Tour Championship

September 13 - September 16, 2007
East Lake Golf Clubb
Atlanta, GA
Par: 70 / Yardage: 7,154
Purse: $7 million with $1.26 million going to the winner
Defending Champion: Adam Scott

List of Champions & Scores

Results & Scores 2006 Tour Championship

Box Score of 2006 Tour Championship

Tournament facts:

Tournament information:

Through 2006, the top 30 players on the money list up to the Tour Championship qualified for the event. With a limited field, the event doesn't have a cut.

Since 2004, the Tour Championship has been held at East Lake Golf Club outside of Atlanta, Ga. in late November; however, with the advent of the new FedEx Cup, this year's Tour Championship has been moved to mid-September. The event will serve as the final leg of the "Chase for the FedEx Cup." Though it is not the last event of the season, it is the last chance for players to accumulate points in the FedEx Cup standings.

Course information:

East Lake has had a rather tumultuous existence. From its inception until the early 1960s, East Lake was one of the top courses in the entire country. It was Bobby Jones's home golf course. The Ryder Cup was hosted at East Lake in 1963. However, problems began to arise at the Atlanta country club as the area got seedy and higher income people began emigrating to the suburbs, leaving only lower-income households to inhabit the area surrounding the once storied Country Club. In the '60s the membership decided to abandon the site and move to what is presently Atlanta Athletic Club, with East Lake becoming a public course.

For the next 30 years, the golf course, along with the community itself, floundered, as the area became the most dangerous part of Atlanta. Police often referred to the area surrounding East Lake as "Little Vietnam."

In 1993, Tom Cousins, an esteemed real-estate developer and East Lake resident, joined with a charitable foundation in an effort to restore the East Lake Golf Club and the surrounding community to its previously leviathan stature. The two-phase plan included restoration on all housing, and an overhaul of the dilapidated golf course. Rees Jones was hired to do the restoration in 1994.

Jones revamped the grass, changed many tees, and completely changed the landscaping. Today, the course plays as a 7,154 yard, par 70. It features a 3/8" cut of Meyer Zoysia grass on both the tees and fairways. The greens are a 0.16" cut of Crenshaw Creep bent grass, while the rough is a 3" cut of 419 Bermuda Grass.

The signature hole at East Lake is the Par 3, 6th. The hole plays at around 167 yards, but the downhill shot eliminates some of the distance. The challenge of the hole is provided by the green itself. Golfers must attack a peninsula green with water left, right and in front of the green, as well as part of the backside. Adding to the difficulty, is a small bunker on the front left and the green, effectively making this an island green. Another big distinction is the 18th hole, which is one of the rare par 3 finishes in golf.

The Buzz:

Another thing, you have to wonder is why all the big deal in the FedEx Cup, when in the long run 27 of the players under the old system of being in the top-30 on the money list made it to the Tour Championship this year. After a 33-week long system of qualifying and three playoffs, only three players outside the top-30 of the money list made it to the Tour Championship. So you have to wonder, what is the point of the FedEx Cup and these playoffs other than the rich getting more money?
Maybe that is the big problem with the FedEx Cup: it's all about money and no real substance.

Here is a list of those in the Top 30 of the money list that didn't make the Tour Championship:
Luke Donald - 31st in FedEx Cup, 25th on money list
David Toms - 33rd in FedEx Cup, 26th on money list
Jerry Kelly - 32nd in FedEx Cup, 30th on money list

Here is a list of those not in the top 30 on the money list but did make the Tour Championship:
Camilo Villegas - 28th in FedEx Cup, 37th on money list
Jonathan Byrd - 25th in FedEx Cup, 35th on money list
Health Slocum - 29th in FedEx Cup, 36th on money list

Another problem is the East Lake greens. The summer drought has withered the bentgrass greens, but it may not be as bad as first thought. Yes the 2nd, 13 and 15th greens are in bad shape, restricting players in practice rounds and canceling the pro-am, but all of the hard work of the East Lake greens staff has saved the day. Yes, it's not going to be perfect and a lot of well stroked putts will be missed, but as Tiger Woods pointed out on Tuesday, the greens at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill during the AT&T aren't the best either. Some players are comparing East Lake's greens to the ones at Riviera Country Club, the site of the 1995 PGA Championship. Those greens were so spiked up that just about every putt bounced around like a pinball. Still there was a winner (Steve Elkington) and life went on.

