Patrick Cantlay Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win 2021 FedEx Cup

Patrick Cantlay Wins the 2021 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup

 

 

After nearly a year's worth of tournaments, in a season dubbed early on as "the Super Season", the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season has come to an end. The winner of the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs and FedEx Cup Champion is Patrick Cantlay, who finished the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club with a score of 21-under and a single shot ahead of Jon Rahm. 

This is Cantlay's sixth career PGA Tour win and without a doubt his most important. He takes home a check for $15 million and fully exempt status on the PGA Tour until 2026.

RAHMBO VS PATTY ICE: CANTLAY DELIVERS YET AGAIN

It was the fight that many of us predicted it would come down to and the one we all wanted to see. 

 

In one corner, Jon "Rahmbo" Rahm, the number 1 ranked golfer in the world who was coming off a great playoffs thus far and major win this year. In the other corner, Patrick "Patty Ice" Cantlay, who was riding a huge wave of momentum after his epic playoff win against Bryson DeChambeau last week at the BMW Championship. 

 

The two were paired together again on Sunday, with Rahm starting his final round two shots behind Cantlay, with a several shot buffer between them and the rest of the field. The stage was set, with $10 million on the line between them and the chance to have their name engraved in history on the FedEx Cup. 

 

As the final round began, it was Cantlay who struck first, making birdie at the par 3 2nd hole after placing his 205-yard tee shot to just six feet, then sinking the putt. Rahm hoped to close the gap between Cantlay and himself quickly however. And he did just that on the 5th hole, making a clutch 11-foot birdie putt while Cantlay bogeyed after finding trouble off the tee.

But not to be deterred by the two shot swing, Cantlay, calm and collected as we saw him all week, responded with a birdie on the par 5 6th hole, while Rahm parred after finding the rough with his tee shot needing to chip out. The lead remained at two shots, until the par 3 9th hole, where Cantlay found trouble after landing his tee shot short right, then facing a tough chip over the bunker. He would two-putt for a bogey, dropping his lead down to a single stroke over Rahm. 

Things would remain this way until the par 4 16th hole, where Cantlay again was able to rely on his clutch approaches and putting to secure another birdie, while Rahm two-putted for par. 

Cantlay had remained focused and "in the zone" as he described it, virtually since last week. But perhaps his biggest test came on the par 4 17th hole. With victory just two holes away, Cantlay, in a brief lapse of judgement, landed his tee shot in the right rough after hitting a tree. Hitting out of the thick Bermuda rough, his second shot went wayward, landing in the spectator area to the right of the green. Things got worse though, as Cantlay's greenside chip landed short and remained in the rough. Another chip later and he was left with a 6-foot putt for bogey, while Rahm was on the green in two, with a 13-foot birdie putt. 

 

This was the deciding moment of the tournament. If Rahm makes the putt and Cantlay misses, Rahm is up by one heading into the final hole. If both miss, they are all square heading into the 18th. But, as we saw countless times last week, when the pressure is on, Cantlay performs. Rahm missed his birdie putt and Cantlay was able to sink his bogey putt; a huge confidence boost for Cantlay. 

With the FedEx Cup just a single hole away, the two teed off at the par 5 18th, both finding the fairway, with Cantlay just ahead of Rahm. In fact, this was the only time that Cantlay out-drove Rahm all week. This worked out to Cantlay's advantage, as he could watch Rahm's second shot an act accordingly. Rahm went for the green in two; a must given the situation and nearly holed out for an albatross as his ball skidded across the green before landing just at the edge of the greenside rough behind the hole. 

 

Not to be outdone, Cantlay too decided to go for the green, landing his ball to 11-feet, the closest anyone was all day. This essentially sealed the deal for Cantlay, as he now forced Rahm to hole his greenside chip. Rahm, the fighter that he is, nearly did so. The two birdied the hole as Cantlay was left with a two-putt to win and did just that. 

 

Again, fans were treated to a real spectacle of golf in Patrick Cantlay. His seemingly effortless ability to play in the moment and not let one shot effect another is truly amazing. As we've seen so many times in the past, final round leaders often make mistakes, big ones in some cases that can lose them the tournament. But this did not happen to Cantlay at all. Two of the three times he made a bogey on Sunday, he followed it up with a birdie. He has shown the world his incredible resilience and fight, even when facing trouble. That's something that you can't teach and can only learn through experience. 

