PGA Tour Championship Preview
The 2024 PGA Tour season is coming to an end with its finale going down in Atlanta, GA at East Lake Golf Club. The top 30 players in FedEx Cup points will compete in the four-day, 72-hole event, with no cut and staggered stroke start. East Lake Golf Club recently went through some renovations that promise to challenge some of the PGA Tours’ best. Here are some of the players and storylines to watch out for in this weekend’s finale.
Surprise Makes and Misses
There were a few notable players that surprisingly made and missed being in the top 30 and qualified for the Tour Championship. Two of the surprising makes this week, also happen to be the two players that were battling it out in the final group last week at the BMW Championship, Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott. Newly appointed US Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, outlasted Australian Adam Scott in the final round of the BMW to win the event, while Scott ended up tied for second. Keegan, who ranked 50th prior to the event, will start the Tour Championship ranked fourth at -6, while Adam Scott who ranked 41st will start ranked 14th at -3. Justin Thomas also snuck into the top 30 and secured the last spot in the Tour Championship this year, after missing out on the FedEx Cup Playoffs altogether last year. He will start at even par. Some notable names to miss out on the PGA Tour’s finale include Jason Day, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Brian Harman. All are ranked in the top 30 in the world, but unfortunately couldn’t get it done in the playoffs and will be missing out on the finale, even after making it last year.
Scottie Scheffler vs. Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler, starting at -10, and Xander Schauffele, starting at -8, have undeniably had two of the best years among professional golfers. Scottie comes in with five PGA Tour wins, a win at the Masters, and a win at the Paris Olympics. He is deservedly the betting favorite at +120, however, he is yet to finish first in this particular event. His highest finish came in 2022 where he finished tied for second, despite starting at -10, like he is this year. There is also a narrative out there that Scottie doesn’t perform well on unfamiliar courses with unpredictable conditions. His two worst results of the season, a T41 in the US Open at Pinehurst and a T33 in the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Course were both courses that he admittedly was frustrated by. At Pinehurst, he said he never knew where to miss because the waste area was so unpredictable. Scottie even went on an uncharacteristic tirade on the 10th hole in the second round of the BMW Championship this past weekend. His finishes in the first two FedEx Cup events were solo fourth at the St. Jude Championship and, as previously stated, T33 at the BMW Championship.
Xander, on the other hand, is coming in after tying for second at the St. Jude Championship and tying for fifth at the BMW Championship and hasn’t finished outside the top 15 since April. He’s just as steady as you can get, and, in the final event of the year, when it feels like all the players are exhausted after a long season, Xander just keeps chugging along. He has two wins on the year and both happen to be majors, the PGA Championship, for the first of his career, and the Open, as his second. Xander has historically done well at the Tour Championship, never finishing outside of the top 10 and winning the event in 2017. He finished solo second at the event last year. Xander’s odds are at +225 and he starts just two shots back of Scottie, but expect him to give the number one plate in the world a run for his money. If Xander can finish the year with a win at the PGA Tour’s final tournament of the year, there could be more of a discussion for player of the year.
Can Hideki Overcome His Bad Luck
Despite a win at the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Hideki has had a rough few weeks. After winning bronze at the Paris Olympics, Hideki Matsuyama and his team were robbed on a layover in London, while traveling back to the United States. Among the items that were stolen were the passports of his coach and his caddie, meaning they could not make the trip with him back to the U.S. and they had to remain in Japan at least through the first two playoff events. If that weren’t enough, Hideki had to withdraw from the BMW Championship with a lower back injury. He was just one shot off the lead after the first round before withdrawing on Friday due to the injury. Hideki will start the Tour Championship at -7 and his odds are currently at +1100.
Who Wins
It may be a somewhat boring pick, but I’m predicting that San Diego native, Xander Schauffele, will win the Tour Championship this week and put a bow on an incredible season. He’s been steady all year long, including recent weeks, and starting at -8 and just two shots behind Scottie, he’ll be hard to catch for those behind him, and, with his putting, he can easily make up two shots. Though he’s had a historic season, Scottie hasn’t reached his potential at this event at East Lake in the past. We shall see if he can finally turn it around and make a breakthrough this time around. Either way, expect a great event and a possible showdown for the ages this week at the PGA Tour’s season-ending event of the year, the Tour Championship.