Lastly it will be interesting to see what is the bigger deal, the race for the FedEx Cup or the actual Tour Championship. Now we know that the Tour and probably a lot of fans would love to see Tiger, Phil and Steve Stricker tied for the lead going into the final round. Realistically only Tiger Woods, Stricker and Mickelson have a true chance at winning it with Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi with a very slim chance.

So here is a look at the five with a shot at winning the FedEx Cup and what it will take to win:

1) Tiger Woods -- controls his own destiny in the FedExCup. A win this week would give him the Cup.

2) Steve Stricker -- To win the FedExCup he has to win this week at East Lake regardless of what anyone else in the field does. Even a second place by Tiger wouldn't be enough to pass Stricker's victory.

3) Phil Mickelson -- If he wins The Tour Championship, Mickelson would need Woods to finish lower than solo second. A Mickelson victory in Atlanta (10,300 points) would total 118,913 points. Woods, with a solo second (6,200 points) would have 118,933 points and edge Mickelson by 20 points for the FedExCup.

4) Rory Sabbatini - His chances are very slim because he would first need to win in Atlanta to have any opportunity for victory in the FedExCup. But a win doesn't guarantee the cup because it would give him 113,888 points so all Tiger Woods would have to do is get 1156 points which means a 13th place finish or better by Woods would give him the title over Sabbatini.

5) K.J. Choi - His chances are just like Sabbatini's, very slim at best. Even with a victory in Atlanta, Choi would only have 113,400 points so if Choi would win Tiger would have to earn 667 points for a win, thus Woods would have to finish 21st or better, which is just about a given with Tiger.

So in the long run the odds on Tiger losing the FedEx cup are slim at best. The only true chance of someone other than him winning is with a Stricker or Mickelson victory.

Here are some things to look for this week:

Photo: © Al Messerschmidt/Wire Images The 18th hole of the East Lake Golf Club, home of the 2007 Tour Championship..

Normally this course is know for hitting it on the fairway and then hitting the most greens. It's tough and fair, a gem of a layout that players look forward to playing each year.

• A key stat for the winner:
  Patience on the greens. They are going to be a mess this year and everyone is going to be at a big disadvantage. Look for the player that can keep his cool and handle the disadvantage the best to win.
• As was proven in past Tour Championships played at East Lake it favors those that hit lots of greens. Just look at the six winners of previous Tour Championships at East Lake. Hal Sutton in 1998 was 1st while in 2000 Phil Mickelson was T4th in greens hit, Vijay Singh was T8th in 2002, Retief Goosen was first in 2004 and Bart Bryant first in 2005 and Adam Scott was T6th last year. Hitting greens is important because if you miss a green at East Lake it will be very difficult to get up and down for par.
• Look at not only past champions at East Lake but players that have done well. A perfect example of that is Scott Verplank, who has a great record at East Lake. In four starts he has finished T5th in 1998, 14th in 2000, T7th in 2004 and 3rd in 2005.
• Another key is holding the lead going into the final round. Since 1987, the player who either led or had a share of the lead through 54 holes has gone on to win 13 out of 20 times - Tom Watson (1987), Curtis Strange ('88), Jodie Mudd ('90), Craig Stadler ('91), Paul Azinger ('91), Billy Mayfair ("95), Tom Lehman ('96), David Duval ('97), Tiger Woods ('99), Vijay Singh (2002), Chad Campbell in 2003, Bart Bryant in 2005 and Adam Scott last year. If you want to check the progress of third round leaders at the Tour Championship, check it out at GolfStats.Com .
• Experience and having a good year coming into the event is also a factor. Just look at the winners the last nine years. Adam Scott last year, Bart Bryant in 2005 and Retief Goosen in 2004 were examples of this. Scott finished either 2nd or 3rd six times going into the event, Bryant had won the Memorial early in the year while Goosen won the U.S. Open and then capped off with the Tour Championship. All of them won capping off great years so I really feel that this year's victor will be one of the multiple winners like K.J. Choi, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson or Tiger Woods.
• A lot could be on the line if, say, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in the final group on Sunday. That is the best scenario for the PGA Tour, especially after what has happened with the greens this week.
• One last thing to look for. Yes the course is demanding, but as it goes into year seven overall and the third year in a row as the host course, the pros are starting to learn it better and shoot lower scores. Yes, it's going to take four rounds in the 60s to win, but other than Bart Bryant's brilliant 17 under par performance in 2005 it's rarely been taken apart. Look for that trend to continue this year.
  
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