ATLANTA – Viktor Hovland recorded a third-round (66) in his fourth consecutive start at the TOUR Championship. Hovland has qualified every year since joining the TOUR in 2020 and now holds a six stroke lead to tie the largest 54-hole lead in the FedExCup starting strokes era. The previous best: Scottie Scheffler/2022/Finished T-2).
PGA Tour Brunch
Morikawa, Hovland Surge to Lead after 36
ATLANTA – With birdies on his final two holes, Collin Morikawa opened with rounds of 61-64 –(125) to break the TOUR Championship 36-hole scoring record of 127, previously set by Tiger Woods in 2007.
Tying Morikawa on the leaderboard, but not with a TOUR record-setting performance, Viktor Hovland recorded a second-round 64 in his fourth consecutive start at the TOUR Championship and sits (68-64 and -16) after starting at (-8) and the No. 2 slot in the FedEx Cup standings after winning last week’s BMW Championship.
Scottie Scheffler (3rd place) enters the weekend two shots back, marking the second time in the FedEx Cup starting strokes era that the No. 1 seed entering the week has not held at least a share of the 36-hole lead (Justin Thomas/2019).
With two great rounds in the 60s (63-67), Travelers Championship winner Keegan Bradley sits in 4th place heading into the weekend. The favorite son of New England plays well in the Georgia sun.
Making his seventh consecutive start at the TOUR Championship, Xander Schauffele (T5) carded a second-round (64) to reach 12-under, recording his 23rd of 26 career rounds under par in the event.
With a 3-under 67, three-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy (7th) recorded his 30th consecutive round at par or better on TOUR, the longest active current streak. McIlroy is looking to become the first back-to-back FedEx Cup champion.
Whole Lotta Golf is ahead and they’ll tee it up for third round at 12:21pm today at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta,
TOUR Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes
T1 Viktor Hovland – 68-64 (-16)
T1 Collin Morikawa – 61-64 (-16)
3 Scottie Scheffler – 71-65 (-14)
4 Keegan Bradley – 63-67 (-13)
Full Leaderboard: (link)
Morikawa, Hovland Lead TOUR Champ
ATLANTA – With birdies on his final two holes, Collin Morikawa opened with rounds of 61-64 –(125) to break the TOUR Championship 36-hole scoring record of 127, previously set by Tiger Woods in 2007.
Tying Morikawa on the leaderboard, but not with a TOUR record-setting performance, Viktor Hovland recorded a second-round 64 in his fourth consecutive start at the TOUR Championship and sits (68-64 and -16) after starting at (-8) and the No. 2 slot in the FedEx Cup standings after winning last week’s BMW Championship.
Scottie Scheffler (3rd place) enters the weekend two shots back, marking the second time in the FedEx Cup starting strokes era that the No. 1 seed entering the week has not held at least a share of the 36-hole lead (Justin Thomas/2019).
With two great rounds in the 60s (63-67), Travelers Championship winner KeeganBradley sits in 4th place heading into the weekend. The favorite son of New England plays well in the Georgia sun.
Making his seventh consecutive start at the TOUR Championship, Xander Schauffele(T5) carded a second-round (64) to reach 12-under, recording his 23rd of 26 career rounds under par in the event.
With a 3-under 67, three-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy (7th) recorded his 30th consecutive round at par or better on TOUR, the longest active current streak. McIlroy is looking to become the first back-to-back FedEx Cup champion.
Whole Lotta Golf is ahead and they’ll tee it up for third round at 12:21pm today at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta,
TOUR Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes
T1 Viktor Hovland – 68-64 (-16)
T1 Collin Morikawa – 61-64 (-16)
3 Scottie Scheffler – 71-65 (-14)
4 Keegan Bradley – 63-67 (-13)
Full Leaderboard: (link)
Morikawa Leads TOUR Championship
ATLANTA – Collin Morikawa opened with career-low (61) in only his 98th PGA TOUR start. He set the tournament record for lowest opening round in this event. Morikawa has not won on TOUR since the 2020-21 season.
Keegan Bradley, winner of the 2023 Travelers, recorded his lowest score in 17 rounds at the TOUR Championship, shooting (63).
Viktor Hovland stroked his second first-round lead/co-lead in individual stroke play events on TOUR, but is 0-for-1 in converting to victory. He moved to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings after winning last week’s BMW Championship, his fifth career TOUR victory.
Adam Schenk’s (63) lifted him to No. 5 on the Leaderboard. He is (-8) and only two strokes off the lead.
TOUR Championship | Leaderboard After 18 Holes
T1 Collin Morikawa 61 (-9)
T1 Keegan Bradley 63 (-7)
T1 Viktor Hovland 68 (-2)
4. Scottie Scheffler 71 (+1)
Full Leaderboard: (link)
FedEx Cup Standings: (link)
PGA Tour Season Concludes
ATLANTA – This is it! The final PGA Tour Brunch preview of the 2023 PGA Tour season. It coincides with the final stop of the FedEx Cup Playoffs – the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
At the conclusion of the TOUR Championship, the player with the lowest stroke total over 72 holes when combined with FedEx Cup starting strokes, will be crowned the FedEx Cup Champion.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler enters the week at No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings and will begin the tournament at (10-under) via FedEx Cup starting strokes, becoming the first player to enter the TOUR Championship with the lead in the FedEx Cup two years in a row. Scheffler’s official money total of $21,014,342 is the highest in a single season in PGA TOUR history.
Scheffler, who won THE PLAYERS Championship in March, could become only the second player to win THE PLAYERS and the FedEx Cup in the same year – the first since Rory McIlroy in 2019.
The last player to lead the money list in consecutive seasons is Justin Thomas in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Scheffler also leads the PGA TOUR in Greens in Regulation percentage at 74.03 percent and led that category in 2021-22; the last player to lead the TOUR in GIR percentage in consecutive years is John Senden in 2009 and 2010.
Viktor Hovland earned his fifth career title and second of the season at the BMW Championship (first: the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday). Hovland enters the week at No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings and has advanced to the TOUR Championship all four seasons as a PGA TOUR member (best finish was fifth in 2021).
The only three-time FedEx Cup Champion Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019, 2022), will attempt to become the first player to win the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons. McIlroy enters the week No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings, his highest position entering the TOUR Championship since the starting strokes format was introduced in 2019.
TOUR Championship | Tournament Facts
COURSE: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
YARDS/PAR: 7,346 yards/Par 70
ARCHITECTS: Tom Benelow
PRIZE Money – Purse: $75,000,000/$18,000,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Rory McIlroy
PAST RESULTS: (link)
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @FedExChamp @TourChampionship
The Way They’ll Start at TOUR Championship
- Scottie Scheffler (-10)
- Viktor Hovland (-8)
- Rory McIlroy (-7)
- Jon Rahm (-6)
- Lucas Glover (-5)
- Max Homa (-4)
- Patrick Cantlay (-4)
- Brian Harman (-4)
- Wyndham Clark (-4)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (-4)
FedEx Cup Standings: (link)
Glover Leads at FedEx St. Jude
MEMPHIS – Lucas Glover holds his fifth career 54-hole lead/co-lead and is 1-for-4 converting the victory (2023 Wyndham Championship). He’s the first player to hold the 54-hole lead in back-to-back weeks on TOUR since Patrick Cantlay (2021 BMW Championship, TOUR Championship)
At 43 years old, Glover became the first player to hold the 54-hole lead at 40 or older in the FedExCup Playoffs since Tiger Woods (42 years, 2018 TOUR Championship).
Odds and probabilities available at: Digital Sports Desk
Making only his second FedEx Cup Playoffs appearance, Taylor Moore (2nd/-13) carded a (65) and leads the field in Greens in Regulation Percentage at 75.93% (41/54) through three round. He earned his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Valspar Championship alongside two other Top-10s this season (T4/Zurich Classic of New Orleans; T4/Rocket Mortgage Classic).
