week. He won here in 2021, and he has gained more than six strokes on approach in two out of his last three trips to the Tour Championship.
Chris Gotterup (+2200) has won three times this season and will be looking to finish his season strong. Gotterup struggled on the weekend off the tee and on approach at the BMW Championship. His baby fade started becoming a slice with his irons, but he managed to recover well from off the green and looked very strong with his putter. He finished T10 at the Tour Championship, gaining over 3.5 strokes tee to green.
Wyndham Clark wins BMW Championship over Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay
DFS plays
Rory McIlroy ($11,000) See above.
Xander Schauffele ($10,000) has never finished outside of the top seven after winning the Tour Championship in 2017. He missed this tournament in 2025 and will be excited to get back to one of his favorite golf courses. He struggled with his short game at the BMW Championship, but he has been playing well since the Open Championship.
Wyndham Clark ($9,400) won the BMW Championship with superb play from Thursday to Saturday and then a gutsy performance on the back nine on Sunday. His win didn’t come without any controversy after he grounded multiple clubs behind a ball in the rough, which may become an issue for the PGA Tour rules officials down the road. He’s driving it well, and he gained over 8.7 strokes on approach in his last two tournaments combined. His putter is red hot at the same time, which makes for a very scary Wyndham Clark.
Patrick Cantlay ($8,900) See above.
Collin Morikawa ($8,100) bounced back at the BMW Championship after struggling off the tee and on the greens at the FedEx St. Jude. He gained over 4.5 strokes tee to green at the BMW Championship and over 2.8 strokes on the green, finishing T4. He has gained over 3.3 strokes on approach in each of his last four trips to the Tour Championship and gained across the board here in 2024.
Chris Gotterup ($7,900) See above.
Russell Henley ($7,500) has gained over 2.4 strokes on approach in each of his last four trips to the Tour Championship. He doesn’t lose as many strokes off the tee as you would think with his short distance. He has gained over 23 strokes combined on the greens in his last five tournaments.
Adam Scott ($6,500) gained over 7.2 strokes tee to green last week only to give away over five strokes to the field on the greens. Scott has gained over 5.7 strokes off the tee in his last three tournaments combined. He has gained over 3.2 strokes on approach in two out of his last three tournaments. If he can turn his putter around this week the way Morikawa did at the BMW Championship, Scott should outplay this price easily.
One and done
My one-and-done season went out with a whimper in most of my contests. Ludvig Åberg was inconsistent for me all week last time out. He drove it poorly, and he was erratic with his irons. I only have a few small one-and-dones that finish at the Tour Championship, and I happen to have Clark available to try to sneak into a decent finishing position.