BlogTour Championship Preview and Picks

Tour Championship

September 21st – 24th, 2017

East Lake G.C.

Atlanta, GA

Par: 70 / Yardage: 7,385

Purse: $8.75 million

with $1,575,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Rory McIlroy

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This week’s field includes:

This week’s field includes:

The field has all 30 players in the top-100 with the highest rank being 76th by Patrick Cantlay. There are 25 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Rankings, with eight of top-ten players in the field (#5 Henrik Stenston, #9 Rickie Fowler & #10 Danny Willett didn’t make it): #1 Dustin Johnson, #2 Jordan Spieth, #3 Hideki Matsuyama, #4 Justin Thomas, #5 Jon Rahm, #6 Jason Day, #7 Rickie Fowler and #10 Sergio Garcia.  From 11 to 25 there are 9 of the 15 with #11 Brooks Koepka, #13 Matt Kuchar, #14 Justin Rose, #15 Marc Leishman, #16 Paul Casey, #20 Patrick Reed, #23 Charley Hoffman, #24 Daniel Berger and #25 Kevin Chappell. Between 26 and 50 there are 8 of the 25, they are #26 Kevin Kisner, #29 Brian Harman, #32 Jason Dufner, #33 Pat Perez, #38 Jhonattan Vegas, #41 Webb Simpson, #43 Gary Woodland and #46 Adam Hadwin .  Those missing from the top-50 include: #51 Russell Henley, #53 Tony Finau, #55 Kyle Stanley, #66 Xander Schaufele and #76 Patrick Cantlay

Last year there was 25 players from the top-50.

The field includes all 30 of the top-30 from the FedEx Cup rankings.

The field includes 23 players in the top 25 on this year’s PGA Tour money list. Those two not in the field are #21 Louis Oosthuizen and #24 Brendan Steele.

The field includes only one past champions: Jordan Spieth (2015).

A perfect way for fantasy golfers to check on the past performance of all the players in the Tour Championship field is our performance chart listed by average finish.  Another way to check who is the best is through a special formula worked out in Golfstats that gives us the best average performances at the Tour Championship field in the last five years or check out our sortable 8-year glance at the Tour Championship field.

A good cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmakers in England.

Another cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmaker in Las Vegas.

Time to look at our who’s hot and who isn’t:

