The field for the Tour Championship is set. No more last-minute points calculations, seeing who is on the inside and who is on the outside. Thirty players will show up at East Lake next week for a chance at the $15 million prize that goes to the winner of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
But remember, this week there is a new wrinkle. In a move designed to make sure there is just one winner of both the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs -- last year, Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship but Justin Rose was the FedEx Cup champion -- the PGA Tour altered the scoring format. For the first time, the scoring will be staggered from the start.
Need a refresher? An updated look at where things stands? The odds on who has the best chance to walk away with the oversized check at the end? And a reminder of some of the big names who will be watching just like the rest of us? Well, here you go:
So the leader is 10 under?
Not everyone starts at even par this week. The lowest 72-hole score isn't the winner. Instead, in what the PGA Tour is calling "starting strokes," the field is staggered. The leader of the yearlong points race -- in this case Justin Thomas -- starts at 10 under. The player in second place -- that would be Patrick Cantlay-- starts at 8 under. Third place starts at 7 under, fourth place at 6 under, fifth place at 5 under. The players standing in spots No. 6 through 10 will be 4 under, Nos. 11-15 will be at 3 under, Nos. 16-20 will be at 2 under, Nos. 21-25 will be at 1 under and 25-30 will be at even.
The leaderboard looks like this
Still a bit confused? Let's put an end to that. Here's what the actual leaderboard looks like to start play this week:
Justin Thomas -10
Patrick Cantlay -8
Brooks Koepka -7
Patrick Reed -6
Rory McIlroy -5
Jon Rahm -4
Matt Kuchar -4
Xander Schauffele -4
Webb Simpson -4
Abraham Ancer -4
Gary Woodland -3
Tony Finau -3
Adam Scott -3
Dustin Johnson -3
Hideki Matsuyama -3
Paul Casey -2
Justin Rose -2
Brandt Snedeker -2
Rickie Fowler -2
Kevin Kisner -2
Marc Leishman - 1
Tommy Fleetwood -1
Corey Conners -1
Sungjae Im -1
Chez Reavie -1
Bryson DeChambeau E
Louis Oosthuizen E
Charles Howell III E
Lucas Glover E
Jason Kokrak E
My biggest takeaway from BMW Championship and looking forward to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The odds
Here are the odds to win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup via Caesars:
Justin Thomas +200
Patrick Cantlay +450
Brooks Koepka +600
Patrick Reed +1100
Rory McIlroy +1200
Jon Rahm +1500
Xander Scahuffele +2200
Webb Simpson +2500
Dustin Johnson +3000
Adam Scott +3000
Hideki Matsuyama +4000
Matt Kuchar +4000
Abraham Ancer +4000
Tony Finau +5000
Rickie Fowler +6000
Justin Rose +6000
Brandt Snedeker +7500
Paul Casey +7500
Gary Woodland +8000
Kevin Kisner +9000
Tommy Fleetwood +10000
Marc Leishman +15000
Sungjae Im +15000
Corey Conners +15000
Louis Oosthuizen +17500
Bryson DeChambeau +20000
Lucas Glover +25000
Jason Kokrak +25000
Chez Reavie +30000
Charles Howell III +30000
Who's missing
Tiger Woods is not going to the Tour Championship. Neither is Phil Mickelson. Same with Jordan Spieth and Jason Day and Shane Lowry. Some of golf's biggest names failed to advance to the final week of the FedEx Cup. Most notable, of course, is Woods, whose victory at East Lake was his first in five years and presented one of the lasting images in memory. There was Woods, with victory within reach, walking toward the green surrounded by fans, who had trampled inside the ropes to walk the last of his comeback alongside him and playing partner Rory McIlroy.