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ATLANTA — The winner of this week’s season-ending Tour Championship, which begins Thursday at East Lake Golf Membership, will take dwelling an $18 million bonus.
The highest 29 gamers within the FedEx Cup Playoffs factors standings will compete for the highest prize, after Will Zalatoris, who was third within the standings, had to withdraw on Tuesday due to a again damage.
However the week’s largest information might come Wednesday when PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addresses the media. Particulars have began to leak from a players-only meeting that was organized by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy ultimately week’s BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware.
The 22 gamers on the assembly have been offered with a proposal that would come with changing as many as 15 occasions to tournaments with smaller fields and greater purses to entice prime gamers to stay with the PGA Tour. Greater than two dozen PGA Tour members have left to affix the rival LIV Golf sequence that’s being financed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, together with previous main champions Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed.
The gamers have offered their proposal to Monahan. A participant conversant in the discussions informed ESPN that the plan continues to be in its infancy, and he wasn’t certain how rapidly the tour might implement the adjustments if it strikes ahead.
A supply informed ESPN on Tuesday that Monahan is anticipated to disclose important adjustments throughout his information convention at East Lake.
“Change for a company that has such a protracted historical past because the PGA Tour does, I feel it is sluggish to alter generally, and so when you’re making doubtlessly large adjustments, they cannot occur essentially in a single day,” defending FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay mentioned on Tuesday.
Cantlay declined to speak about what was mentioned in Delaware final week. He did say he would assist adjustments that strengthened the PGA Tour’s place in its ongoing battle with LIV Golf.
“I feel something that is higher for viewers and making an attempt to draw probably the most quantity of viewers to deliver them into the fold of golf and get them enthusiastic about golf, I feel that may be a great factor,” Cantlay mentioned.
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Cantlay, who successfully defended his BMW Championship title final week, is making an attempt to develop into the primary participant to win the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons. Not even Tiger Woods did it.
Cantlay began the 2021 Tour Championship 2 strokes forward of Tony Finau. He’ll begin this week’s match 2 strokes behind world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler.
“I am excited, coming again to a golf course that I like and clearly have some current success on,” Cantlay mentioned. “It is good to come back into this match with an opportunity to win, being up close to the highest of the staggered begin, though this 12 months needs to be a special problem than final 12 months contemplating I am 2 behind versus 2 forward.”
Cantlay, who’s ranked third on the earth, referred to as this season a “grind.” He had 11 top-10 finishes in 19 tour begins, however did not decide up his first particular person victory till final week at Wilmington Nation Membership in Delaware. He teamed up with good pal Xander Schauffele to win the Zurich Traditional of New Orleans in late April.
“It is probably the most golf I’ve most likely ever performed in a two-month stretch the final couple months,” Cantlay mentioned. “I feel it is both six of eight or seven of 9 [tournaments] for me, which is lots of golf. I am excited concerning the alternative I’ve this week, beginning this occasion solely two pictures again. However I will be blissful when the season is over and I get a couple-week break earlier than the Presidents Cup.”
The Tour Championship is the one PGA Tour occasion that makes use of a strokes-based system, which is decided by a participant’s place within the FedEx Cup factors standings after the BMW Championship.
Factors chief Scheffler will begin at 10-under par on Thursday, and the three gamers behind him, Cantlay, Schauffele and Sam Burns, will begin at 8 below, 6 below and 5 below, respectively. The following 5 gamers will begin the match at 4 below, regressing by one stroke each 5 gamers till these ranked Nos. 26-30 are at even par.
Zalatoris, who picked up his first win on the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the primary leg of the playoffs, was third in factors and would have began at 7 below. Zalatoris pulled out of final week’s BMW Championship within the third spherical and has two herniated discs in his again.
Regardless of Cantlay’s success within the Tour Championship, he nonetheless does not just like the format, which is in its fourth season of existence.
“I’ve talked earlier than about it,” Cantlay mentioned. “I am not a fan. I feel there’s received to be a greater system, though frankly I do not know what that higher system is.”
Schauffele, who has carded scores within the 60s in 18 of his 20 profession rounds at East Lake, does not significantly favor the format, both. He gained the Tour Championship as a rookie in 2017 and was runner-up in 2019 and 2020.
“If we had it prefer it was earlier than, Scottie would have gained the FedExCup months in the past,” Schauffele mentioned. “I am certain Scottie would really like it within the previous system, and it will be onerous to argue that he does not deserve it.
“However from a playoff standpoint and shaking it up and giving the viewers what they want, on the finish of the day we play golf and we’re entertainers, so we have to create an entertaining house,” Schauffele mentioned. “I feel having some type of different end result the place another person has an opportunity to win is what everybody would need. Like I mentioned, I do not know what that appears like, however I am certain it might be improved.”
So, what’s one of the simplest ways to alter it? U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick instructed {that a} match-play format within the three playoff occasions could be a greater possibility. That change would possibly give everybody within the subject an opportunity to win.
“Golf is simply so totally different to the opposite sports activities,” Fitzpatrick mentioned. “That is why I feel match play would most likely be extra of a solution since you’ve received a group that makes the playoffs in final place or no matter and you do not assume they’ll go anyplace, after which they find yourself going all the best way. After which you could possibly have a man, say in ninetieth [place], get all the best way to the ultimate.”
One of many byproducts of greater than two dozen gamers leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf is an abundance of golfers making their Tour Championship debuts. In truth, there are 9 first-timers enjoying this week at East Lake: Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Scott Stallings, Cameron Young, Max Homa, Tom Hoge, K.H. Lee, J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala.
“Yeah, I used to be talking to somebody final week concerning the common age of gamers now has dropped dramatically and guys are profitable youthful,” Fitzpatrick mentioned. “I feel that form of says all of it with like 9 first-timers. Clearly, everybody is far youthful of these first-timers. I feel golf is clearly in an honest place on that entrance.”
Zalatoris would have been the tenth first-timer. He’ll end thirtieth within the FedEx Cup standings and can obtain a $500,000 bonus. Schauffele did not like the best way that labored out for Zalatoris, who completed tied for sixth or higher in three of the 4 majors. He misplaced to Justin Thomas in a playoff on the PGA Championship and tied for second on the U.S. Open.
“You recognize, I feel sadly I noticed on the information of Is not going to having the ability to play this week, and after a season that he needed to type of simply to go to final place, I feel it is a bit harsh,” Schauffele mentioned. “I feel it might be sorted out somewhat bit higher.”
East Lake, which was the house of golf legend Bobby Jones, has hosted the Tour Championship since 1998. It has thick and lengthy Bermuda tough, which is additional juicy this week due to the current moist climate in Atlanta. Gamers would possibly get a reprieve from the sometimes scorching August climate in Georgia; forecasts name for temperatures from 80 to 86 levels. There is a first rate likelihood for thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday.
“I would say clearly this course is likely one of the best-conditioned golf programs we come to all 12 months,” Cantlay mentioned. “Looks like yearly it is in good form. Looks like it is quite a bit wetter this 12 months. The fairways are lengthy, and I do not assume they have been reduce simply as a result of softness. But when the climate holds off and does not rain an excessive amount of, I am certain it’s going to agency up on daily basis.”