Gary Woodland, Scott Piercy test positive for COVID-19, withdraw from The Honda Classic

Remember who won the 2019 TOUR Championship? Of course you do. That's because Rory McIlroy was the FedExCup champion. It's the new norm of the FedExCup Playoffs. Whoever prevails in 72 holes at East Lake Golf Club will go into the annals as the 14th winner of the FedExCup. The Starting Strokes scoring system returns this year. For a review of how the format debuted, what the field of 30 can anticipate inside the ropes when the tournament begins on Friday, Sept. 4, and more, continue reading beneath the ranking. NOTE: This full-field Power Rankings includes starting score for every golfer in the field. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP Opening score in relation to par for each of the 30 qualifiers for the TOUR Championship is a reflection of respective value entering the finale of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. For the uninitiated fan, the feeling is like starting a tournament with one round already complete. Despite the advantage of a head start, there are still 72 holes to play to determine the result and there is no cut. And that's not insignificant. Consider that in just the 13 tournaments since the season resumed in June, only four winners either led outright or co-led entering the final round. No matter the iteration of the Playoffs format, when McIlroy prevailed here last year, he became the 10th consecutive FedExCup champion who didn't begin the TOUR Championship as the top seed. It's a stretch that included the first time he won the FedExCup in 2016. Tiger Woods (2007, 2009) is the only other multiple FedExCup champion, but he was the top seed in advance of both of his finales. Last year, McIlroy seeded fifth and with an opening score of 5-under. Combined with his actual 72-hole total of 13-under 267, he finished with a score of 18-under, four lower than runner-up Xander Schauffele, who started at 4-under as the 8-seed. Top seed Justin Thomas opened 10-under and finished T3 after completing 72 holes in just 3-under 277. Among other notables in the context of opening position, 2-seed Patrick Cantlay started at 8-under, shot 9-over 289 and finished T21 at 1-over. Paul Casey, who started 16th at 2-under, finished alone in fifth, while Dustin Johnson, who started 14th and one stroke lower, tied for last. The highest finish among the fivesome who started at even was Bryson DeChambeau. His aggregate of 4-under 276 was good for a T12. The 2020 version of DeChambeau is the poster boy for how to tackle East Lake; that is, hit it long and find it, even in primary rough clipped at two-and-a-half inches. Rees Jones' redesign(s) of Donald Ross' renovation of Tom Bendelow's creation is a firm, fair par 70 that tips at 7,346 yards, and it's been the only host of the Playoffs finale. Already for the fifth consecutive edition, the nines are reversed, so the old par-3 finisher is the ninth. No. 18 is a par-5 measuring 590 yards. The greens are a little larger than average and the par 5s annually rank among the easiest sets of all courses. With seven birdies and a par on the sixth and 18th holes last year, McIlroy led the field in par-5 scoring at 4.13, but DJ ranked T5 at 4.38, so he didn't compensate on the 16 holes that aren't par 5s played four times each. That reinforces the premium of ball-striking around East Lake. En route to victory, McIlroy ranked T3 in fairways hit, T5 in greens in regulation and led the field in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. In a small field, it's more about creating scoring opportunities (and limiting big numbers) than it is about going low, especially on a course that averaged 70.033 last year, closest to par of every course last season. As long as its managed in moderation, putting is secondary and likely won't define the champion. MiniVerde bermudagrass putting surfaces are on the slicker side at 13 feet on the Stimpmeter, and they'll have a terrific chance of maintaining the speed, even in the predictably hot and humid conditions in store. After two days with highs in the lower 90s and only a chance of rain, a system will make its presence known by Sunday's third round. Daytime highs will drop as much as 10 degrees through Labor Day. Wind might impact club selection for a short period of time with the cooling, but that's barely worth the mention. All earnings at the TOUR Championship are classified as unofficial bonus money, but the winner of the tournament will be credited with an official PGA TOUR victory. All qualifiers will be treated to carte-blanche scheduling throughout the 2020-21 season. Included in the perks for advancing to the finale are exemptions into the Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in 2021. Also, for this season only, each is exempt into the Sentry Tournament of Champions. