Playing East Lake GC (The Tour Championship)

In my column posted this morning, I went through the some scenarios that could play out this weekend, and how players would benefit from them. I went through the list and debated detailing the motivations for different players and whether or not that would influence their game plan for The Tour Championship. In the end I decided that there were certain players who might see an uptick in fantasy value due to their relative spots in the Fed Ex Cup rankings, but ultimately I couldn't identify any negative correlation.

To summarize, all players inside the top five (Jason Day, Jordan Speith, Ricky Fowler, Henrick Stenson and Bubba Watson) can capture the Fed Ex Cup with a win at the Tour Championship. Players just outside the top five (Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Charlie Hoffman, Daniel Berger, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy) will need to win the Tour Championship and get some help from the top players not finishing in the top two or three. That is a really interesting group of players, especially Daniel Berger who could conceivably capture the first victory of his career, The Tour Championship and the Fed Ex Cup all in one afternoon. The fact that Rory McIlrory is still in the mix adds some flavor to an already action packed tournament, serving as the perfect culmination of the PGA Tour season.

Can Dustin Johnson conquer his demons and overcome a heartbreaking, yet really good season? A win and a little help would make DJ the FEC champion and silence some of his critics in the process. It's not a major, but it carries just as must prestige. He could very well be the best pure athlete to ever play the sport, and it's not like he doesn't win tournaments regularly. The one glaring weakness is his ability to putt on the greens at major championship venues. Even the slightest weakness or doubt is magnified at the majors, but he is too long and too good a ballstriker not to put it all together and get some help from the field in the process. He doesn't necessarily have to win a major, he just has to be the guy not to lose it. This has been true for decades, but I may challenge that line of thinking with guys like Day, Speith and McIlroy all going out on Sundays looking to do with one thing, win. They've been in pressure situations, won majors but also finished runner up. I don't see pressure as a factor with that group.

The Course

East Lake GC was originally birthed Atlanta Athletic Club in 1904. It was the home to American golf hero, Bobby Jones, sole winner of the Grand Slam (as it existed in his era), co-architect for Augusta National and one half of the brain trust behind the origin of The Masters. Bobby Jones played the last round of his life at East Lake on August 18, 1948.

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