 

And if you know Cantlay's story, you know exactly what he's been through, both on and off the course.

Credit must be given to Jon Rahm as well. He fought all week to create an advantage over Cantlay, but was unable to, despite great effort. For the week, he and Kevin Na shared the low score at 14-under. Rahm caps off a great season for himself as well, that also had its ups and downs. He will no doubt win a FedEx Cup at some point in his career.

And wouldn't it be something if Rahm and Cantlay were paired up against each other in Ryder Cup singles in a few weeks? One can only hope.

GOOD FINISHES ALL AROUND FOR TOP 30

Rounding out the top 5 behind Cantlay and Rahm are Kevin Na (3), Justin Thomas (4), Xander Schauffele (T5) and Viktor Hovland (T5). Their efforts do not go unrewarded however, as they each take home prize money in excess of $1 million.

 

Kevin Na put together an incredible set of four rounds and managed to not card a single bogey all week. Quite an impressive feat and one that has never been done at the Tour Championship before.

Its easy to forget that the Tour Championship is not like any other tournament on tour. Many golfers consider the fact that they are playing the Tour Championship an accomplishment in itself, given the work required to get to that stage of the playoffs and the quality of players that do and do not get into it.

 

 

A SEASON TO REMEMBER

The "Super Season" definitely lived up to its name. 

 

In total, the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season consisted of 50 events with 43 different winners, 6 majors, a total of different 641 players competing, over 1.3 million strokes, and a total of 58,000 miles traveled. 

The length of the season also allowed for some incredible records to be broken. Just this week, Sungjae Im holed his 497th and final birdie of the season. With this number, he sets a new record for most birdies in a single season. Im played a large portion of the tour events this year, allowing him to rack up the birdies each week. It will be quite some time before that record is broken.

HOW DID OUR PICKS FINISH?

This week was probably our most successful set of picks ever.

 

1) Jon Rahm: 2nd at 20-under

2) Patrick Cantlay: WINNER at 21-under

3) Abraham Ancer: T9 at 10-under

Although not favored outright to win, Cantlay did have the numerical advantage heading into the week. Congratulations again to him for an impressive finish and playoffs. Rahm should be congratulated as well, for an incredible performance this week and playing so well when it mattered most. Ancer will be happy with his result and consider it a great way to end off his season.

***

And that caps off an incredible PGA Tour season, what a season it's been. Our coverage now heads across the pond to the European Tour next week for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club. 

 

 

Stay tuned for our preview of the tournament and our picks.

 

 

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews 

Cantlay Leads, Rahm Hot in Pursuit at 2021 Tour Championship

Patrick Cantlay leads the 2021 Tour Championship by one shot over Jon Rahm

 

 

The opening rounds of the 2021 Tour Championship, the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, at East Lake Golf Club have concluded. The leader going into the weekend is Patrick Cantlay with a score of 17-under par and a single shot lead over Jon Rahm.

Due to the small field this week, there is no weekend cut. 

RAHMBO VS PATTY ICE

There was much buzz about both Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm heading into the Tour Championship. Despite Cantlay starting at 10-under with a four shot lead over Rahm, Rahm was still favored by oddsmakers to win the FedEx Cup.

 

Cantlay opened with a relatively quiet round of 67 on Thursday, carding four birdies and a single bogey. He was paired with Tony Finau who, despite the momentum of winning The Northern Trust, shot a 72. Rahm, on the other hand, was paired with Bryson DeChambeau, and opened with a 65. This was good enough to bump Rahm up to second place.

Rahm and Cantlay were paired together for their Friday rounds. Cantlay improved, shooting a bogey-free 66 that consisted of four birdies. Rahm equaled his opening 65, with six birdies and a bogey, with momentum building for him.

The two put on a spectacle of golf between them. One hole of excitement for both was the par 4 13th hole. Cantlay drove his tee shot into the first cut of rough, but nearly holed out his approach shot, landing inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie. Rahm, in the fairway, landed his approach short of the green on the apron. It looked as though Cantlay was going to increase his lead over Rahm, but as we've seen from him for his entire career, Rahm's short game prevailed. Not to be outdone, Rahm sank his 35-foot off-green putt for birdie as well. Is this a sign of things to come?

