The FedEx Cup will crown a champion this weekend. The top 30 players in the standings square off at the East Lake Golf Club, located in Atlanta, GA., for the Tour Championship—the fourth and final leg of the Cup playoffs.
You can count on drama to be seen this weekend with so many elite players on the course. But all eyes will be pointing to the main pairing, the top two players in the world rankings and the Cup standings, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
They will play the first two rounds together, and the fans will be hoping to see them play all four rounds in the final pairing. That would surely bring record-breaking galleries and would be a TV sponsors’ dream with the ratings this pairing will draw.
But they are not the only players that can take home the $10 million prize. The other 28 players active this weekend also have chance at winning the Cup and the big prize.
It could take the nation’s top mathematicians to explain the various formulas that explain the chances of the players that stand below the fifth place. But the easier way to understand it is that only the top five players control their own fate this weekend.
If either McIlroy, Woods, Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney or Brandt Snedeker wins The Tour Championship, he automatically wins the FedExCup Playoffs—and the $10 million grand prize as well as the $1.44 million first-place check.
It’s that simple. Let’s see what each has done so far this year on the PGA Tour and what it would take for them to win the Cup if they don’t win on Sunday.
McIlroy has played 15 tournaments, won four and finished in the top-10 nine times. In the playoffs, he finished tied for 24th in The Barclays and won the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship.
He is making his Tour Championship debut and if he doesn’t win, he still has a feasible chance of winning with a top-five finish and could still finish as low as 29th and have a mathematical chance of winning.
Woods has played 18 tournaments, has three wins and eight top-10s. In the playoffs, he finished tied for 38th in The Barclays; third in the Deutsche Bank Championship and tied for fourth in the BMW Championship.
He won The Tour Championship here in 2007, taking both the tournament title and the inaugural FedEx Cup. If he doesn’t win, he still has a feasible chance of winning with a top-three finish and can finish as low as sixth and have a mathematical chance of winning.
Watney has played in a 24 tournaments, has one win and four top-10s. In the playoff, he won The Barclays; tied for 20th in the Deutsche Bank and tied for 45th in the BMW Championship.
His best finish here at East Lake was fourth in 2010. If he doesn’t win he has a feasible chance of winning with a second-place finish and can finish as low as fourth and have a mathematical chance of winning.
Mickelson has played 21 tournaments, has one win and seven top-10s. In the playoffs, he finished tied for 38th in The Barclays; tied for fourth in the Deutsche Bank and tied for second in the BMW Championship.
He has won here at East Lake in 2000 and in 2009 when Woods won his second Cup. If he doesn’t win, he has a feasible chance of winning with a second-place finish and can finish as low as third and have a mathematical chance of winning.
Snedeker has played 21 tournaments, has one win and six top-10s. In the playoffs, he finished second in The Barclays; sixth in the Deutsche Bank and tied for 37th in the BMW Championship. If he doesn’t win he has a mathematical chance of winning if he finishes second.
For the rest of the players, all hope is not lost. They just have to remember that Bill Haas was 25th in the standings last year and he won, although it took a miracle and two saints to do it. Or Jim Furyk, who was 11th before winning the tournament and the Cup in 2010, thanks to a tremendous sand save on the 18th hole.
There have been three constants in the Tour Championship during the FedEx Cup era; Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan are two of them. They are the only players to reach The Tour Championship every year and are back at it this year.
The other one is the East Lake course. It has been the only fixture among the courses being played in the playoffs.
East Lake hosted the Tour Championship for the first time in 1998, and ever since 2004. The course was designed by Donald Ross, first established in 1913 and was the home course for a player that knew a thing or two about winning, Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr.
The course plays at par-70 and is 7,154 yards long, or should I say short. Length will not be an asset for a player this weekend, it requires precision off the tee if they want to stand a chance and win.
But that is just the start, the greens are treacherous. Three out of the last four years, the winner has been the player with the best putting stats on the weekend. So whoever brings a hot putter can certainly take home the title.
Fans will be in for a treat with the course’s last three holes which play as the most difficult on the course. Especially the closing par-three 18th hole, whose couple of deep bunkers can decide the championship on Sunday—remember Furyk in 2010.
Schedule and TV Coverage
The tournament will run through Thursday-Sunday. You can catch it on TV as Golf Channel will broadcast on Thursday and Friday from 1:00-6:00 p.m.; from 12:00-2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
NBC will have the prime coverage on the weekend, from 2:00-6:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 1:30-6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Tee Times from East Lake GC Tee No. 1
Time/Players
11:35 am John Senden and Scott Piercy
11:45 am Rickie Fowler and Ryan Moore
11:55 am Webb Simpso and John Huh
12:05 pm Hunter Mahan and Justin Rose
12:15 pm Adam Scott and Ernie Els
12:25 pm Bo Van Pelt and Robert Garrigus
12:35 pm Carl Pettersson and Jim Furyk
12:45 pm Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar
12:55 pm Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley
1:05 pm Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia
1:15 pm Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner
1:25 pm Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood
1:35 pm Brandt Snedeker and Louis Oosthuizen
1:45 pm Nick Watney and Phil Mickelson
1:55 pm Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods