Aug 23, 2024; Castle Rock, Colorado, USA; Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Castle Pines Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: BMW Championship (Keegan Bradley)
THIS WEEK: Tour Championship, Atlanta, Aug. 29-Sept. 1
Course: East Lake Golf Club (Par 71, 7,490 Yards)
Purse: $100M (Winner: $25M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: 1-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: Noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 11:15 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday: Noon-7 p.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @TOURChamp
STARTING STROKES
The player with the lowest total strokes over 72 holes when combined with his FedEx Cup Starting Strokes will win the season championship.
10 under: Scottie Scheffler
8 under: Xander Schauffele
7 under: Hideki Matsuyama
6 under: Keegan Bradley
5 under: Ludvig Aberg
4 under: Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay
3 under: Sungjae Im, Sahith Theegala, Shane Lowry, Adam Scott, Tony Finau
2 under: Byeong Hun An, Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Akshay Bhatia, Robert MacIntyre
1 under: Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Matthieu Pavon, Taylor Pendrith
Even: Chris Kirk, Tom Hoge, Aaron Rai, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Justin Thomas
NOTES: The winner earns a $25 million bonus and a five-year PGA Tour exemption. … Bradley jumped into the top 30 with his win at the BMW. Also playing their way into the field were Adam Scott (No. 14), Tommy Fleetwood (No. 22) and Chris Kirk (No. 26). Brian Harman, Jason Day, Davis Thompson and Denny McCarthy fell outside of the top 30. Justin Thomas was the final player to qualify for this week’s field at No. 30. … Tiger Woods set the tournament scoring record of 257 in 2007.
BEST BETS: Scheffler (+110 at DraftKings) is the first player to enter the Tour Championship at No. 1 in the standings three consecutive years. He finished T2 in 2022 and T6 in 2023. The six-time winner and Olympic gold medalist in 2024 is coming off a disappointing T33 last week. … Xander Schauffele (+230) finished second to Hovland last year and has a pair of top-5s in the first two playoff legs. … Hideki Matsuyama (+1100) withdrew last week due to a back injury but did win the FedEx St. Jude following his bronze medal. … Rory McIlroy (+1600) is seeking a record fourth FedEx Cup title and has finished outside the top-10 just once in the past seven years. He has not been in top form of late but did post a T11 last week and is always dangerous at East Lake. … Keegan Bradley (+3500) started the playoffs at No. 39 but leapt to No. 4 with last week’s victory. Two of the past three BMW winners have gone on to claim the FedEx Cup title.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Procore Championship, Napa, Calif., Sept. 12-15
LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: AIG Women’s British Open (Lydia Ko)
THIS WEEK: FM Championship, Norton, Mass., Aug. 29-Sept. 1
Course: TPC Boston (Par 72, 6,598 Yards)
Purse: $3.8M (Winner: $570,000)
Defending Champion: Inaugural event
Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Thursday: 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (all Peacock/International); Friday: 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 2:30-5:30 p.m.
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET; Saturday: 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
X: @FM_Champ_
NOTES: The 144-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. … TPC Boston was designed by Arnold Palmer and redesigned in 2007 by Gil Hanse. It has hosted 17 PGA Tour events, including the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2020.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Solheim Cup, Gainesville, Va., Sept. 13-15
PGA Tour Champions
LAST TOURNAMENT: The Ally Challenge (Stewart Cink)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Ascension Charity Classic, St. Louis, Sept. 6-8
LIV Golf League
LAST TOURNAMENT: Greenbrier (Individual: Brooks Koepka; Team: Smash GC)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
2024 Leaders: Players, Joaquin Niemann; Team, Crushers GC
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Chicago, Bolingbrook, Ill., Sept. 13-15
–Field Level Media
