It’s hard to believe the season finale is already here, but golfers are set to tee it up at East Lake Golf Club this week for a chance to win the FedExCup and the $18 million first place prize. If you are unfamiliar with the setup of the event, let me give a quick refresher on how it will work. Based on the FedExCup standings, golfers will start with starting strokes that are meant to act as an advantage for playing so well throughout the course of the season. Here is where each golfer will start when they tee it up on Thursday:
| Golfer | Starting Score |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 10-under |
| Patrick Cantlay | 8-under |
| Xander Schauffele | 6-under |
| Sam Burns | 5-under |
| Cameron Smith Rory McIlroy Tony Finau Sepp Straka Sungjae Im |
4-under |
| Jon Rahm Scott Stallings Justin Thomas Cameron Young Matt Fitzpatrick |
3-under |
| Max Homa Hideki Matsuyama Jordan Spieth Joaquin Niemann Viktor Hovland |
2-under |
| Collin Morikawa Billy Horschel Tom Hoge Corey Conners Brian Harman |
1-under |
| K.H. Lee J.T. Poston Sahith Theegala Adam Scott Aaron Wise |
Even par |
In other words, Scheffler will step up to the first tee at 10-under par. From that point, the tournament will play out as usual and we will crown a winner on Sunday.
East Lake is one of my favorite stops on the PGA Tour because it is both challenging and fair. If you strike the ball well, you can certainly rack up birdies. If you hit poor shots, you are going to make a lot of bogeys. If you take out the starting strokes, the last five winners at East Lake have all finished between 11-under and 15-under par.