Who’s Hot in the field for the Tour Championship

Player BMW Champ. Dell Northern Trust Wyndham PGA Champ. WGC Bridgestone Barracuda RBC Canadian Porsche European British Open Barbasol John Deere
Jordan Spieth
(468.33 pts)
T7
(82.5)
2
(150)
2
(100)
DNP T28
(29.33)
T13
(18.5)
DNP DNP DNP Win
(88)
DNP DNP
Justin Thomas
(442.83 pts)
T47
(4.5)
Win
(198)
T6
(60)
DNP Win
(176)
T28
(11)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP
Marc Leishman
(416.83 pts)
Win
(198)
3
(135)
CUT
(-10)
DNP T13
(49.33)
T41
(4.5)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(40)
DNP DNP
Rickie Fowler
(370 pts)
T2
(150)
T13
(55.5)
T20
(30)
DNP T5
(93.33)
9
(22.5)
DNP DNP DNP T22
(18.67)
DNP DNP
Jon Rahm
(330 pts)
T5
(105)
T4
(120)
T3
(90)
DNP T58
(0)
T28
(11)
DNP DNP DNP T44
(4)
DNP DNP
Paul Casey
(325.83 pts)
T33
(25.5)
T4
(120)
5
(70)
DNP T13
(49.33)
T5
(35)
DNP DNP DNP T11
(26)
DNP DNP
Jason Day
(305.83 pts)
4
(120)
T25
(37.5)
T6
(60)
DNP T9
(60)
T24
(13)
DNP DNP DNP T27
(15.33)
DNP DNP
Matt Kuchar
(294.17 pts)
T5
(105)
T56
(0)
T10
(40)
DNP T9
(60)
T17
(16.5)
DNP T32
(6)
DNP 2
(66.67)
DNP DNP
Dustin Johnson
(288 pts)
T33
(25.5)
T18
(48)
Win
(132)
DNP T13
(49.33)
T17
(16.5)
DNP T8
(16.67)
DNP T54
(0)
DNP DNP
Patrick Reed
(264 pts)
65
(0)
T6
(90)
T20
(30)
DNP T2
(133.33)
T36
(7)
DNP DNP T19
(10.33)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP
Justin Rose
(236.67 pts)
T2
(150)
T10
(60)
T10
(40)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T63
(0)
DNP DNP DNP T54
(0)
DNP DNP
Webb Simpson
(218.83 pts)
T9
(67.5)
T75
(0)
T6
(60)
3
(60)
T33
(22.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T37
(8.67)
DNP DNP
Hideki Matsuyama
(218.33 pts)
T47
(4.5)
T23
(40.5)
CUT
(-10)
DNP T5
(93.33)
Win
(66)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(24)
DNP DNP
Brooks Koepka
(211.83 pts)
T12
(57)
T18
(48)
T49
(1)
DNP T13
(49.33)
T17
(16.5)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(40)
DNP DNP
Kevin Chappell
(190.67 pts)
T12
(57)
T35
(22.5)
T6
(60)
DNP T33
(22.67)
T13
(18.5)
DNP T8
(16.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP
Patrick Cantlay
(186.33 pts)
T9
(67.5)
T13
(55.5)
T10
(40)
DNP T33
(22.67)
DNP DNP T48
(0.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Pat Perez
(184 pts)
T12
(57)
T6
(90)
T34
(16)
DNP T28
(29.33)
69
(0)
DNP DNP DQ
(-1.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP
Charley Hoffman
(176.67 pts)
T27
(34.5)
T47
(4.5)
T17
(33)
DNP T48
(2.67)
3
(45)
DNP 2
(33.33)
DNP T20
(20)
DNP T39
(3.67)
Gary Woodland
(136.5 pts)
T27
(34.5)
T18
(48)
CUT
(-10)
DNP T22
(37.33)
T63
(0)
DNP 4
(26.67)
DNP T70
(0)
DNP DNP
Jhonattan Vegas
(130.5 pts)
T63
(0)
T65
(0)
T3
(90)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T17
(16.5)
DNP Win
(44)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP
Tony Finau
(129.17 pts)
T7
(82.5)
T65
(0)
T54
(0)
DNP T44
(8)
DNP DNP T5
(23.33)
DNP T27
(15.33)
DNP DNP
Xander Schauffele
(103.17 pts)
T20
(45)
T53
(0)
T17
(33)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T13
(18.5)
DNP DNP DNP T20
(20)
DNP DNP
Kevin Kisner
(91.67 pts)
T67
(0)
T53
(0)
T54
(0)
T42
(5.33)
T7
(73.33)
T28
(11)
DNP DNP DNP T54
(0)
DNP T44
(2)
Daniel Berger
(84.33 pts)
T33
(25.5)
T61
(0)
33
(17)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T17
(16.5)
DNP DNP DNP T27
(15.33)
DNP T5
(23.33)
Sergio Garcia
(80.33 pts)
T12
(57)
T35
(22.5)
DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T39
(5.5)
DNP DNP DNP T37
(8.67)
DNP DNP

