If you haven’t been paying attention to the PGA Tour since the Open Championship—and why would you?—now’s the time to wake up. And it’s no surprise that Scottie Scheffler is at the top of the pack, with a two-stroke lead to start the final tournament at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta.
The Tour Championship’s course is legendary. East Lake is the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones and stands as the oldest golf course in the city of Atlanta.
Originally designed by Tom Bendelow and later redesigned by Donald Ross in 1913, the historic course recently underwent a major restoration by Andrew Green to restore Ross’s classic layout and strategy.
Cup Half Empty?
The FedEx Cup is probably one of the worst championship competitions in major sports—maybe just rivaled by NASCAR’s Cup Series. Every year, the rules change, the number and location of tournaments leading up to the Tour Championship change, and public interest is waning.
Only 30 players remain in competition for the Tour Championship, which started two tournaments ago with 70 players.
Prize money for the players changes every year. Last week’s BMW Championship is in some ways more lucrative for players than the Tour Championship, but doesn’t carry the weight of tour champion.
Starting strokes are a controversial issue. It’s a handicapped system that ensures that the player who wins the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club is also crowned the overall FedEx Cup Champion. There’s talk it will be eliminated next year, but not for this year.
Here’s the exact lineup and starting strokes for the top contenders in 2026:
Scottie Scheffler: Starting Score -10
Xander Schauffele: Starting Score -8
Rory McIlroy: Starting Score -7
Hideki Matsuyama: Starting Score -6
Collin Morikawa: Starting Score -5
It would take a minor miracle for anyone but these top 5 to win the Tour Championship, but let’s delve into the short list of candidates.
Also Rans or Running Away?
Several mid-tier and long-shot contenders stand out as high-value sleeper options for the 2026 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
Tom Kim (+5000 to +6000): Kim offers some of the best long-shot value in the 30-player field. He captured the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open earlier this summer with a bogey-free final round 64, showing elite ball-striking capability on tight layouts.
Chris Gotterup (+1900 to +2500): Ranked among the top course fits due to his driving efficiency and comfort on Bermuda greens. Gotterup cracked the top 10 at East Lake last year after recovering from a slow opening round.
Robert MacIntyre (+4500): MacIntyre enters with momentum after battling into the top 30 through steady playoff play and a 3rd-place finish at the Scottish Open.
Russell Henley (+2500): A premier choice for accuracy-first handicapping, Henley finished as runner-up at East Lake last year and has a strong track record on this course setup.
Akshay Bhatia (+9900): A deep long-shot option coming off a T-12 at the BMW Championship and a win at Bay Hill earlier this season. He earned a top-15 finish in his East Lake debut.
Major 2028 FedEx Cup Revamp
More changes are underway for next year’s FedEx Cup. PGA officials are still searching for the right mix that will attract fan interest. Maybe this will do it.
The PGA Tour announced a future revamp for 2028, expanding the Tour Championship into a two-week, 32-player match-play final featuring a World Cup-style group stage followed by a knockout bracket that will rotate venues annually. We’ll see how this plays out.
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