Scheffler, golf's best embrace revamped Tour Championship, $40M purse
Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Unlike last year, Scottie Scheffler won't start the Tour Championship well under par. But the world No. 1 is still heavily favored in the revamped tournament.
The season-ending tournament will air from Thursday through Sunday on Golf Channel, NBC and Peacock.
Scheffler and the 30-player field will tee off Thursday morning at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. They will be even par as the start, instead of using the previous format, which allowed players to amass significant under-par scores entering each tournament in the FedExCup playoffs.
"When it comes to this week, we all start even par, and it's time to go chase what you want," Scheffler told reporters Wednesday.
Rory McIlroy, who holds a record three FedEx Cup titles, said he "didn't hate the starting strokes" format, but that wasn't the majority opinion.
"It has a different feel," McIlroy told reporters Tuesday. "Any one of the 30 has a chance to win the FedExCup this year, which is obviously a lot different than it's been in previous years.
"I think with that, it's a clean slate for everyone, and it's a great opportunity for one of the guys that maybe wasn't a huge part of the season to put their hand up and have a chance to win the big prize at the end of the year.
"It's also a great opportunity for some of the guys who have had great years to sort of rubber-stamp the season a little bit and end on a really, really positive note. There is still a lot to play for this week."
Despite Scheffler not holding the advantage before teeing off at East Lake, he is a near-historic favorite, with the second-shortest odds to win since Tiger Woods in 2009.
McIlroy has the second-best odds, ahead of Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg and Russell Henley as the Top-5 expected contenders. Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, J.J. Spaun, Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa are among other Top-10 expected contenders for the $10 million first-place prize.
"It has the opportunity to be an unbelievable week in the sense of, you could have 15, 20 guys that have a chance to win on Sunday, which is pretty cool when it comes to in terms of the FedExCup," Thomas said.
"It's more just playing the tournament. With the starting strokes, it was very, very dependent on where you were."
The hefty prize purse will bring the second-place finisher $5 million, higher than the first-place prize for any major. Third- and fourth-place finishers will take home $3.7 million and $3.2 million, respectively.
Scheffler, who placed third in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and won last week's BMW Championship to start the playoffs, is not only looking to add to his 2025 prize purse of over $23.9 million, but also become the first player in history to win consecutive FedExCup crowns.
"To win tournaments, you have to play good golf at the right time, and if you want to win our season-long race, you have to play really good golf at the end of the season," Scheffler said.
"Going into this week, we all start even par, and if you want to win the FedExCup, you've got to go win this week."
Rain is in forecast throughout the week and weekend in Atlanta, which could slow down the faster greens on the 7,490-yard, par-70 course. Longer roughs and bunker placements should trigger strategical tests for the field.
Scheffler and McIlroy will tee off in the final group at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday at East Lake. Chris Gotterup and Akshay Bhatia will start the round at 11:16 a.m. in Atlanta.
Tour Championship
All times EDT
Thursday
First-round coverage from 1 to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel; Stream at 11 a.m. on ESPN+
Friday
Second-round coverage from 1 to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel; Stream at 11:15 a.m. on ESPN+
Saturday
Third-round coverage from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Golf Channel and 2:30 to 7 p.m. on NBC and Peacock; Stream at noon on ESPN+
Sunday
Final-round coverage from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Golf Channel and 1:30 to 6 p.m. on NBC and Peacock; Stream at 11 a.m. on ESPN+
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