How Player Rankings are Computed

Who’s Not Hot in the field for the Tour Championship

Player BMW Champ. Dell Northern Trust Wyndham PGA Champ. WGC Bridgestone Barracuda RBC Canadian Porsche European British Open Barbasol John Deere
Kyle Stanley
(44.83 pts)
T47
(4.5)
T25
(37.5)
T25
(25)
CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-13.33)
T41
(4.5)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T55
(0)
Russell Henley
(53.17 pts)
T47
(4.5)
T40
(15)
T25
(25)
DNP T71
(0)
T66
(0)
DNP DNP DNP T37
(8.67)
DNP DNP
Brian Harman
(61.5 pts)
T40
(15)
T65
(0)
CUT
(-10)
DNP T13
(49.33)
T50
(0.5)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T10
(13.33)
Adam Hadwin
(72.17 pts)
T40
(15)
T13
(55.5)
CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T5
(35)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP
Jason Dufner
(78.5 pts)
T58
(0)
T69
(0)
T20
(30)
T14
(24)
T58
(0)
T50
(0.5)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(24)
DNP DNP
Sergio Garcia
(80.33 pts)
T12
(57)
T35
(22.5)
DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T39
(5.5)
DNP DNP DNP T37
(8.67)
DNP DNP
Daniel Berger
(84.33 pts)
T33
(25.5)
T61
(0)
33
(17)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T17
(16.5)
DNP DNP DNP T27
(15.33)
DNP T5
(23.33)
Kevin Kisner
(91.67 pts)
T67
(0)
T53
(0)
T54
(0)
T42
(5.33)
T7
(73.33)
T28
(11)
DNP DNP DNP T54
(0)
DNP T44
(2)
Xander Schauffele
(103.17 pts)
T20
(45)
T53
(0)
T17
(33)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
T13
(18.5)
DNP DNP DNP T20
(20)
DNP DNP
Tony Finau
(129.17 pts)
T7
(82.5)
T65
(0)
T54
(0)
DNP T44
(8)
DNP DNP T5
(23.33)
DNP T27
(15.33)
DNP DNP

How Player Rankings are Computed

The Buzz:

Hard to believe that this is the last week of the 2017 season.  Just like that another year will be in the history books and for this year there will be a nice ending to the year.  Just like last year, player of the year honors are still on the line.  It’s probably a race with just three players, Justin Thomas who won the PGA Championship and four other PGA Tour events, including the FedEx Dell Technologies over the year.  He probably will be player of the year, unless Jordan Spieth wins this week.  Along with his win at the British Open, Spieth also won the Travelers Championship and AT&T Pebble Beach.  Now an outside chance is Dustin Johnson who if he wins this week can lay claim to player of the year because of his wins at the Genesis Open, WGC-Mexico Champonship, WGC-Dell Match Play and the Northern Trust.  Johnson may not have won a major, but winning 2 WGC-events and if he won the Tour Championship he would have won two FedEx Cup events and that should be good enough to give him the nod.

Tournament information:

  • This is the 31st Tour Championship. Originally founded as the Nabisco Championship, it switched to the Tour Championship in 1991. In 2001, Coca-Cola became a title sponsor for the event, which still bears its name.
  • Through 2006, the top 30 players on the money list up to the Tour Championship qualified for the event. With a limited field, the event doesn’t have a cut.  2007 was the first year in which the top-30 of the FedEx Cup point list got in as it became the last leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
  • Since 2004, the Tour Championship has been held at East Lake Golf Club outside of  Atlanta, Ga. Back then it was in November but with the advent of the new FedEx Cup, the Tour Championship was moved to mid-September. The event now is the final leg of the “Chase for the FedEx Cup.”   For most of the marquee players, this is the last PGA Tour event of the year as most of the top players won’t play in any of the seven fall events that are coming up.
  • This year just like the year before the scheme for the FedEx Cup hasn’t changed. After the BMW, points were redone thus giving the top-five leaders a chance at winning the FedEx Cup if they win the Tour Championship.  So even though Jordan Spieth is the leader, if either Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Marc Leishman or Jon Rahm were to win this week, they would displace Spieth and win the FedEx Cup.
  • Mathematically every player has a chance at winning the FedEx Cup, but for those higher than tenth they have a very slim chance.  Now that is easy to say but in 2010 Jim Furyk came to East Lake 11th in the rankings, and his victory at East Lake worked out into a win in the FedEx Cup. More drastic in 2011 Bill Haas was 25th in the rankings, but his victory and some poor play by the leaders in the rankings rose Haas into winning the series.  In 2012 Brandt Snedeker was 5th and won, the same for Henrik Stenson while in 2014 Billy Horschel was 2nd, won the Tour Champiionship and the FedExCup.  The same with Jordan Spieth in 2016 and Rory McIlroy last year.  So the last six winners of the Tour Championship also won the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The PGA Tour has put together a great “cheat sheet” in helping you figure out the scenarios to win of all the players.

