Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas are tied for the lead on 10-under after round one of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
The final event of the PGA Tour season will see the winner crowned as the FedExCup champion, and the 30 players came into the tournament with a starting score based on their ranking position.
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Thomas began the round on 10-under but saw his two-shot advantage go after hitting even-par in round one. Schauffele (6-under) and Koepka (3-under) capitalised to equal Thomas’s overall score while Rory McIlroy also played his way into contention after his round of 4-under. McIlroy now has a total score of 9-under.
Here we look at how the scoring works for the Tour Championship, second-round tee times, betting odds and TV guide.
Sky Sports will show live coverage of Tour Championship PGA Tour event.
Wednesday 21 August: On the Range 7pm on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 22 August: 6pm on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 23 August: 6pm on Sky Sports Golf
Saturday 24 August: 6pm on Sky Sports Golf; 8.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event
Saturday 25 August: 5pm on Sky Sports Golf; 7.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event
How the scoring works
The FedExCup Starting Strokes scoring format will be implemented at the 2019 Tour Championship. A strokes-based bonus system related to the FedExCup standings, players will start the opening round with scores between 10-under to even par.
According to PGATour.com: “The FedExCup points leader after the first two play-off events will begin the Tour Championship at 10-under par. The No.2 player will start at 8-under. The No.3 player starts at 7-under; the No. 4 player starts at 6-under; the No. 5 player starts at 5-under.
“Players 6-10 start at 4-under; players 11-15 start at 3-under; players 16-20 start at 2-under; players 21-25 start at 1-under; and players 26-30 start at even par.
“At the Tour Championship, the player with the lowest aggregate score over 72 holes when combined with his FedExCup Starting Strokes will win the Tour Championship and also be crowned FedExCup champion.
“The Tour Championship win will be considered an official victory and the FedExCup champion will also earn a bonus of $15m and a five-year PGA Tour exemption.”
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About the course: East Lake Golf Club
Bobby Jones’s home course in Atlanta has hosted every Tour Championship in the FedExCup era, as well as six previous Tour Championships before 2007. It was named the event’s permanent home in 2005.
Tiger Woods, last year’s winner of the Tour Championship, said: “You’ve got to hit your golf ball well. You’ve got to drive it well, place your irons correctly. But it really does set up for a good ball-striker.”
Predictions: who will win?
Cameron Morfit, PGATour.com: Justin Thomas
“It’s hard enough to beat Thomas when he’s on, but beating him when he’s on and is staked to a minimum two-shot lead might just be impossible, especially at one of his faves, East Lake.”
Chip Patterson, CBS Sports: Brooks Koepka
“Going to stick with my pre-playoffs pick of Koepka to win, guessing that he is the most likely player to start near the top of the leaderboard and take the lead to an out-of-reach place by going super-low on Thursday. If Koepka fires a 63 on the first day of play like he did at the PGA Championship, he’ll be able to defend the lead the rest of the weekend en route to a win.”
Steve Palmer, Racing Post: Patrick Cantlay
“Five of the last six FedExCup champions arrived at East Lake second in the standings, so it seems the pressure of leading has got to the top dog. If Thomas wobbles in the spotlight, Cantlay should be ready to pounce.”
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