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After what’s obviously been the strangest season in PGA Tour history, the Tour Championship is upon us as the top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings will compete for $60 million ($15 million to the winner) beginning this Friday at East Lake Golf Club.

After what can only be described as an unbelievable finish at the BMW Championship that saw the top two players in the world, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm, decide the tournament in a playoff, the top 30 are all locked in place and will head to Atlanta for what should be an exciting finish to this wild 2019-2020 PGA Tour season.

Despite losing the playoff to Jon Rahm at the BMW Championship, Dustin Johnson will head to East Lake in the top spot of the FedEx Cup standings

It’s hard to even put into words just how good that finish at the BMW Championship was. Jon Rahm shot a brilliant final-round 64 at Olympia Fields on Sunday and held a one-shot lead as Dustin Johnson played the 18th hole. Needing to hole a double-breaking 43-foot birdie putt to force a playoff, DJ drained it to set up a sudden-death situation. It seemed impossible that things could get more exciting than that but Jon Rahm fired back with a “hold my beer” moment.

On the first playoff hole, Rahm drained a 66-footer of his own and watched as Johnson’s birdie effort fell just short, giving the Spaniard his fifth PGA Tour win, his second victory in his last five starts. Despite losing the playoff, Dustin Johnson will still head to the Tour Championship in the top spot of the FedEx Cup standings. Jon Rahm moved up to No. 2 with the victory.

How does the staggered stroke format at the Tour Championship work?

In 2019, the PGA Tour switched up the format of the Tour Championship to ensure that the winner at East Lake would also win the FedEx Cup and the $15 million bonus that comes along with it. So instead of a scenario in which one player could win the Tour Championship but not the FedEx Cup, which has happened on numerous occasions, including in 2018 when Tiger Woods won in Atlanta but finished second to Justin Rose for the FedEx Cup.

The Tour Championship is now contested in a staggered stroke format in which the top player in the FedEx Cup standings begins the tournament at 10-under. Second place begins at 8-under, third place begins at 7-under, fourth place begins at 6-under, and fifth place begins at 5-under. Seeds six through 10 begin at 4-under, seeds 11 to 15 begin at 3-under, seeds 16 to 20 begin at 2-under, seeds 21 to 25 begin at 1-under, and seeds 26 to 30 begin at even par. As usual, the lowest score wins the tournament.

Easy enough, right?

How all 30 players will start the Tour Championship

PGA Tour Championship
PGA Tour Championship Flag | Scott Halleran/Getty Images

So here’s how all 30 players will begin the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in the battle for the FedEx Cup.

  1. Dustin Johnson: -10
  2. Jon Rahm: -8
  3. Justin Thomas: -7
  4. Webb Simpson: -6
  5. Collin Morikawa: -5
  6. Daniel Berger: -4
  7. Harris English: -4
  8. Bryson DeChambeau: -4
  9. Sungjae Im: -4
  10. Hideki Matsuyama: -4
  11. Brendon Todd: -3
  12. Rory McIlroy: -3
  13. Patrick Reed: -3
  14. Xander Schauffele: -3
  15. Sebastian Munoz: -3
  16. Lanto Griffin: -2
  17. Scottie Scheffler: -2
  18. Joaquin Niemann: -2
  19. Tyrrell Hatton: -2
  20. Tony Finau: -2
  21. Kevin Kisner: -1
  22. Abraham Ancer: -1
  23. Ryan Palmer: -1
  24. Kevin Na: -1
  25. Marc Leishman: -1
  26. Cameron Smith: E
  27. Viktor Hovland: E
  28. Mackenzie Hughes: E
  29. Cameron Champ: E
  30. Billy Horschel: E
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Luke Norris

Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting.

Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes.

In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke’s work has appeared on  The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.