Course information:

  • East Lake was designed by Tom Bendelow around 1905 and in 1913 Donald Ross completely reworked the course and even though the layout is the same today, it was altered by George Cobb before the 1963 Ryderm Cup matches.
  • East Lake has had a rather tumultuous existence. From its inception until the early 1960s, East Lake was one of the top courses in the entire country. It was Bobby Jones’s home golf course. The Ryder Cup was held at East Lake in 1963. However, problems began to arise at the Atlanta country club as the area got seedy, and higher income people began emigrating to the suburbs, leaving only lower-income households to inhabit the area surrounding the once storied Country Club. In the ’60s, the membership decided to abandon the site and move to what is presently Atlanta Athletic Club, with East Lake becoming a public course.
  • For the next 30 years, the golf course, along with the community itself, floundered, as the area became the most dangerous part of Atlanta. Police often referred to the area in the 70s & 80s surrounding East Lake as “Little Vietnam.”
  • In 1993, Tom Cousins, an esteemed real-estate developer and East Lake resident, joined with a charitable foundation in an effort to restore the East Lake Golf Club and the surrounding community to its previously leviathan stature. The two-phase plan included restoration on all housing and an overhaul of the dilapidated golf course. Rees Jones was hired to do the restoration in 1994.
  • Jones revamped the grass, changed many tees, and completely changed the landscaping. Unfortunately, when Jones did all of the work, it wasn’t thought that the event would be played in September, weeks after the hot summer season.  Everyone was caught by surprise in 2007 when the greens were stressed by a combination of drought and 28 days in August of heat over 90 degrees.  With these conditions, there was not enough time for the bentgrass greens to adequately recover from Atlanta’s hottest summer on record in the midst of a drought. And it was determined that in the best interest that the Crenshaw creep bent grass would be replaced with Bermudagrass.  In making the changes to the greens, Jones also changed some of the contours of the greens and created some roll-off areas on greens.
  • In addition, the green on No. 7 was changed and pushed back 43 yards, extending the par-4 hole to 394 yards. The fairway and green on No. 17 were repositioned left, closer to East Lake’s shoreline, and new tees were added on No. 13, 15 and 16. New fairways bunkers were added on the left side of No. 3, 7 and 16, and to the right side of No. 15. Bunkers were reconfigured on the green at No. 16 and expanded on the right side of the green on No. 14, as well as the left side of No. 4 green. New hole locations were created on various greens and low-cut, roll-off areas were installed off of greens on No. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 17.
  • Now the course was in great shape before the weekend, the rough was high and the fairways and greens were hard and fast.
  • Today, the course plays as a 7,385 yard, par 70. It features Meyer Zoysia grass on both the tees and fairways while the rough is 419 Bermuda Grass.  The greens are also Bermudagrass, thus it can tolerate the hot days of August and be in great shape for this week.
  • The signature hole at East Lake is the Par 3, 15th. The hole plays at around 211 yards, but the downhill shot eliminates some of the distance. The tee was expanded and if officials want, they can stretch the hole to 225 yards.  The challenge of the hole is provided by the green itself. Golfers must attack a peninsula green with water left, right and in front of the green, as well as part of the backside. Adding to the difficulty, is a small bunker on the front left and the green, effectively making this an island green.  One other change, the tee at 17 was expanded, and the hole can play to 470 yards even though the “official” yardage on the hole is 455.
  • Last year the course played to a 69.615 average to a 70.38 average, and the 27th hardest course of the year.  It was the first time since 2013 that the course played under par for the year.  In 2015 East Lake was the 17th hardest course of the year playing to a 70.375 average.
  • Last but not least a major change will came about last year.  The nines at East Lake was reversed as the PGA Tour was hoping to create a more exciting finish.  They got that as the new par 5 18th hole created a lot more drama as the par 3, ninth hole was, who in previous 15 years was the final hole.  Last year Rory McIlroy birdied the 72nd hole to get into the playoff, it was the first time in the history of East Lake at the Tour Championship that the winner birdied the 72nd hole.

