ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 24: Tommy Fleetwood of England plays a shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the TOUR Championship 2025 at East Lake Golf Club on August 24, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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The Tour Championship tees off at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday, with the top 30 FedEx Cup points leaders playing for one of the PGA Tour’s largest purses.
The final tournament of the PGA Tour season pays out $40 million in total, with $10 million going to the winner. The elevated purse, paired with a smaller-than-normal field, makes the Tour Championship the most lucrative tournament of the season.
Scottie Scheffler is a clear favorite among gamblers and analysts to win this week. Scheffler fought through hand, foot and mouth disease at the BMW Championship at Bellerive last week. Through his first 13 holes, Scheffler was tied for last. He would work his way into a T-12 by the tournament’s finish.
Scheffler has a solid track record at East Lake, having won in 2024, tied for fourth last year and tied for sixth in 2023. Scheffler knows how to stay close to the lead.
Rory McIlroy has the second-best odds in the field and showed huge strides in his performance at the BMW Championship, where he placed third.
“Overall encouraged with how I played this week compared to what it was last week [in Memphis], and certainly something to build ongoing into East Lake,” said McIlroy, in The Irish Times.
McIlroy has a history at East Lake and the Tour Championship, having won three times, in 2016, 2019 and 2022. His long drives and high-flying long irons make McIlroy a great candidate to win this week.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 08: Si Woo Kim of South Korea plays his shot from the fifth tee during the final round of the WM Phoenix Open 2026 at TPC Scottsdale on February 08, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
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An underdog in the odds, Si Woo Kim comes to the final tournament of the season without a win, despite holding the lead during the final round multiple times this year.
“I look at Si Woo Kim as that character on the PGA Tour, one of the most consistent players all season long. He has missed one cut, and so many top-5 finishes. He finishes high but doesn’t take home a lot of trophies,” Shane Bacon said on Golf on CBS.
“I am going to take Si Woo because of what we saw last year with Tommy Fleetwood, one last try to pick up a trophy.”
There are six players who are competing in the Tour Championship and playing at East Lake for the first time: Ryan Gerard, Min Woo Lee, Alex Fitzpatrick, Kristopher Rietan, Alex Smalley and Ryan Fox.
Timothy is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. Timothy can be reached at break80podcast@gmail.com for inquiries or story leads.