Scottie Scheffler is concentrating on his first FedEx Cup title this week in Atlanta, the place he begins the Tour Championship with a two-shot benefit, giving him the “finest likelihood” to win.
The staggered construction of the Tour Championship means Scheffler, who leads the FedEx Cup standings, will begin the match at 10 below, whereas his closest follower, Xander Schauffele, will begin the match at 10 below. East Lake Golf Membership began the match at 8 below. That is the third consecutive 12 months that Scheffler has entered the Tour Championship because the No. 1 participant.
The world No. 1 has received six occasions on the PGA Tour this 12 months, together with the Masters and Gamers Championship, along with an Olympic gold medal.
“Yeah, it is good to be again. It has been a very good week,” Scheffler mentioned.
“Clearly, everybody’s aim firstly of the 12 months is to have an opportunity at No. 1, and there is no higher likelihood than the place I sit proper now. Trying ahead to the week.”
No participant who began the Tour Championship on the prime of the leaderboard has gone on to win the title for the reason that format modified in 2019, however Scheffler believes the staggered format has launched volatility into the match.
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“Should you simply need to have a participant who’s the perfect on the finish of the 12 months, I believe the playoffs are positively going to search out that participant. By way of video games all through the season, it could not at all times be that man who performs the perfect recreation all season lengthy. “That is going to be whoever performs finest within the playoffs,” Scheffler added.
“It is actually who you determine as the perfect performer within the final three video games. The format has modified lots or a number of instances over the previous couple of years.
“By way of the early days of the match, I believe Padraig Harrington received two majors, possibly not within the BMW, and I do know he did not play on this match. So it isn’t like that, so to talk. Not likely then it is an ideal arrange.
“I believe it gives a bit of little bit of volatility, which is sweet for the followers, and I believe it is also good for among the guys who weren’t at their finest heading into the playoffs, however then impulsively It grew to become a foul state.
“It fluctuates lots, however on the finish of the day, golf is golf. The best solution to repair the issues you do not like about your golf recreation is to play higher. That is what we’re all about. On the finish of the day, in the event you play nicely sufficient, every little thing will work out It occurs naturally.
Lots of modifications have taken place in East Lake
The 30-capacity course shall be performed on a really totally different course at East Lake, following an in depth renovation by architect Andrew Inexperienced, finest recognized for its renovation for final 12 months’s PGA Championship of Oak Hill.
Inexperienced used the 1949 East Lake dry shot to revive the 1904 course, and each tee field, fairway, inexperienced and bunker was rebuilt.
The bunkers across the 18th inexperienced are deep. The bunker on the left facet of the peninsula inexperienced on the par-3 fifteenth gap has been eliminated. The eighth gap has been shortened and the 14th gap has been lengthened and is now a par 5.
The modifications additionally embrace changing a rounded placing floor with a singular slope and form, in addition to extra motion on the fairways and added humps and dips.
“It was positively enjoyable to renovate,” Scheffler added.
“It is principally a brand new golf course, totally different from what it was earlier than. It is fully totally different. The greens are very agency as a result of they’re new, which I believe makes it tougher.
“It should be tough to get into sure gap places. I believe we’ve got some issues to be taught by way of golf course setup.
“However total, we’ll see the way it performs. It is so new proper now that it is laborious to say precisely the way it performs – all I do know is that it is very totally different.
“It is a golf course that I’ve at all times actually loved. I really feel like I have never performed my finest golf right here. So coming right here this 12 months and seeing a brand new golf course, I believe it’ll be very difficult, I believe. It matches me very nicely there.
Schauffele: New stadium will convey totally different challenges
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Watch Xander Schauffele birdie all six of his closing rounds at Royal Troon to win his second main title
Schauffele already has two majors in his bag this 12 months after successful the British Open and PGA Championship and has a robust report at East Lake, however he acknowledged the brand new course will convey challenges.
“I imply, it is only a new golf course. It is type of like a glass-half-full one, so I’ve performed quite a lot of new programs this 12 months and I’ve carried out nicely on them, and it is a model new course,” Schauffele mentioned clarify.
“Actually, the bunkers are new, the green grass is new, the greens are new, the inexperienced grass is new, the runs are totally different, the slopes are totally different. I believe the one factor that is the identical is the directional holes.
“No matter report I had, it is up to now. I’ve no reminiscence and nothing to fall out of the outlet, not even a tree I ever aimed toward. It is simply so totally different.”
“It is new. It is strong. It is quick. It takes getting used to. It’s totally new – I do not know lots about agronomy, however I’ve performed some new programs earlier than they usually’re a bit of bouncy.
“No matter it was designed to do, the primary two years are going to be a bit of totally different as a result of it hasn’t stabilized but.”
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