Let’s take a look at key stats that are important for those playing at East Lake:

This is based on the most vital stats from East Lake G.C., based on data from last year’s Tour Championship and using data from all the players in the field with stats from 2017.

This is a classic Tom Bendelow design that Donald Ross completely reworked, a course that favors the shot maker and one that hits lot’s of greens. The course was considered one of the best in America in the 20s and 30s, but with changes to the community in the 50s and 60s, things changed. The course held the 1963 Ryder Cup on it and George Cobb did some changes. The club fell into some really hard times in the 70s and 80s and it took Tom Cousin, a important real estate developer in Atlanta to bring the course back from it’s low point. Ress Jones did the restoration in 1994 but the goal was to bring it back to the changes that Donald Ross made, which he did perfectly.
What makes the course a gem is that each hole is tree-lined so you have to drive it fairly straight. The most important aspect is hitting greens, in the 16 times the course has held the Tour Championship, only one champion has been out of the top-ten in greens hit and seven of the champions led that stat. The greens are also hard to putt and since most of the greens are built up, you miss a green so scrambling becomes key. The bottom line this isn’t a course for the power hitter, short hitters have as much chance of doing well as long hitters.

So in looking at our four categories, we see how much driving and getting the ball on the green makes a difference. So we pick Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green because at East Lake putting the ball in play off the tee is very important, probably one of the most important items on this Donald Ross course. Then getting the ball on the greens is important and we all know how hard it is to hit a Donald Ross green. That is why next up is scrambling, because the greens are hard to hit, when you miss the green you have to get it up and down to win. After that putting average is important, last year East Lake was 45th in putting average so it’s important to putt well on this course to play well. This stat shows how easy the greens are, in 2016 only five other courses had easier greens to putt. Last we have birdies, last year each of the 30 pro’s averaged 3.73 birdies a round, so look for the player with the best birdie average to continue that at East Lake.

*Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green: Looks at the combination of length off the tee and accuracy, then getting the ball on the green so it determines who is best at all of these items.

*Scrambler: Who gets it up and down after missing a green.

*Strokes Gained Putting: The number of putts a player takes from a specific distance is measured against a statistical baseline to determine the player’s strokes gained or lost on a hole.

*Birdie Average: Players that make the most birdies per round

Of the 30 players in the field, 30 have stats on the PGA Tour for 2017:

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

Here is the link to the other 20 of the 30 players and their PGA Tour stats for 2017.

Here are some of the secrets to playing well at East Lake:

Key stat for the winner:

