ATLANTA – Starting strokes will be released at this week’s Tour Championship, bringing in the $40 million Eastlake Golf Club.
It’s back to the equal arena, with all 30 golfers starting with par even on Thursday.
Even the world’s No. 1 golfer Scotty Scheffler, who won in half of his last five starts, including last week’s BMW Championship.
Unlike last year, he is not in the advantage this week when Schaeffler began his strokes twice before the field before winning his first FedEx Cup.
“Of the 30 people, there’s a chance to win the FedEx Cup this year, which is clearly a lot different than the past few years,” said Masters winner Rory McIlroy. “So, it’s a beautiful slate for everyone and I think it’s a great opportunity for one of those people who get the bulk of the season and have the opportunity to win a big award at the end of the year.”
Of course, they may have to defeat Schaeffler to do that.
Check out the 30 golfers from the Tour Championship Field.
1. Scotty Scheffler
Given his recent form, Schaeffler becomes a favorite every time he tees it, until someone cuts him off. Schaeffler, the five-time winner of this season, will become the first consecutive FedEx Cup champion and one of three golfers to collect multiple FedEx titles (Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were the others). Datagolf.com gives Schaeffler a 31.4% chance to win again this week.
2. Rory McIlroy
Last week, McIlroy returned to tour for the first time in nearly a month, finishing 12th at the BMW Championship at 3 under. He was the only three-time winner in East Lake in 2016, 2019 and 2022, finishing in the top 10 nine of his previous 11 starts. If someone could keep pace with Schaeffler in East Lake, that might be McIlroy.
The third LudvigÅberg
After a decent season, the former Texas Techstar was hot just in time for the FedEx Cup playoffs and the looming Ryder Cup. He came in 9th and 7th place in the first two events of the FedEx Cup playoffs, respectively. Oberg finished 16th in his 2024 Tour Championship debut.
4. Tommy Fleetwood
The British golfer once again managed to win his first PGA Tour victory in Memphis, Tennessee, but was unable to close his contract in the final round. He finished third in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and fourth in the BMW Championship. Since its founding in 1987, it has never won a tour championship for the first time.
5. ViktorHovland
It was only two years ago that Hovland fled the field for a five-shot victory in the Tour Championship. His career seemed ready to take off. He has since been playing with his swing after winning only once this year’s Valspar Championship. Hovland was tied to seventh place in the BMW Championship and third in the field of approach, so he might have figured it out again.
6. Russell Henry
The former University of Georgia star had a 9-under 62 card in the final round of last season’s Tour Championship. This is the lowest score for the week on a renovated course. It was enough for Henry to help his second top five finish in the tournament, tied fourth. His ball strike and accuracy from the tee could make him a candidate again.
7. Harris English
Another Georgia native who barks him this week, and his English is back at the tour championships for the first time since 2021. English is enjoying the best season of PGA after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lip at her right hip in 2022.
8. Sam Burns
Burns finished fourth at 10 under in the BMW Championship. This is his best finish since losing in the playoffs against Ryan Fox at the RBC Canada Open in early June. Burns is 16th in the Ryder Cup Points ranking, so perhaps another good performance this week is needed to get a fighter chance on the captain’s pick. He finished in the last two top 12 in East Lake, where he thrives again on Bermuda Green.
9. Collin Morikawa
This was an unforgettable season for Morikawa, who only had two top-10 finishes since finishing second place in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March. The two-time major champion is eighth in the Ryder Cup standings, so he might want to play well, ignoring questions about his form. He went under 22, over 72 holes at the 2024 Tour Championship.
10. Patrick Cantray
Given his 5-2-1 record at the Ryder Cup and his success at the President’s Cup, Cantray is one of his favourites to land one of Keegan Bradley’s six captain choices. Another powerful show in East Lake will certainly help his chances. The 2021 FedEx Cup champion finished 17th in last year’s Tour Championship with a 7-under.
11. Justin Thomas
JT hasn’t finished in the top 20 with his last four starts on the tour, but returning to East Lake could help him turn things around. The 2017 FedEx Cup champions finished in the top seven in each of their first seven starts at Eastlake. He ranked 14th after last year’s renovation.
12. RobertMacintyre
The Scotland native was a rookie of the Ryder Cup in 2023, but he has become one of Europe’s most skilled golfers in the past two years. He won two tours last season and was runner-up at the US Open and last week’s BMW Championship.
13. Harry Hall
The English golfer, who played in college at UNLV, has been one of the hottest players in the world for the past four months, finishing in the top 28 in each of his last 11 starts. He jumped from 45th in the FedEx Cup standings on the 26th after finishing sixth at BMW. The second hole won on the tour on the stroke: Putting (.910) is pushing behind the European Rider Cup team.
