The Tour Championship at East Lake
Patrick Cantlay does it again. After an average season up until this point the 2021 FedEx Cup champion made major moves and captured his second straight BMW Championship. Cantlay managed to fend off world number one Scottie Scheffler and edged out Scott Stallings by one stroke. This was a huge jump for Cantlay in the points race, with this win he managed to get himself into second place in the FedEx Cup Rankings. By moving into second place he will start the tour championship at eight under par only two shots behind Scottie. Cantlay has put himself into position to capture back to back FedEx Cup championships.
Once again we’ve made it to the final week of the PGA Tour, and it’s been a less than smooth season. The real drama however, will begin once the season is over. It seems that there could potentially be a mass exodus from the PGA Tour over to the LIV Golf tour. The rumors of Cam Smith departure are seemingly carrying more validity as time goes on, talks of Ricker Fowler and Tommy Fleetwood among others are rumored to be on their way out as well. Rickie leaving would be strange considering he made it into the top 125 and has his tour card for the next season, but with his recent inconsistencies it seems that the guaranteed money offered by the LIV seems more practical for his current situation. This season on the PGA Tour has been less about golf and the fans and more about the money and it has ultimately taken away the best parts of the game. It has clouded the majors, the playoffs and week after week the LIV and the PGA Tour have done everything they can to smear one another. In the end neither are creating a positive golf environment for the fans and the players. Our opinions seldomly matter, but I truly believe that in order for all of this to work in the future the LIV and the PGA Tour need to sit down, hammer out a plan and work to provide the best possible product for both players and fans. The sad part is both tours are only concerned with smearing, destroying, and tarnishing one another. We can only hope that through all this something good will come of it and it won't destroy the legacy that the PGA Tour created throughout history. This could be one of the last normal seasons on the PGA Tour.
East Lake isn’t one of the tour’s best events throughout the year. It’s a limited field and essentially a giant money grab. With only 30 players in the field and last place making six figures at a minimum it reminds me of a LIV event unfortunately. The worst part of it all is the format. Giving players a handicap to start the week is just ridiculous, let the guys start from even like they always do and have them battle it out the old fashioned way. The players starting at even par have zero chance to catch the players that are starting at seven, eight and 10 under. I understand the mode, it rewards the top FedEx Cup points leaders but there has to be a better way to reward those players for a strong season. Whatever the reward or solution turns out to be it has to be better or more fair than a handicapped event. The more unfortunate part is my feelings are shared with millions of other fans that are constantly referring to the Tour Championship as a LIV event. The bottom line is the product for the fan is the most important and change is seemingly necessary at this stage in the game.
With all that being said Scottie Scheffler should win The Tour Championship this. Scottie is playing very solid golf, on top of that he’s starting at 10 under par and holds a two shot lead over Patrick Cantlay and a three shot lead over Will Zalatoris. Although there are a couple players that are potentially not going to be playing this week. Last week Will Zalatoris WD in the middle of the BMW and Cam Smith WD at the beginning of the week. Unfortunately if they don’t complete the field will only consist of 28 players. The even worse part is those two players are in the top 10, and Zalatoris being ranked third creates more issues. Ultimately you’d hope that everyone competes so that the best product possible can be produced for the fans. (Mike)
As Mike said, there are many uncertainties surrounding who will or will not be on the Tour in a few months. I think we will see a few more guys leave, but the biggest names outside of Cam Smith have already left. I think the get together the top players had last week is good enough reason to believe they are all committed to making the Tour better for them and staying onboard. Tommy Fleetwood has committed to a few Tour events already in the next couple of months and Rickie Fowler has seemed to back away from joining LIV. Tommy and Rickie are two of my favorite guys to root for so I hope they tee it up on The PGA Tour next year and beyond.
I am not sure what the correct format is for the playoff finale, but I am very certain that the current format stinks. Yes, it’s easy for fans to follow to know who wins the FedEx Cup, but it is not compelling golf to watch. The small field is already boring enough, the scoring just makes it that much worse. I personally did not hate the old format and I liked it more than this one for sure. I hope if/when the Tour makes changes, they revamp the playoff finale as part of that overhaul. (Tyler)