PGA Tour Championship leaderboard: Explaining the Tour Championship format

One of the PGA Tour’s best golfers will become $15 million richer on Sunday, as the FedEx Cup Playoffs come to a close with the annual Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.

Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm are favorites to win this weekend after their epic duel at the BMW Championship – and their strong recent finishes will give them a big advantage over the field in the Tour Championship.

To simplify the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the PGA Tour altered the Tour Championship format in 2019, giving players at the top of the standings an edge on the scoreboard. The Playoff field was cut from 70 to 30 last week, with Johnson leading all golfers in the standings. On Thursday at East Lake, Johnson will begin the tournament at 10-under par, two shots ahead of second-place Rahm.

Depending on a player’s position in the standings, they will begin at a different score relative to par in the Tour Championship. Rahm will have to overcome a two shot deficit, No. 3 Justin Thomas will begin three shots back of Johnson, and so on. The golfer who wins the Tour Championship will walk away with the FedEx Cup title, and a cool $15 million in prize money.

Tour Championship Starting leaderboard:

1. Dustin Johnson: -10

2. Jon Rahm: -8

3. Justin Thomas: -7

4. Webb Simpson: -6

5. Collin Morikawa: -5

T6. Daniel Berger: -4

T6. Harris English: -4

T6. Bryson DeChambeau: -4

T6. Sungjae Im: -4

T6. Hideki Matsuyama: -4

T11. Brendon Todd: -3

T11. Rory McIlroy: -3

T11. Patrick Reed: -3

T11. Xander Schauffele: -3

T11. Sebastian Munoz: -3

T16. Lanto Griffin: -2

T16. Scottie Scheffler: -2

T16. Joaquin Niemann: -2

T16. Tyrrell Hatton: -2

T16. Tony Finau: -2

T21. Kevin Kisner: -1

T21. Abraham Ancer: -1

T21. Ryan Palmer: -1

T21. Kevin Na: -1

T21. Marc Leishmann: -1

T26. Cameron Smith: E

T26. Viktor Hovland: E

T26. Mackenzie Hughes: E

T26. Cameron Champ: E

T26. Billy Horschel: E