The week we have all been waiting for is finally here! Justin Thomas has a two-shot lead at the Tour Championship even though the tournament has not begun. We also have the second event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and poutine golf in Canada.

Tour Championship-type thing

The PGA Tour embarks on a brand-new adventure this week. The final 30 players head to East Lake to determine the FedEx Cup, each armed with a different amount of #liveunderpar juice. Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, and Rory McIlory currently make up the top five in the standings. Tour Championship Tee Times

Eighty and counting

Last year’s Tour Championship brought us one of the most memorable scenes in recent golf history. On the 18th hole at East Lake Golf Club, Tiger Woods—not in the field this week, as you have likely heard—strolled through a sea of fans on his way to his first victory in five years. In 2018, Tiger had a lot of close calls, but he finally broke through at the season finale. (Oh, and Justin Rose won the FedEx Cup. We think?)

Storylines

Staggered – In case you weren’t aware, players will start at different scores this weekend. FedEx Cup No. 1 Justin Thomas will begin at -10, No. 2 Patrick Cantlay at -8, and so on and so forth. The winner of the event will probably not be the one with the lowest 72-hole score, yet he will receive credit for a PGA Tour victory. Will it be easier to determine the FedEx Cup winner with this format? Yes. Is all of this weird? Also, yes.

Two-timers – Crazy as it sounds, Tiger is still the only player to win the FedEx Cup twice. Based on their starting positions, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy have a good shot at joining Big Cat this week.

Rook to East Lake – Just one rookie, Sungjae Im, qualified for the Tour Championship this week. This will be his 35th (!) event of the year. Im is seeking his eighth top-10 finish of the year but will need to overcome a nine-shot deficit to get his first win.

Paulie’s Picks

The unprecedented Tour Championship format makes things complicated for Draft Kings and One-and-Done fantasy golf leagues. Paulie is here to point you in the right direction for the final tournament of the 2018-19 season. Paulie’s Picks: 2019 Tour Championship

Big Grocery Open

Naturally, the Korn Ferry Tour heads from Ohio to Idaho this week. The Albertsons Boise Open tees off on Thursday with mounting pressure for players in search of PGA Tour cards. With just two KFT Finals events remaining, high finishes this week will guarantee spots on the big tour next year. Tee Times

Quick Hooks

Brooke Henderson returns to defend her title at the CP Women’s Open (more commonly known as the Canadian Women’s Open) on the LPGA Tour. Tee Times

Henrik Stenson and Matthew Fitzpatrick headline the Scandinavian Invitation on the European Tour. Tee Times

Sean Martin wrote an excellent article for PGATour.com digging into the competitive ramifications of the new Tour Championship format. Full Story

The Latest

Eclectic 18 UK – Hole No. 6, Sunningdale New – Clyde Johnson and Jaeger Kovich’s Eclectic 18 series continues with the 6th hole at Sunningdale Golf Club (New Course), a spectacular Harry Colt design in the English heathlands.

Shotgun Start: Dream and nightmare scenarios for new FEC finale format, Euro Tour takes on slow play

It’s finally here: the season-ending Tour Championship with its net and gross leaderboards at East Lake. Andy, fresh off a maddening day at Mid-Am qualifying (which he describes as well), feistily lays out his issues with the staggered start. Brendan attempts to make the case for why this new change is a curiosity worth lauding and watching, at least at the start. We lay out some dream and nightmare scenarios for how this could go for Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour. Then we move to the European Tour taking on slow play, running through its four-point attack and the parts we think are best for improving the problem. The PGA Tour’s response and comments on it coming out of Atlanta are also discussed. In news, we hit on a troop deployment to the Military Tribute as well as the incredible Steph Curry announcement at Howard. We close with some picks for Atlanta for both the low gross and net portions of the proceedings. Listen on iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher.

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