Tour Championship Preview: Who Will Claim the FedExCup?

August 28, 2024

By Carter Rennyson

The biggest talking point this week hasn't been the $25 million top prize awarded to the winner of the FedExCup, but rather the new setup at East Lake Golf Club. The course underwent a massive overhaul, with every fairway, bunker, and green rebuilt. Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele noted the significant differences, claiming that it feels like an entirely new golf course. With these massive changes, it will be interesting to see how the players tackle this new test with so much on the line.

The Tour Championship features the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings. Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott played superbly at Castle Pines and successfully earned their spots in the field this week. Bradley moved from 50th up to the 4th spot behind Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Hideki Matsuyama.

With the starting strokes format in place, Scheffler begins his quest for his first FedExCup title at 10-under par, with everyone else incrementally behind him according to their current standings. Schauffele is second at 8-under par, Matsuyama starts at 7-under par, and Bradley sits at 6-under par.

In recent years, the BMW Championship winner has often gone on to take home the FedExCup. A victory at the Tour Championship would be particularly remarkable for Keegan Bradley, who barely qualified for the BMW Championship but ended up winning it. A victory this week would almost certainly book him a spot on the Presidents Cup team and solidify his position as a playing captain at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

However, Scheffler seems determined to claim the FedExCup after having one of the most remarkable seasons in PGA Tour history. Scheffler has won a second Green Jacket, an Olympic gold medal, became the first player to win back-to-back Players Championships, and picked up wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial, and RBC Heritage. A FedExCup and the $25 million prize would be the cherry on top of an incredible year of golf.

Xander Schauffele has had tremendous success in the Tour Championship, winning the event in 2017 as a rookie. He has never had an over-par round at East Lake in his career. However, with the new renovations, it will be interesting to see if his game translates to the new layout.

Hideki Matsuyama will tee it up at the Tour Championship despite withdrawing from the BMW Championship last week with a back injury. Matsuyama played magnificently at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis and will be another player to keep an eye on this week.

Among the other golfers to qualify for the Tour Championship are Rory McIlroy, who is seeking his fourth FedExCup title, and Ludvig Åberg, in his first Tour Championship start.

This is the last event of the 2024 PGA Tour season, and what a season it has been. Scheffler dominated early, Schauffele won two majors, Robert MacIntyre won his national open in Scotland, and Nick Dunlap won as an amateur—these were some of the top moments of this incredible season. The FedExCup Fall gets underway in a few weeks, where rising stars will compete for spots in tournaments during the 2025 season. Make sure to tune in this weekend to watch someone lift the FedExCup.