The PGA Tour season comes down to 72 holes and $40 million this week in Atlanta. The Tour Championship is underway at East Lake Golf Club, where the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings will decide the 2026 champion from Thursday through Sunday.
Everyone starts even. The old staggered-start format is gone for a second straight year, so Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the field will simply play stroke play for the title, the $10 million first-place check, and a five-year PGA Tour exemption.
PGA Tour Championship in East Lake Kicks Off This Weekend
East Lake, the historic Atlanta club tied to Bobby Jones and one of the best golf courses in Atlanta, has hosted this finale for two decades. The par-70 layout measures 7,440 yards and finishes with a demanding stretch that has decided plenty of FedEx Cups. Fans will find new hospitality spots this year—the Coca-Cola Lounge by the fifth green, the SO COOL Zone along the 16th, and The Landing on 17—plus the usual mix of putting contests, shade, and views of the closing holes.
Scheffler arrives as world No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader, even after dealing with illness at last week’s BMW Championship. He has won this event once, in 2024, and remains the betting favorite. Wyndham Clark comes in hot after winning the BMW, while McIlroy—already a three-time Tour Championship winner at East Lake—looks to add a fourth after a strong close in St. Louis. Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood is back to try to repeat.
The field also includes Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay, and several first-timers. First-round pairings sent Scheffler out last with Fitzpatrick at 2 p.m. ET; McIlroy tees off with Schauffele at 12:54 p.m. Coverage starts on ESPN at 11 a.m. Thursday before shifting to Golf Channel, with CBS taking the weekend.
Thunderstorms are possible Thursday and Friday. By the weekend the forecast improves, which should set up a clean run at the trophy Fleetwood lifted a year ago.
For four days, Atlanta gets the last word on the PGA Tour season. One player will walk off the 18th as FedEx Cup champion. The rest will head into the offseason knowing they came this close.
Read up on our guide to the best golf courses in Atlanta.
If you’re into spoken word, you’ll love these poetry spots in Atlanta. Don’t forget to hit up the top clubs in Atlanta throughout the week end weekend.
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