 

There is some separation between Rahm/Cantlay and the rest of the field, with Rahm holding a five shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau in third. From the way it's shaping up, we might be having another one vs one duel similar to last week at the BMW Championship. The drama awaits.

ENGLISH ACES PAR 3 15TH HOLE

The 223 yard par 3 15th hole at East Lake is daunting to say the least. Players tee off just feet from the waters edge, over a lake to an island green with dramatic undulating slopes. Escaping with par is considered good by most and if you can manage a birdie, all the better. 

But none of this was good enough for Harris English. During his opening round, the Georgia-native aced the hole with a 5-iron that he "tugged" slightly. This was English's first hole-in-one in a competitive round on tour for him and the first at the 15th during the Tour Championship.

The good fortune continued for English during his second round, where he landed his tee shot on the 15th to about 10 feet, then sank the birdie putt.

EAST LAKE INVITING TO ALL

A bit of rainfall on Wednesday softened up East Lake for the players. The low round was a 65 shot by Jon Rahm both rounds, Hideki Matsuyama during his second round and 2014 FedEx Cup Champion Billy Horshel during his opening round. Conditions firmed up for Friday's round, but no inclement weather is expected for the weekend rounds.

 

Incidentally, Matsuyama opened with the high round of 77, then followed it up with his low round of 65.

HOW ARE OUR PICKS DOING?

 

1) Jon Rahm: 2nd at 16-under

2) Patrick Cantlay: 1st at 17-under

3) Abraham Ancer: T16 at 5-under

 

I really hope we get to see a Rahm/Cantlay duel this weekend. It would be the perfect way to end off a dramatic PGA Tour season, in my opinion. Ancer was relatively quiet so far, but hopefully some strong weekend rounds will increase his position. Honorable mention to Louis Oosthuizen who sits at T10 8-under. What a story it would be if he managed to win this week, his first of the season at the last event of the season.

 

 ***

 

Things are heating up at the 2021 Tour Championship. Will Cantlay hold on to his lead? Will Rahm overtake him? Stay tuned to see who will win.

 

 

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews 

2021 Tour Championship Preview and Picks

 Jon Rahm is our top pick this week to win the 2021 Tour Championship 

(Image: Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)

 

 

After nearly a years worth of tournaments starting back in September 2020, the 106th PGA Tour season and the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs reach their climax this week with the Tour Championship. 

 

This is it. This is the last push for the Top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup rankings, one last chance to win the prestigious FedEx Cup and have their name engraved on PGA Tour history. 

Fortune, as well as fame, are up for grabs, with the winner of the FedEx Cup taking home a hefty prize of $15 million and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. Players who don't win will not leave empty-handed though, as each is guaranteed a minimum prize of $400,000.

 

CURRENT TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT EXPLAINED

In 2019, the PGA Tour decided to change the format of their playoffs. The issue at the time was that, given the amount of points the tournament handed out, a player could win the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, regardless of their performance in the playoff events prior, essentially nullifying them. On the other hand, scenarios existed some years where the winner of the Tour Championship did not win the FedEx Cup. 

The solution to this was to implement what's now known as the FedEx Cup Starting Strokes format. Under this new format, players start the Tour Championship with a specific score, which is determined by their ranking heading into the tournament.

For example, this year, Patrick Cantlay (1st) starts at 10-under, Tony Finau (2nd) starts at 8-under, Bryson DeChambeau (3rd) starts at 7-under. The 4th and 5th ranked players start at 5-under, and this continues until the last players, who start at even par. 

The new format now gives meaning to the previous playoff events. This is why players were so determined to place well in them. 

ALL ROADS LEAD TO EAST LAKE 

East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia has hosted the Tour Championship yearly since 2004 and is now the permanent home of the Tour Championship. Opened as a private course in 1904, with numerous renovations since, East Lake is one of the older courses played on tour. 

 

For the Tour Championship, it plays as a par 70 at 7,346 yards in length. The nines are also reversed, after complaints of lack of drama at the par 3 18th hole. It now finished on the par 5 9th hole. 