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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The golf betting community got a real taste of how weather can affect events throughout the United Kingdom during an interesting first round of the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland. The wind picked up during the afternoon at The Renaissance Club, leading to much higher scores for half of the field as the morning wave posted a scoring average of 70.39, compared to 73.60 for the afternoon. This was frustrating for some players but also for many in the golf betting community. Of the 38 rounds under par Thursday, 32 came in the morning wave. Cameron Tringale took advantage of the scoring conditions early and fired a 9-under 61 to take a three-shot lead into the second round. But the beauty of golf betting is one doesn’t need to wait long for a new opportunity to right any wrongs, weather induced or not. Instead of waiting until the tournament ends on Sunday, there are a few betting opportunities at the BetMGM online sportsbook for Friday’s second round. One of those is 3-ball betting, i.e., which golfer within a threesome will have the lowest score for the round. As all three in any given wager face the same conditions, you can rest assured no unforeseen advantage can be gained by one player over the other. Here’s a look at 3-ball betting within the featured groups that you can also watch, and cheer on your choices, here. Matt Fitzpatrick (+165) / Collin Morikawa (+175) / Will Zalatoris (+190) – 3:05 a.m. ET Playing in the wilder winds Fitzpatrick (+1) lost ground in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is unusual for him, in the opening round. The U.S. Open champ is 22nd this year on the PGA TOUR for that metric. Interestingly his second-round scoring average is his worst this season at 70.21. The other three are all sub-70. The 25-year-old Morikawa (+1) gained two strokes against the field putting Thursday, which goes against his norm. He entered the week 86th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s 97th in second-round scoring, with a scoring average of 70.5. Zalatoris (+1) was 1-under over his last five holes Thursday, so he will look to carry that into the second round. He has excelled in second rounds this season; his 69.5 scoring average ranks 19th on TOUR. Justin Thomas (+130) / Hideki Matsuyama (+190) / Tommy Fleetwood (+220) – 3:15 a.m. ET Thomas (+3) lost just over two strokes to the field on the greens Thursday, which is unusual for the PGA Championship winner. For the year, Thomas has the best scoring average in second rounds on the PGA TOUR (67.67). Matsuyama (+3) struggled with his putting in round one, losing 1.4 strokes to the field. This is somewhat normal for him this year; he’s 126th in Strokes Gained: Putting. One thing to note with Fleetwood (+3) is he’s had some issues in second rounds this year. His 70.54 scoring average ranks 103rd. Jon Rahm (+125) / Scottie Scheffler (+165) / Viktor Hovland (+275) – 8:15 a.m. ET Rahm’s (-2) success Thursday was aided by his putter. He gained just over 3.5 strokes against the field. He ranks 60th this season in Strokes Gained: Putting, but his 69.31 second round scoring average ranks ninth. It was a tough day for Scheffler (+3) on Thursday as the No. 1 ranked player in the world did not take advantage of the better scoring conditions. His scoring average of 69 is fifth on TOUR in second rounds. Like Scheffler, Hovland (+4) didn’t take advantage of playing in the morning wave. He lost just under three strokes putting, which is unusual considering he’s ranked 28th this season in Strokes Gained: Putting. Cameron Smith (+160) / Jordan Spieth (+170) / Tyrrell Hatton (+200) – 8:25 a.m. ET Smith (-2) got off to a good start despite losing strokes to the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. This isn’t the norm for him; he’s second in that category this year on TOUR. Spieth (-2) ranked sixth in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. This doesn’t come as a major surprise, considering he’s ranked 23rd this year on TOUR. Second rounds have been kind to Hatton (-2) this year. He enters the week with a 69.42 second round scoring average, 14th on the PGA TOUR. He shot under par Thursday while losing strokes to the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? 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