Tee times, groupings: The Open Championship at Royal St. George’s

The PGA TOUR’s 2020-21 season will wrap up at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta with the thrilling finale to the FedExCup. The top 30 golfers in the FedExCup standings at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will once again be vying for the ultimate prize in golf. This is the third year of the TOUR Championship’s Starting Strokes format which sees players start between 10-under and even par depending on their positioning. FIELD NOTES: The final field will be determined at the conclusion of the BMW Championship, the second leg of the FedExCup playoffs. However, all inside the current top 30 have committed to East Lake… THE NORTHERN TRUST winner, Tony Finau, is currently the No.1-ranked golfer in the FedExCup standings, however, the BMW Championship winner is likely to wrestle that from him… Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm (3rd at THE NORTHERN TRUST) and Patrick Cantlay are in great position to join Finau in the top five headed to Atlanta after hot starts at Caves Valley… The defending FedExCup champion, Dustin Johnson, will qualify for East Lake for the 13th year in a row – the longest active streak… Johnson is also defending his title at East Lake… Veteran Stewart Cink will earn a spot at East Lake for the first time since 2009. Cink won twice this season. His victories (Safeway Open, RBC Heritage) were his first on TOUR since that 2009 season when he won The Open Championship… Rory McIlroy is trending towards qualifying, giving him the chance to become the first three-time FedExCup winner. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives the FedExCup. COURSE: East Lake Golf Club, par 70, 7,346 yards. The storied club has hosted the TOUR Championship since 2005, meaning all 14 previous FedExCup champions (2007-2020) have been crowned there. Originally designed in the early 1900s by Tom Bendelow, Donald Ross re-worked the course not long after while Rees Jones helped restore the original design in 1994. STORYLINES: It all comes down to this. The top-ranked player in the standings after the BMW Championship will head to East Lake knowing he starts Thursday’s opening round at 10-under, giving him a two-shot margin over second seed who will start at 8-under… The starting numbers continue to drop from there. No.3 seed starts 7-under, No.4 at 6-under, and No.5 begins at 5-under. From there groups of five drop a shot at a time. So, No.6-No.10 start at 4-under, No.11-No.15 3-under, No.16-No.20 2-under, No. 21-25 1-under and finally No.26-No.30 start at even… The last two FedExCup winners have started 1st and 5th, respectively… The winner receives the coveted trophy and a $15 million bonus… No one has defended their title at East Lake since 1998… Steve Stricker will also announce his six captains picks for the U.S Ryder Cup team following the event. 72-HOLE RECORD: 257, Tiger Woods (2007). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Zach Johnson (3rd round, 2007). LAST TIME: Dustin Johnson finished at 21-under for the week and defeated Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele by three shots to win his first TOUR Championship – and first FedExCup. Thomas, a past FedExCup champion, shot rounds of 66-66 on the weekend but it wasn’t enough to overtake Johnson, who shot rounds of 64-68 to hold on to the No.1 spot in the FedExCup standings having started at 10-under. Schauffele made a spirited move up the leaderboard (he started the week in 14th, seven shots back of Johnson) but fell just short. Jon Rahm, who started the week in second place, couldn’t bounce back from a second-round 74 and finished fourth. Scottie Scheffler ripped up the standings from No. 17 to 5th. Johnson bogeyed No’s 7 and 8 on Sunday to open the door a crack to his competitors but stayed steady through the back nine, adding a birdie on the par-5 18th to close out the season. He finished the Playoffs going 1-2-1. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. (Preview Show), 11:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. (Preview Show), 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30 p.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Preview Show), 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 1:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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DJ reminds us (again) why he’s No. 1

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SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER EARNS BREAKTHROUGH TOUR TITLE Scottie Scheffler plays with a casual yet self-assured demeanor, cultivated through accomplishments. The 25-year-old New Jersey native has risen to the top at every level – winning the 2013 U.S. Junior, starring collegiately at the University of Texas, earning 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year honors, and even compiling a 2-0-1 record in his maiden Ryder Cup appearance last fall. There was just one blank on the resume, a PGA TOUR title. That blank was filled in dramatic fashion Sunday at the WM Phoenix Open, as Scheffler delivered a 26-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course, then watched Patrick Cantlay’s tying attempt slide just by. With a raucous contingent of fans cheering “Scottie! Scottie!” on a sun-kissed Sunday afternoon, Scheffler carded a final-round 67 in the penultimate pairing to post 16-under total, which proved enough for extra holes once Cantlay’s 10-foot birdie attempt at the 72nd hole burned the edge. The two matched pars on the first two playoff holes before Scheffler delivered a signature winning moment, punctuated by multiple fist pumps, a wave to the crowd and a high-five with caddie Ted Scott. The victory moves Scheffler to No. 4 on the FedExCup – 500 points accrued – as he continues to cement a place in golf’s legion of young stars. REVVING UP FOR RIVIERA Current FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama, along with the rest of the top 10 players in the world, is set to tee it up at storied Riviera Country Club for this season’s The Genesis Invitational. Max Homa looks to defend his hometown title after a dramatic playoff victory over Tony Finau a year ago. The invitational field will include Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay. Rory McIlroy makes his first start of 2022 on the PGA TOUR. This is the 59th time the George C. Thomas Jr./William P. Bell design will host The Genesis Invitational. Its compact design with primary rough of club-grabbing Kikuyu makes it a challenge for the best players in the world. Aaron Beverly is the 2022 recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption. Beverly was a celebrated college golfer and competes on the APGA Tour. 550 FedExCup points will be up for grabs come Sunday. FEEL-GOOD STORIES OF THE WEEK D.J. Gregory has been a fixture on the PGA TOUR since 2008. Gregory, who was born with cerebral palsy, attends more than 40 events each year and picks a player to follow each week. All told, he has covered more than 14,000 miles and raised more than $1 million for his Walking For Kids Foundation, predominantly through the donations of TOUR players like world No. 1 Jon Rahm. On Tuesday at TPC Scottsdale, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan surprised Gregory with the TOUR’s Courage Award, presented to a person who has overcome personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness to make a meaningful contribution to the game. He became the first person to receive the award who is not a member of the PGA TOUR. “He’s captured a lot of hearts of us players — definitely mine,” Rahm said. Rahm was also part of another emotional moment last week. He met up with Phoenix Small, 14, a Shriners patient who was born with clubfoot, which Rahm was diagnosed with as a child. The two had an emotional initial meeting at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, then played the final three holes together. “I think I would have been a lot more nervous than he was,” Rahm said after the round. “He composed himself in such a great manner, it was incredible.” VIDEO OF THE WEEK Fans react to Sam Ryder’s incredible ace Saturday on the raucous par-3 16th hole in Phoenix. And not to be outdone, Carlos Ortiz followed it up with another ace on Sunday. MIC CHECK “I’m like, ‘Let’s just put that one away,’ and we kind of put it in a different pocket. There were a couple other balls in there and I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ But we got the right one.” – Sam Ryder on making sure he and his caddie kept the ball from his ace on the 16th hole in a safe spot in his golf bag. BY THE NUMBERS 600 – Starts for Charles Howell III after competing at the WM Phoenix Open. He reflected on the impressive mark before missing the cut after rounds of 75-69 at TPC Scottsdale. 1 – Brandon Matthews secured his first Korn Ferry Tour win in dramatic fashion with an eagle on 18 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard. 67 – Final-round score for Steve Stricker last season on his way to victory at the Chubb Classic. The PGA TOUR Champions returns this week to Naples, Florida, after nearly one month off. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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