Tommy Fleetwood (3rd/-12) posted his third consecutive (66) and seeks to join Will Zalatoris (2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship) and Camilo Villegas (2018 BMW Championship) as players to win their first PGA TOUR title in a FedExCup Playoffs event.
Max Homa (T4/-11) posted a bogey-free (65) to sit inside the Top 5 through 54 holes on TOUR for the first time since The Genesis Invitational (2nd/finished 2nd). Homa has finished no higher than T42 in six previous starts at TPC Southwind (2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship)
Justin Rose (T23/-6) needed 21 putts to post a bogey-free 9-under (61), tying the course record set by Tom Lewis (R3/2020), Bob Estes (R1/2001) and Jay Delsing (R4/1993). He’s played his last 36 holes at (-12).
FedEx St Jude Championship | Leaderboard After 54 Holes
1 Lucas Glover 66 64 66 196 (-14)
2 Taylor Moore 66 66 65 197 (-13)
3 Tommy Fleetwood 66 66 66 198 (-12)
T4 Max Homa 68 66 65 199 (-11)
T4 Jordan Spieth 63 68 68 199 (-11)
Full Leaderboard (link)
Fowler Ready for FedEx Cup Playoffs
*Tee times at the FedEx St. Jude Championship are delayed until 11:10am (ET) because of storms
MEMPHIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Although it’s been over a month since his last top-10 finish, Rickie Fowler is as confident as ever heading into this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tenn.
Fowler prevailed in a three-way playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic back on July 2, but has since tapered off, finishing tied for 42nd two weeks later at the Genesis Scottish Open before a T23 at The Open Championship on July 23.
It’s a stark contrast from how Fowler was playing before his victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The 34-year-old had seemingly found his stride, placing inside the top 15 in seven of the eight events prior to his lone title this season, although he did miss the cut at the PGA Championship back in May.
Despite not being able to replicate those types of performances during the final two tournaments of the regular season, Fowler figures the playoffs are as good a time as any to get back on track.
“Excited, probably the best I’ve come into the playoffs as far as a consistent year and how I’ve been playing,” Fowler said. “Nice to come off of getting a little bit of rest, because I was kind of running on an empty tank at the Scottish and the British.
“That was the last of — eight out of 10-week stretch. Got a few days to kind of recharge a little bit at home and get ready for this three-week stretch.”
Fowler is also excited about getting the playoffs started at TPC Southwind, where he shot a first-round 65 last year before struggling over the next three days and carding a 71, 72 and 73 to finish T64 at 1-over 281.
However, Fowler would be open to playing at some new courses during the postseason.
“I like this golf course. I think with the playoffs, it could be kind of cool and interesting to see some more movement,” Fowler said. “East Lake has kind of always been East Lake and the finale.
I think it would be kind of cool to see the Playoffs move around a little bit. I think the only one that really does is the second with BMW. … Like I said, I do enjoy coming to Memphis. I’ve had success at this golf course. I like this place. They’ve got some good eats around here, too.”
Fowler enters the first playoff event with the ninth-most FedEx Cup points, but he still knows it’s going to take a lot to outlast the rest of the field.
“Done a lot of good things this year,” Fowler said. “There’s guys that have definitely played better and won more, but it really comes down to these three weeks, and we have a real chance, but going to need to play really well.”
–Field Level Media
PGA Tour: FedEx Cup Playoffs | Preview
Visit our new affiliate – Betting Hero – to Get Up-to-the-Minute Information
MEMPHIS – The FedExCup Playoffs begin Thursday (August 10) at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with the Top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings through the Wyndham Championship qualifying for the Playoffs (down from 125 in 2009-2022).
The Top 50 players after this, the first Playoffs event of 2023, will advance to the BMW Championship and qualify for all eight Signature Events on the PGA TOUR schedule in 2024.
