It’s time for quite literally the most lucrative golf tournament in the world – the Tour Championship – but there will far more than just money to play for in Atlanta.
Not only does the winner this week walk away with a sizable winner’s cheque of $15 million, they also grab a PGA Tour exemption for the next five years.
In total, FedEx will pay out a grand total of $60m, of which $46m is up for grabs this week at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia. The remaining $14m has been shared by golfers finishing 31st-150th on the points list at the conclusion of the BMW Championship.
South Africans finishing 31st-150th:
51: Charl Schwartzel $160,000
55: Branden Grace $156,000
107: Garrick Higgo $105,000
119: Dylan Frittelli $101,000
After racking up points over the first eleven months of the regular Tour season, and more importantly during the first two playoff events – The Northern Trust and the BMW Championship – in order to secure a spot in the exclusive top 30 needed to reach the Tour Championship, those near the top of the FedEx Cup standings have now been rewarded with a nice handicap to begin the tournament.
South Africans in the Tour Championship:
Erik van Rooyen, 139th in the standings prior to his victory at the Barracuda Championship just three weeks ago, has rocketed all the way up to 27th in the rankings after following up his maiden PGA Tour victory with top 10s at both The Northern Trust (7th) and the BMW Championship (5th). He will start 10 shots back of the leader, Patrick Cantlay, on even par.
Louis Oosthuizen will tee off on Thursday in 14th position on three under par, an outside chance of claiming by far the biggest payday in his career.
Startlist:
10 Under P. Cantlay
8 Under T. Finau
7 Under B. DeChambeau
6 Under J. Rahm
5 Under C. Smith
4 Under J. Thomas, H. English, A. Ancer, J. Spieth, S. Burns
3 Under C. Morikawa, S. Im, V. Hovland, L. Oosthuizen, D. Johnson
2 Under R. McIlroy, X. Schauffele, J. Kokrak, K. Na, B. Koepka
1 Under C. Conners, H. Matsuyama, S. Cink, J. Niemann, S. Scheffler,
Even par D. Berger, E. van Rooyen, S. Garcia, B. Horschel, P. Reed
Photo: EPA/Tannen Maury