  • As was proven in past Tour Championships played at East Lake it favors those that hit lots of greens.  Just look at the 16 winners of previous Tour Championships at East Lake. Hal Sutton in 1998 was 1st while in 2000 Phil Mickelson was T4th in greens hit, Vijay Singh was T8th in 2002, Retief Goosen was first in 2004 and Bart Bryant first in 2005, Adam Scott was T6th in 2006 while in 2007 Tiger Woods led, in 2008 Camilo Villegas was T3rd while in 2009 Phil Mickelson was T8th.  in 2010 Jim Furyk led the greens hit, but Bill Haas slacked off to T-11th in ’11, Brandt Snedeker was T-7th in 2012. In 2013 Henrik Stenson proved the importance of hitting greens as he led that stat, the same in 2014 with Billy Horschel.  In 2015 Jordan Speith was T-9th in greens hit, while last year’s winner Rory McIlroy was 2nd in greens hit. So we can see that hitting greens are important because if you miss a green at East Lake it will be very difficult to get up and down for par.
  • Another key is holding the lead going into the final round.  Since 1987, the player who either led or had a share of the lead through 54 holes has gone on to win 17 out of 28 times – Tom Watson (1987), Curtis Strange (’88), Jodie Mudd (’90), Craig Stadler (’91), Paul Azinger (’92), Billy Mayfair (’95), Tom Lehman (’96), David Duval (’97), Tiger Woods (’99), Vijay Singh (2002), Chad Campbell in 2003, Bart Bryant in 2005, Adam Scott in 2006, Tiger Woods in 2007, Jim Furyk in 2010, Brandt Snedeker in 2012, Henrik Stenson in 2013, Billy Horschel in 2014 and Jordan Spieth in 2015.  So  check it out at GolfStats.Com.  Oh last year’s winner Rory McIlroy broke the streak as he was T-3rd, 4 shots back and shot a final round 64 to tie for the lead before winning in a playoff.
  • Experience and having a good year especially coming into the event is also a factor. Just look at the winners over the years.  Rory McIlroy last year, Jordan Spieth in 2015, Henrik Stenson in 2013, Brandt Snedker in 2012, Jim Furyk in 2010, Phil Mickelson the year before, Tiger Woods in 2007, Adam Scott the year before that.  Bart Bryant in 2005 and Retief Goosen in 2004 were examples of this. Scott finished either 2nd or 3rd six times going into the event, Bryant had won the Memorial early in the year while Goosen won the U.S. Open and then capped off with the Tour Championship.  All of them won capping off great years so I really feel that this year’s victor will be one of top-five,Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Marc Leishman or Jon Rahm.
  • One last thing to look for. Yes, the course is demanding, but as it goes into the year being played for the 17th time and the 14th year in a row as the host course, the pros are starting to learn it better and shoot lower scores.  Yes, it’s going to take four rounds in the 60s to win, but other than Bart Bryant’s brilliant 17 under par performance in 2005 and Tiger Woods 23 under performance in 2007 it’s rarely been taken apart.  Look for that trend to continue this year even with the course playing fast.
  • Lastly, the weather in Atlanta.  After perfect conditions during the first three FedEx Cup events, there could possibly be rain this week.  The long range forecast has just Saturday being a day of rain, but with all of the hurricanes churning in the Caribbean, anything is possible.

Who to watch for at the Tour Championship

Best Bets:

Justin Thomas

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T6

Would love to cap off a really great season with a win at East Lake. Was T-6th last year so see no reason why he can’t win this week.

Dustin Johnson

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T6 T5 5 T10 T23 T22 27

Course should cater to his long drives, has played well the last two visits.

Jordan Spieth

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T17 Win T27 T2

Has won and finished runner-up, but at the same time was T-17th last year and T-27th in 2014. So the point is he has to be at his best with the putter, if he putts well he will be in contention with a chance of winning.

Best of the rest:

Justin Rose

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T2 T4 6 2 T20 T15 T11

Course is good for him and he is playing well of late, look for him to contend.

Paul Casey

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
4 T5 T4

Has played well at East Lake, finishing in the top-five in all three starts. Only problem as we have said before, has the game to do well but never seems to win.

Hideki Matsuyama

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
5 T12 22

Has to putt well, has the tee to green game. Has not played well since the PGA Tour so that could be a problem.

Jason Day

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
WD T10 T4 T14 T6 T17

Showing that his game is coming around, don’t be surprise to see him in contention.

Solid contenders

Marc Leishman

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T28

Has been out of late, only played once at East Lake and didn’t play great. Do I think he will win, no. But think he can get a top-five.

Rickie Fowler

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T12 8 T23

May not have that great of a record at East Lake, but he has the game and stats to play well.

Jon Rahm

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
First time playing in this event

Has the game, only problem is playing for the first time at East Lake. But historically that isn’t a problem since Bill Haas won the first time he played at East Lake in 2011.

Sergio Garcia

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T9 T9 T15 2 4 T20

Watch him, he has the tee-to-green game, we are surprise that he hasn’t played well in the past.

Long shots that could come through:

Kevin Chappell

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T2

Was runner-up last year, look for him to play well again.

Tony Finau

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
First time playing in this event

Is a bomber and a course that rewards long hitters, playing East Lake for the first time.

Patrick Cantlay

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
First time playing in this event

Has shown a lot this year, don’t be surprised to see him in contention.

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