14. Sepp Straka
Straca missed last week’s BMW Championship for private personal reasons. He is seventh in the Ryder Cup European Points ranking, with points just behind Ireland’s Shane Rawley. Since Straca won’t earn points this week, he will likely have to resort to one of Luke Donald’s captain’s picks.
15. JJSpaun
The US Open winner has already competed in the US Ryder Cup team spot, so there is little pressure on him in his first start at East Lake. Spaun ranks 6th in the tour on the Strokes. His previous best finish in the FedEx Cup playoffs was 34th in 2022.
16. Cameron Young
After winning his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship, Young came in fifth place in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and 11th place in the BMW Championship. He is one of the tour leaders in driving distance and ranks in the top 10 in putting, which could be Bradley’s appetizing Ryder Cup pick.
17. Ben Griffin
After tied the ninth and 12th in the first two playoff events, Griffin is becoming increasingly difficult for Bradley to ignore. Griffin, who won the tour twice this season, is in ninth place in Ryder Cup points. This is his tour championship debut.
18. Maverick McNerry
Another American golfer trying to attract Bradley’s attention was when McNelley was tied up to 28th place, each in third solo in the first two playoff events. He certainly had a strong argument to create a Ryder Cup team with seven top 10 and 10 top 25 at 23 starts on the tour. This is his first appearance at the Tour Championship.
19. Justin Rose
Rose, the 2018 FedEx Cup champion, ranked 25th in the playoffs, but won the FedEx St. Jude Championship and placed 30th at BMW before finishing fourth. He secured his seventh Ryder Cup appearance in qualifying at points.
20. Brian Herman
Herman was able to place 22nd and 19th in the first two playoff events, allowing him to bolster the case of creating a Ryder Cup team with another strong finish. He is clearly in the bubble as the former Open Championship winner is 12th in points. His matchplay prowess and clutch putts are factors in his favor.
twenty one. AkshayBhatia
After an inconsistent 2025 campaign, Batia played better in the playoffs, finishing sixth in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and 26th in BMW. He finished 26th at 3 under in his first Tour Championship last year.
twenty two. CoreyConners
Connors is one of the best iron players in the world, but his game has been very inconsistent these days. He finished 50th in Memphis and 39th in Baltimore. He didn’t finish in the top 20 with four previous starts in the Tour Championship.
twenty three. Keegan Bradley
Bradley shot four straight finishes outside the top 30 by placing 17th in the BMW Championship. The Ryder Cup captain is 11th in the points ranking, and with other golfers like Young and Griffin playing well, Bradley’s decision on whether to choose himself on the captain’s pick is becoming increasingly difficult. He finished 21st in East Lake last year with 2.
twenty four. SungjaeIm
Normally consistent IM has endured up and down seasons, including eight missed cuts with 26 starts and three top-10 starts. The Korean golfer is more than capable of putting things together in East Lake, which finished runner-up in 2022 and finished seventh last season.
25. Hideki Matsuyama
Surprisingly, the 2021 Masters Champion has not won the top 10 since winning the Sentry in the tour’s season opening game on January 5th. Matsuyama has four career top 10 in the Tour Championship, including 9th place in 2024.
26. Shane Laurie
Even if Raleigh plays well for East Lake this week, he is at risk of losing his position in the European Ryder Cup standings. Raleigh is sixth in points and gets an automatic spot with his team. However, he will not receive points for the Tour Championship this week.
Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard is just 14 points behind Lowry. If Højgaard finishes in 29 or more ties this week at Betfred British Masters in the DP World Tour, he will jump Straka and Lowry in the final automatic spot. Still, it appears that Laurie is guaranteed if he doesn’t qualify for one of Donald’s six captain choices in points.
27. Chris Gotter Up
After a hot stretch over the pond in July, he won his second PGA Tour at the Scotland Open, finishing third in the open. He will probably need to do something special this week to get back to the Ryder Cup mix.
28. Nick Taylor
Since the FedEx Cup debuted in 2007, this is the second time two Canadian golfers have created a field of 30 in the Tour Championship. Connors and Taylor also arrived in East Lake in 2023.
29. AndrewNovak
Novak enjoyed his breakout season this year, but things were back at last week’s BMW Championship. He finished 48th in the 20 overs, finishing 35 strokes behind Schaeffler.
30. Jacob Bridgeman
The former Clemson golfer lost almost the card as a PGA Tour rookie after finishing 113th after the FedEx fall season. With five top 10 and nine top 25 in the start of 26, he climbed 27th in points to arrive at East Lake.