Jon Rahm enters the FedExCup Playoffs as the No. 1 player in the FedExCup standings for the first time in his PGA TOUR career. Rahm has four wins this season and earned a bonus of $4 million for being No. 1 in the Comcast Business Tour Top 10. This is Rahm’s seventh season on TOUR and he has advanced to the TOUR Championship in each of the previous six. He has also won on TOUR in seven straight seasons, the longest active streak of any player that has won in 2022-23 (Justin Thomas won in each season from 2015-16 through 2021-22 and can extend his streak in the FedEx Cup Fall).
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is second in the FedExCup standings, trailing Rahm by 173.780 points. In nine starts in the Playoffs, Scheffler has recorded four top-five finishes, highlighted by a runner-up at the 2022 TOUR Championship. Scheffler’s Official Money total of $19,138,342 is the highest in a single season in PGA TOUR history.
Scheffler, who won THE PLAYERS Championship in March, could become the second player to win THE PLAYERS and the FedEx Cup in the same year and first since Rory McIlroy in 2019.
Three-time FedExCup Champion Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019, 2022) enters the week No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings, winning twice during the regular season (The CJ CUP in South Carolina, Genesis Scottish Open). McIlroy recorded his sixth career victory in the FedEx Cup Playoffs at the 2022 TOUR Championship, tying Dustin Johnson for the most of any player. No player has ever won the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons. McIlroy enters the Playoffs with par-or-better scores in his last 20 rounds on TOUR, the longest active streak of any player. His last over-par score came in the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (3-over (75), held a share of the 54-hole lead.
FedEx St. Jude Championship | Tournament Facts
COURSE: TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.
YARDS/PAR: 7,243 yards/Par 70
ARCHITECT: Ron Pritchard
PRIZE Money – Purse: $20,000,000/$3,600,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Will Zalatoris
PAST RESULTS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 2,000
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @FedExChamp
For Odds and additional Information – See Betting Hero
PGA Tour: Glover Wins at Wyndham
FEDEx CUP Playoffs Begin This Week in Memphis
GREENSBORO – Lucas Glover earned his fifth career PGA TOUR title in his 512th start at the age of 43 years, 8 months, 25 days. He became the third player in the FedEx Cup era (est. 2007) to enter the Wyndham Championship outside the bubble for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and win to get in. Glover joined Davis Love III (2015) and Jim Herman (2020), who were outside the Top 125. Glover had to make the Top 70.
Under the “old” FEDEx CUP Playoffs, Austin Smotherman would’ve qualified at No. 125.
Glover bumped-out PGA Tour rookie Austin Eckroat, who entered the week No. 70 and missed the cut and fell to No. 74.
First and second-round outright leader Russell Henley finished T2, earning his fourth consecutive Top-10 at the Wyndham.
With Australia’s Adam Scott (T7) finishing No. 72 in the FedEx Cup standings, American Matt Kuchar is now the only player that has qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs in each season since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007.
Justin Thomas (T12) finished the FedEx Cup Regular Season at No. 71 in the FedEx Cup standings, and the score scrapped a streak of eight consecutive seasons qualifying for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and seven straight appearances in the TOUR Championship.
Wyndham Championship | Final Leaderboard
1st Lucas Glover 66 64 62 68 260 (-20)
T2 Russell Henley 62 66 65 69 262 (-18)
T2 Byeong Hun An 63 67 65 67 262 (-18)
4th Billy Horschel 67 62 63 72 264 (-16)
T5 Webb Simpson 67 69 68 63 267 (-13)
T5 Michael Kim 72 65 62 68 267 (-13)
Full Leaderboard: (link)
PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship
GREENSBORO – Chances are – for this weekend – you win and you’re in. The Wyndham Championship marks the final regular season event of the PGA Tour’s regular season schedule. After conclusion of play Sunday, the FedEx Cup standings will determine qualification for the players positioned in the Top 70 of FedEx Cup points.
Two players have qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs in each season since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007: Matt Kuchar, who enters the week No. 59 in the standings, and Adam Scott (No. 81). Scott needs a minimum of a two-way T-9 to have a chance to move into the Top 70 and a three-way T-3 or better based on the TOUR’s projection.