Tony C. McCray Blog: The Field at the Tour Championship

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The Field at the Tour Championship

There are 30 men at the TOUR Championship that kicks off Thursday in Atlanta in the PGA’s final event of the 2016 season. Who can win? Who will win? Here’s a closer look at all 30 contestants.

The Big Dogs

1 Dustin Johnson – The favorite after his win last week at the BMW Championships. If he wins the tournament, he wins the FedEx Cup. He’s already made a strong case for Player of the Year honors, with wins at the US Open and Bridgestone as well. Has 14 top 10 finishes in 21 events and piled up $9 million.

2 Patrick Reed – He won The Barclays and took fifth at Deutsche Bank. It was so long ago you almost forget how hot he was to start the season – finishing in the top 10 of five of his first six events with two second places. Zero top ten performances at the Majors hurt his total.

3 Adam Scott – Talk about a comeback! He was No. 1 for a while in 2013, fell out of the top 10 a year ago, and has rallied with eight Top 10 finishes this year. He’ll win the overall title with a victory here. He turned it on midseason with wins at the Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He has done something fairly fantastic by finishing in fourth place at each of the first three FedEx events.

4 Jason Day – He kind of disappeared for a while in the middle of the season, but not before he tore up the competition with wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the WGC-Dell Match Play, and The PLAYERS Championship. He withdrew from the BMW Championship but expects to play this week. He can still win the overall title with a victory here.

5 Paul Casey – The fish out of water, at least compared to the four men ahead of him and the two behind him. After finishing tied for fourth at The Masters, he went in the tank, getting cut four times. But back-to-back second-place finishes at Boston and Chicago have him right there needing a win for the overall title.

A Little Help From Their Friends

6. Rory McIlroy – Starting with McIlroy, every player down the list needs some level of help to win the overall FedEx title. After compiling a ton of top five finishes last year, he made this an international competition with his win at the Deutsche Bank.

7. Jordan Spieth – Spieth went out with a bang at this event last year to secure the FedEx title and win Player of the Year honors. He’s been less dazzling in 2016, but still – two wins, four top three finishes, and eight top 10 finishes is nothing to write home about, even if he did blow The Masters. He’s been in the top 10 of two of the three events this post-season. He hasn’t won an event since May.

8. Russell Knox – By winning the first WGC event of the year as well as the Travlers, he’s kept himself relevant. Back-to-back finishes in the top 20 these last two weeks have gotten him on the right track.

9. Emiliano Grillo – The only South American in the field, his second-plaae finish at the Barclays has propelled him this far. His won win came in the season opener.

10. Jimmy Walker – He finally broke through the glass ceiling and won a a Major at the PGA Championship. He missed the Barclays cut, but was third in Boston, 13th in Chicago.