PGA First Look: TOUR Championship
The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.
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Event Preview
Apologies for getting this preview out a little late this week. With NFL in full swing and with MLB winding down, it’s a constant battle against the clock for yours truly. After a week off, the PGA is back for the Tour Championship where someone will walk away with a $10 million prize. In addition to playing for the biggest prize in golf, congratulations are due to the 30 golfers that made it to East Lake. It’s always tough to get here and for those ranked outside of the top 50 in the world rankings, they are guaranteed a spot into all of the big tournaments in 2019. The FedEx Cup standings will be reset this week and anyone ranked in the top five (Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, and Keegan Bradley) will automatically win the FedEx Cup if they win this week. Anyone ranked outside of the top five will need to win and will likely need some help. Technically all 30 golfers have a chance to take home the FedEx Cup.
East Lake Golf Club is a difficult Par 70 that measures 7,346 yards. The lowest winning score ever recorded here was 13-under par by Henrik Stenson back in 2013. That low score was aided by a soft golf course. If you look at the last two years, only 35 of the 59 golfers finished under par. This is far from a birdie fest, but all golfers are guaranteed to play four rounds, so we should still place an emphasis on scoring. These fairways are some of the toughest to hit on tour with the average being under 55%. The rough isn’t extremely penal, but it’s certainly a lot better to be playing out of the fairway. The last couple of winners have dominated off the tee, but for the most part, strokes are gained through strong iron play. The greens are made of Bermuda and should be lightning fast. A solid all-around game will be key and those riding good form coming into the week tend to play well at this event.
Recent Winners of this Event:Xander Schauffele (2017), Rory McIlroy (2016), Jordan Spieth (2015), Billy Horschel (2014), Henrik Stenson (2013)
Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)
1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Strokes Gained Off the Tee
3) Birdie or Better %
4) Par 4 Scoring
5) Strokes Gained Putting (Emphasis on Bermuda)
Hole by Hole Breakdown
Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)
Golfer | DK Salary | FD Salary | FDRFT Salary | OWGR | Odds | DK Odds | FD Odds | FDRFT Odds | Cuts | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Justin Rose | $11,400 | $11,200 | $17,000 | 1 | 8 | 0% | 67% | 0% | 4/4 | 10 | 500 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Dustin Johnson | $11,300 | $11,500 | $16,900 | 3 | 9 | -50% | -200% | -50% | 4/4 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 500 | 5 |
Rory McIlroy | $10,700 | $10,900 | $16,800 | 5 | 8 | 33% | 67% | 33% | 3/3 | 500 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 500 |
Justin Thomas | $10,300 | $11,000 | $16,300 | 4 | 12 | -25% | 0% | -25% | 2/2 | 2 | 6 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Brooks Koepka | $10,000 | $11,300 | $16,100 | 2 | 11 | 20% | -100% | 20% | 2/2 | 6 | 500 | 18 | 500 | 500 |
Tiger Woods | $9,500 | $10,800 | $16,000 | 21 | 13 | 0% | 14% | 0% | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 22 |
Rickie Fowler | $9,100 | $9,700 | $15,300 | 9 | 17 | 0% | 53% | 0% | 3/3 | 26 | 500 | 12 | 8 | 500 |
Hideki Matsuyama | $8,800 | $10,400 | $15,200 | 20 | 20 | -13% | 10% | -13% | 4/4 | 26 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 500 |
Tony Finau | $8,600 | $10,300 | $15,000 | 16 | 20 | -11% | 9% | 0% | 1/1 | 7 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Bryson DeChambeau | $8,400 | $11,200 | $15,100 | 8 | 19 | 20% | -167% | 11% | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Francesco Molinari | $8,200 | $10,300 | $14,800 | 6 | 23 | 0% | 0% | 8% | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Jason Day | $8,000 | $10,500 | $14,900 | 11 | 24 | -8% | -44% | -18% | 4/4 | 17 | 500 | 10 | 4 | 14 |
Tommy Fleetwood | $7,900 | $10,700 | $14,700 | 12 | 24 | 8% | -50% | 8% | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Jon Rahm | $7,700 | $9,500 | $14,700 | 7 | 27 | -14% | 0% | -23% | 1/1 | 7 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Webb Simpson | $7,500 | $10,100 | $14,600 | 17 | 27 | 0% | -15% | 0% | 3/3 | 13 | 500 | 500 | 23 | 4 |
Billy Horschel | $7,300 | $7,900 | $14,600 | 48 | 27 | 13% | 46% | 7% | 2/2 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 1 | 7 |
Patrick Cantlay | $7,100 | $8,900 | $14,000 | 23 | 36 | -6% | 14% | 0% | 1/1 | 20 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Xander Schauffele | $7,000 | $8,900 | $14,600 | 19 | 27 | 6% | 19% | -13% | 1/1 | 1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Patrick Reed | $6,900 | $10,000 | $13,800 | 14 | 39 | 0% | -36% | 10% | 4/4 | 13 | 24 | 27 | 19 | 500 |
Paul Casey | $6,800 | $9,100 | $13,900 | 18 | 39 | 0% | -11% | 0% | 3/3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 500 | 500 |
Gary Woodland | $6,700 | $8,700 | $13,600 | 41 | 46 | -10% | 0% | -5% | 4/4 | 19 | 10 | 500 | 9 | 22 |
Phil Mickelson | $6,600 | $9,000 | $13,500 | 25 | 49 | -18% | -30% | -13% | 2/2 | 500 | 22 | 500 | 500 | 12 |
Bubba Watson | $6,500 | $9,300 | $14,000 | 13 | 41 | 9% | -24% | -17% | 3/3 | 500 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 500 |
Cameron Smith | $6,400 | $7,900 | $13,400 | 33 | 49 | -4% | 4% | -4% | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Marc Leishman | $6,300 | $8,400 | $13,400 | 22 | 46 | 4% | 0% | 0% | 1/1 | 24 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Keegan Bradley | $6,200 | $9,100 | $13,400 | 31 | 45 | 15% | -22% | 8% | 1/1 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 12 |
Aaron Wise | $6,100 | $7,400 | $13,100 | 52 | 58 | -4% | 3% | 0% | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Kyle Stanley | $6,100 | $7,600 | $13,200 | 27 | 53 | 0% | 4% | 0% | 1/1 | 20 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Kevin Na | $6,000 | $8,100 | $12,700 | 42 | 61 | 0% | -16% | 0% | 3/3 | 500 | 29 | 16 | 19 | 500 |
Patton Kizzire | $6,000 | $7,000 | $10,600 | 92 | 176 | -3% | 0% | 0% | 0/0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.
Legend
Term | Description |
---|---|
Site Odds | The percentage differential between a golfer’s salary rank and odds rank. The higher the %, the better. |
OWGR | Official World Golf Ranking |
Cuts | Cut record of each golfer at this course in the last five seasons. |
2013 – 2017 Columns | Course history at this event in the last five seasons. |