The course record when played as a par 70 is 60, set by Zach Johnson at the 2007 Tour Championship.

In addition to the course, the clubhouse also acts as a quasi-museum honoring the great Bobby Jones, who was a member of East Lake.

 

OUR PICKS

Despite the star power and skilled golfers present at the Tour Championship, making picks for the tournament is somewhat easier due to the starting scores. Here's who we have winning the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup this year:

1) Jon Rahm

2) Patrick Cantlay

3) Abraham Ancer

Rahm has played consistently well throughout the playoffs and is our top pick. I think he can overcome his initial four-shot deficit and win. Cantlay is naturally favored due to his starting score, but it will be interesting to see how he handles this "two-shot lead". Lastly, I think if any player outside the Top 5 can win, it's Ancer. We're also hoping for a Louis Oosthuizen comeback, but that may be a bit unrealistic this time around. 

Play kicks off Thursday morning and is bound to be action-packed right from the start, as players will try to make up positions quickly. 

 

 

Stay tuned for our Weekend Update article to see how things have progressed after the first two rounds.

 

 

Also follow our Twitter feed for live commentary on the rounds.

 

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Jordan Spieth Wins Tour Championship and FedEx Cup

He was on fire when he started the season and that's exactly the way he ended it. That's right, Jordan Spieth has won the 2015 Tour Championship, finishing with a score 9-under and a four shot lead over Danny Lee, at East Lake Golf Club. The win also makes him the winner of the FedEx Cup and most certainly the PGA Tour Player of the Year.

This caps off a truly stellar season from one of golf's elite, yet still emerging talents. Let's go through the year Spieth has had. In December of 2014, he won the World Challenge and went on to finish T10 or better in his next 7 of 8 tournaments, winning one of them (Valspar Championship). Three of these were in the three weeks before the Masters, and already, the golfing community was united in saying that, over the past few months, Jordan Spieth was playing the best golf in the world. Then came his Masters win, one of the youngest winners to date, putting his name up their with golfing legends.

He continued to play great golf after Augusta and had a few more close wins, including a T2 at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament. At this point, it seemed that Spieth was lingering around the top of the leaderboard in every tournament he played in. Next, was his US Open victory. Although he did not win in the same illustrious fashion as he did at Augusta (Dustin Johnson's collapse almost out-shined his win), he was now 2/2 in majors, something only seen, again, by the golfing greats. He followed up his win with another at the John Deere Classic.

All eyes were on Spieth again at the British Open, where he played excellent golf and needed to hole his final putt to make it to the playoff (let's also not forget his chip that almost holed out and would have most definitely rewritten history). His quest for the career Grand Slam was over, but Spieth was not ready to thrown in the towel yet...

At the last major of the year, the PGA Championship, Spieth rallied against a tough Whistling Straits to finish solo second, capping off an excellent season, even as of then. He finished 1st, 1st, T2, 2nd in majors this year; finishes many players could only dream of. After this, Spieth cooled off a bit, missing the cut at both The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship, before surging again to win today. At the end of it all, he won five times in twenty-five events on the PGA Tour this year, bringing in over $10.5 million plus an additional $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup.

Spieth has shown the world this season that he is the world's best golfer (he also reclaims the title with today's win). He's shown us that he can go toe to toe with golf's elite and break the records they set. He's shown us that he can do all this, while still remaining a humble and down to earth person. Could we be seeing the next Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus? Many think so and that may just be the case.

And there's no better way to finish off a season than to give off a message like that...

In other news, our picks finished off well. Jason Day fell short this week, finishing T10. Dustin Johnson made it to T5 by shooting a low round 6-under today. Rickie Fowler shot a 4-over on his way out of contention.

On that note, that's the end of the 2014-2015 PGA Tour season. Don't worry though, next season is set to start October 12 with the Frys.com Open, just after the President's Cup. Unfortunately we won't be covering the Presidents Cup.

