pga tour championship
Friday-Monday in Atlanta Golf Channel, Ch. 11
Big money is up for grabs at East Lake
Preview: The 2020 PGA Tour season, paused for three months because of COVID-19, comes to a close with a 30-player shootout at East Lake Golf Club (7,319 yards, par 70) in Atlanta. A prize pool of $45.6 million is at stake, with $15 million awarded to the FedEx Cup winner.
Format: The 72-hole event begins with Dustin Johnson, the top seed, at 10-under par. The field is weighted from there, down to even par for the final five of the 30 who qualified.
Players to watch: Johnson has been the 54-hole leader in his past three starts. He won The Northern Trust and was runner-up in the PGA Championship and last week's BMW Championship, won in a playoff by Jon Rahm, who starts this week at 8 under. ... Justin Thomas (7 under) is the only player with three victories this season and has nine top-10 finishes, tied with Bryson DeChambeau (4 under). ... Defending champion Rory McIlroy (3 under) and wife Erica welcomed a daughter, Poppy, earlier this week. ... Billy Horschel (Even) earned the 30th spot. He won the Tour Championship in 2014.
Numbers: The 30 players are exempt to the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open next year ... Twelve international players qualified from 11 different countries outside the U.S. ... The U.S. Open begins in two weeks at Winged Foot.
Associated Press
