The PGA TOUR has reached the final event in the 2026 FedExCup Playoffs. With schedule changes and an overhaul of the playoffs on tap for 2028, this will likely be the second-to-last time this event is contended in this format. The event will take place again this year at East Lake Golf Club just outside downtown Atlanta. The season-long race for the FedExCup Championship comes to a close before most of the biggest names take a few months off. The tournament begins on Thursday, August 27, and will conclude on Sunday, August 30, weather permitting.
Let’s start the week with a look at the format, history, and course for the TOUR Championship.
The Format of the TOUR Championship
While the future of the FedExCup Playoffs beyond 2027 is very uncertain, the format for this year’s TOUR Championship remains unchanged from last year. The top 30 players in the FedExCup Standings will take part in a no-cut with a massive $40 million prize pool. Last year, the event eliminated the “starting strokes,” so all players will begin the week at even par, making the whole event much less confusing.
The TOUR Championship is still an imperfect finish to a season-long chase, since each of the top 30 players have an equal opportunity to win this week and win the FedEx Cup. Scottie Scheffler is way ahead in the FedExCup standings coming into the week, but he gets no advantage this week.
It’s a huge week for the 30 players who are qualified for this limited-field, no-cut event, since the $40 million prize pool will be divided out. The winner claims a massive $10 million payday, while even the 30th-place finisher earns at least $355,000. For comparison, the next PGA TOUR event is the Biltmore Championship Asheville in September, and the entire prize pool for that tournament is only $5 million.
The History of the Tournament
The TOUR Championship started in 1987 as one of the final events of the season with the goal of ending the season with a big tournament, even though it isn’t a major. Since 2007, it has been the final event of the FedExCup Playoffs, which consisted of four tournaments prior to 2019 and three events since the adjustment to move up the TOUR Championship from mid-September to August.
Since 2004, East Lake Golf Club has been the permanent host for the tournament after it rotated to different venues for the first several seasons. A return to some kind of rotation that includes some of the biggest courses seems to be the next step for the PGA TOUR in 2028, but it’s not clear if the TOUR Championship or East Lake Golf Club will remain a part of that plan or be separated out into a different track.
With the format changes over the years, there have been some anticlimactic results, like in 2018 when Tiger Woods won the tournament but Justin Rose won the FedExCup Championship. With starting strokes for several years, players who had the best week didn’t always win if they started further back in the pack. The possibility of those outcomes ended last year when it became a straightforward, 30-player race to the title with everyone starting at the same score.
Tommy Fleetwood won last year, claiming his first PGA TOUR win in memorable fashion by three strokes over Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley. Scottie Scheffler won the FedExCup Championship in 2024, Viktor Hovland won in 2023, and Rory McIlroy claimed his third FedExCup Championship back in 2022. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are also previous winners at East Lake who are in the field this week.
Of the 30 players in the field, six are making their first appearance in the TOUR Championship, including two rookies – Alex Fitzpatrick and Kristoffer Reitan. Ryan Gerard, Min Woo Lee, Alex Smalley, and Ryan Fox are the rest of the players who have made it to the final stage of the playoffs for the first time in their careers.
Be sure to check out this week’s full field and opening odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
A Closer Look at the Course
East Lake Golf Club is Atlanta’s oldest golf course and the historic home of legendary golfer Bobby Jones. Andrew Green completed an extensive restoration of the course in 2023 after famous architects Donald Ross and Rees Jones played a part in its design as well. Both before and after the overhaul, East Lake plays as a lush parkland course with tight fairways, difficult rough, fast greens, and plenty of risk-reward decisions that require strategic choices.
Scoring has been low the last few years, with plenty of birdie chances available if players can keep the ball out of the rough. The par-70 is one of the longest courses in the regular rotation, but it is a straightforward challenge without many doglegs, quirks, or “gimmicks.” It is tree-lined with tricky lies in the rough, but most of the course features open views and wide fairways right in front of the players.
The course features water hazards on eight of the 18 holes, bumping up the difficulty. However, last year’s scoring was the lowest ever, with the field averaging more than two strokes under par per round.
As usual, Strokes Gained: Approach is a key metric to lean on this week, with Total Driving also very important since distance and accuracy are important. Bogey Avoidance is also important, as well as Scrambling out of the unpredictable Bermuda rough.
As you get ready for this week’s tournament, be sure to get your DFS fantasy golf lineups and betting cards filled out with help from DK Network! We’ll have ongoing coverage throughout the week to help you enjoy this weekend’s tournament.