On the European side of things, be sure to check out our picks for this week's Alfed Dunhill Links Championship (one of my favourite tournaments) as well as our European Tour Playoff coverage at the end of October.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jordan Spieth: 2015 FedEx Cup Champion

Stenson in a Familiar Place at the 2015 Tour Championship

With just two more rounds of play left, a familiar face has appeared atop the Tour Championship leaderboard. It's that of Henrik Stenson, winner of the 2013 FedEx Cup. He leads with a score of 9-under (63/68) with a three shot lead over Jordan Spieth. All though there is no cut this week, the score halfway down the leaderboard is about even par.

Stenson started off hot during his opening round, carding a total of six birdies, an eagle, and only a single bogey, by the end of it. He's been in great form all throughout the playoffs, finishing solo second at both The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship. He's in a good position to win his second FedEx Cup, his first since 2013 (a year where he made golfing history by winning both the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour and the Race to Dubai on the European Tour).

East Lake has been playing pretty well over the first couple of rounds and good scores (as well as bad ones) were found all around. However, as in years before, the courses that the PGA Tour Playoffs are played on have received a bit of criticism by a few, who say that they're playing too easy and should be challenging the players more. I'm not to sure if I agree with that. I think that we see players golfing in tough conditions so many times during the season that a change is nice once and awhile. In easier conditions, players can really take advantage of the course and it will always be exciting to see who does this the best.

There's also been criticisms that the Tour Championship awards too many FedEx Cup points and that the winner of the tournament is usually the winner of the FedEx Cup due to this. This is the case of Stenson, who will win both with a win this week, but also has a good chance at winning with a second place finish.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Jason Day: T9 at even par
2) Dustin Johnson: T12 at 1-over
3) Rickie Fowler: 8 at 1-under

Pretty good scores, but remember that the field's only thirty full this week. It's going to take some good work over the weekend for Day to end up winning the FedEx Cup. Hopefully he'll be able to do it!

Today's round will kick off in several hours. Be sure to check out our site Sunday evening to see who's won it all.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Stenson hold off a tough field for the win this week?

2015 Tour Championship Predictions

Well it's finally here, the last tournament of the playoffs and the PGA Tour season, the 2015 Tour Championship by Coca-Cola, being played at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Only the top 30 players of the FedEx Cup Rankings are playing in the tournament this week and up for grabs is not only the standard purse of $8.25 million, but an extra $10 million of a $35 million purse for the winner of the FedEx Cup. This makes it one of the most elite and most competitive tournaments of the year.

The Tour Championship has been played since 2007 as a playoff event, but was first played in 1987 in the month of November. During that period it was still only played by the Top 30 money leaders on Tour. The tournament switched to it's current format and date in 2007. It's also been played at a variety of courses over the years, such as Pinehurst No. 2, Pebble Beach, The Olympic Club, etc. and at East Lake since 2004.

East Lake Golf Club was built in 1906 and was slowly added to and redesigned over the years, before eventually being returned to it's original design. It was also the longtime home course of Bobby Jones and a tribute was made for him inside the clubhouse in the 90's. This week, the course will play as a par 72 at 7,374 yards. There will also be no cut this week.

Since this is the final tournament of the season, I'll be making two sets of picks this week: three for the tournament winner and one for the FedEx Cup winner. Despite the small field this week, these players are the best of the best (statistically speaking) so the picks were hard to make:

Tour Championship Picks:
1) Jason Day
2) Dustin Johnson
3) Rickie Fowler

FedEx Cup Pick:
1) Jason Day

Jason Day is without doubt the best golfer in the world at the moment and really has a great chance of winning it all, giving all the momentum he'll have going into his opening round. He doesn't even need to win this week to win the FedEx Cup, a top 5 finish will gives him a good chance. Of course if Rickie wins the tournament, he'll win it all. Dustin needs a win and for Jason Day to finish T3 or worse. There are a few other scenarios of other players and it really does come down to who finishes where. A full list of the scenarios can be found HERE.

Play kicks off tomorrow just before noon and it should be a good one. Be sure to check out our Weekend Update post on Friday evening, so see who's leading.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day is our top pick this week

Billy Horschel Wins and Becomes The 2014 FedEx Cup Champion

In spectacular fashion, Billy Horschel shot a final round score of 68 to win the 2014 Tour Championship by three strokes and as a result becomes the 2014 FedEx Cup Champion. He finished at 11-under (-11) in front of Rory Mcilroy and Jim Furyk, who's last win was four years ago at the 2010 Tour Championship.

Horschel has played spectacular golf the last three weeks and is deserving of the win. This win earns him $11-million dollars and as well as many other perks in the upcoming seasons.

Rory on the other hand was tied for the lead after Saturday's round, but faltered with his Sunday round, shooting a 71. He looks to still be in excellent form for the Ryder Cup in a few weeks, despite his finish. A second place finish for Furyk just about sums up his career in the past four years. He's probably finished top 5 more times in the last four years than any other player on tour. Hopefully one day he will win.

Finally, here is how out picks finished the tournament:

1) Rickie Fowler: 8 at 5-under (-5)
2) Jim Furyk: T2 at 8-under (-8)
3) Bubba Watson: 14 at even par (E)

Rickie Fowler, like Rory, struggled a bit on the weekend and Bubba looked slightly out of form all week.

Since this was the last PGA tour event of the season, our next major PGA coverage will be of the Ryder Cup from Gleneagles, Scotland. on the European side, we'll be covering the Welsh Open this week.

And with that, the 2014 PGA tour season is officially over!

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Billy Horschel is the 2014 FedEx Cup Champion (Jason Getz/USA Today Sports)

2014 Tour Championship and 2014 FedEx Cup Champion Picks - Weekend Update

We just halfway through the 2014 Tour Championship and very close to crowning a new FedEx Cup Champion, with just two rounds left today and Sunday. As it stands now, the leader going into the weekend is Billy Horshel at 8-under. Billy shot a pair 66's at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia, which was good enough for a two shot lead over Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Chris Kirk.

Two shots may seem like a big lead, but you have to remember all the pressure the players are on. They're playing for a potential $11 million. It's probably not helping Billy's case that he's being trailed by Rory and Jason Day. Billy had been playing well for the past two weeks however and it might be this factor that gives him the win this week.

A win here this week for Rory would be the best way to end off his 2014 season and cement his spot atop the World Golf Rankings. On the other hand, a win for Jason Day would make up for the many T5 and higher finishes he's had all year (including a WGC win).

Also, here is how our picks are doing so far:

1) Rickie Fowler: 9 at 3-under (-3)
2) Jim Furyk: T5 at 4-under (-4)
3) Bubba Watson: T14 at even par (E)

Bubba's going to have to do some serious work to win it this week. Rickie and Furyk are in good spots too going into the weekend.

With two days left, anything is still possible and nothing is by no means written in stone. It'll be an exciting couple of days so stay tuned for out post to see who won,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The stakes are high going into the final two rounds of the 2014 Tour Championship

2014 Tour Championship and 2014 FedEx Cup Champion Picks

Well it's finally here, the last playoff event and the last PGA tour season event, the 2014 Tour Championship is set to start this morning in Atlanta, Georgia at East Lake Golf Club (par 70/7,154 yards). This is without a doubt one of the most anticipated events of the PGA Tour season, since by the end of it a tournament winner, as well as the FedEx Cup champion, will be crowned.

As we said last week, the top 5 players of this 29 man field control their own fate. If they win the Tour Championship, then they will most likely win the FedEx Cup all together (and it's $10 million dollar payout). Another possibility that can occur is a separate FedEx Cup champion and separate Tour Championship. It's all down to number crunching in the end.

Going into this final week, the top five players in the FedEx Cup points rankings are Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, and Hunter Mahan. The lowest ranked player is 30th ranked Dustin Johnson, but due to a personal leave of absence he is not completing for the rest of the season. This is why the regular 30-man field of the Tour Championship is now only 29-strong.

For my picks this week, I'll be posting three for the Tour Championship and one for the FedEx Cup champion:

Tour Championship:
1) Rickie Fowler
2) Jim Furyk
3) Bubba Watson

FedEx Cup Champion:
1) Bubba Watson

As I said the tournament will begin in just a few hours and it goes without saying that this will probably be the second most exciting tournament of the year, behind the Ryder Cup. Stay tuned for our weekend update of the tournament as well.

Who do you think will win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup? Leave us a comment and let us know.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

29 players will fight this week to win the Tour Championship as well as the FedEx Cup