Tour Championship

[Stanley]

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Adam Scott to win 16/1 e.w. @ Sunderlands [5 places]
I rarely like to back a defending champion, but there really is not a lot of value in this week's odds and 16s on Scott appears to best of this with, especially with the extra place on offer with Sunderlands. Not only did he win from the front last year after the taking the lead in the 2nd round, he has averaged 67.1 over his last seven rounds at East Lake and he shot all four rounds under 70 last week, including 67-65 over the weekend, to finish 4th. Without the added pressure of playing for the $10 million to the FedEx Champion, he can certainly win this event again.

Jim Furyk to win 20/1 e.w. available generally
Furyk (8th) and Verplank (19th) are also too far back in the FedEx Cup standings to win the biggest payout in professional sports and that can only help their cause in terms of winning this event. For Furyk, there were enough encouraging signs last week - all four rounds of 70 or less and finishing 14th - that his game is returning after his injury layoff and if he is approaching his previous form, he should be a strong contender on a course where his finishes read 3rd, 18th, 13th and 2nd (last year).

Scott Verplank to win 50/1 e.w. @ Sunderlands [5 places]
I can't see Verplank winning this event, but 50/1 each-way with 5 places translates into a better chance of a return than the best odds of 10/1 in the top-4 place market. There is no top-5 place market this week and best odds of 2/1 for a top-10 finish are hardly enticing. He may not have been at his best in the playoffs so far (finishes of 30th and 35th), but he had finished in the top-10 in his previous six starts on American soil and his record around East Lake is excellent: 5th, 14th, 7th and 3rd in his four previous visits. The greens are not particularly good this week, but Dave Shedloski (pgatour.com) has pointed out that he won at Las Colinas in May on the worst greens seen on Tour this year, so maybe he could win this week. I still doubt it, but a top-5 finish in a 30-man field is a strong possibility.

 

[Another Steve]

Date: September 13-16, 2007
Location: East Lake G.C. ? Atlanta, GA
2006 Champion: Adam Scott
FedEx Cup points: 50,000
2007 Purse: $7.0 million ($1,260,000 to the winner)



2006 Recap
Adam Scott capped off a career season by firing a final-round 66 to win his first TOUR Championship title by three strokes over runner-up Jim Furyk. It was Scott's first victory in a season that saw him card eight top-four finishes, finish third on the PGA TOUR money list, and rise all the way to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings.


2005 Recap
In a tournament that showcases the biggest and best the PGA Tour has to offer, Bart Bryant shocked the golfing world by besting them all, and by doing so in dominating fashion. Bryant began the week by shooting a course-record 62 and finished at 17-under-par in what turned out to be a six-shot victory over Tiger Woods. Bryant's aggregate score was four shots better than Phil Mickelson's previous TOUR Championship record. The only other player to finish within nine shots of Bryant was Scott Verplank, who finished alone in third. Bryant had an eagle in each of his first two rounds and birdied the first hole the final three days. He made three bogeys during a final-round 67, but was never seriously challenged.


The Course
East Lake Golf Club opened on July 4, 1908, and has been one of the country's preeminent courses ever since. Designed by Donald Ross, it bears the distinction of being the home course of golf legend Bobby Jones, who reportedly attended the grand opening at the age of six. The par 70, 7,154-yard track has only two par fives and features everything you'd expect from a championship golf course, including rolling fairways and many green that slope severely. The signature hole is the sixth, a 165-yard par 3 that plays from an elevated tee over water to a peninsula green. The 15th through 18th holes are all difficult and often make for dramatic finishes. The course includes a rare par 3 finishing hole, which measures 232 yards uphill and often plays into the wind. Images of the course remind many folks of Augusta National, mostly because of the mature trees that line the fairways its always immaculate condition, and its geographical location.

Due to extremely dry conditions in Atlanta throughout the summer, tournament officials have battled to keep the course in shape. They've gone as far as to close the course to the public until the tournament starts on Thursday, canceling the scheduled Wednesday Pro-Am and disallowing spectators for the early-week practice rounds. The players themselves will not even be allowed to practice on the baked bentgrass greens, which should provide an advantage to those who have previous experience at East Lake.


The Field
It wouldn't do fantasy golfers much good to play their top draft pick when he doesn't plan on teeing it up, which is why fantasy owners have to be very cognizant of who is playing each week. This week's field contains only the Top 30 players still remaining in the FedEx Cup standings, as seen below.


Leaderboards

The TOUR Championship (2006 Top 20)
Player Scores Total To Par Earnings
Win Adam Scott 69-67-67-66 269 -11 $1,170,000
2 Jim Furyk 69-71-67-65 272 -8 $730,000
3 Joe Durant 68-68-70-67 273 -7 $480,000
4 Retief Goosen 68-71-68-67 274 -6 $345,000
T-5 Trevor Immelman 73-66-69-69 277 -3 $266,000
T-5 Tom Pernice, Jr. 69-72-67-69 277 -3 $266,000
T-5 Luke Donald 73-67-69-68 277 -3 $266,000
T-8 Vijay Singh 69-72-65-72 278 -2 $215,000
T-8 Lucas Glover 73-71-66-68 278 -2 $215,000
T-10 Ernie Els 71-72-66-72 281 1 $183,800
T-10 Stuart Appleby 69-70-72-70 281 1 $183,800
T-12 Brett Quigley 71-68-73-70 282 2 $163,150
T-12 J.J. Henry 71-73-69-69 282 2 $163,150
T-14 David Toms 74-71-71-67 283 3 $147,900
T-14 Rod Pampling 73-71-73-66 283 3 $147,900
16 Zach Johnson 71-69-71-73 284 4 $138,800
17 Arron Oberholser 71-70-72-72 285 5 $133,600
18 Carl Pettersson 77-70-71-69 287 7 $130,000
T-19 Geoff Ogilvy 74-72-71-71 288 8 $126,100
T-19 Dean Wilson 75-72-71-70 288 8 $126,100


The TOUR Championship (2005 Top 20)
Player Scores Total To Par Earnings
Win Bart Bryant 62-68-66-67 263 -17 $1,170,000
2 Tiger Woods 66-67-67-69 269 -11 $715,000
3 Scott Verplank 67-66-69-69 271 -9 $462,500
T-4 Retief Goosen 64-66-69-74 273 -7 $284,833
T-4 Davis Love III 68-71-65-69 273 -7 $284,833
T-4 Vijay Singh 69-69-68-67 273 -7 $284,833
T-7 Ben Crane 68-65-72-69 274 -6 $210,625
T-7 Padraig Harrington 71-66-68-69 274 -6 $210,625
T-7 Stuart Appleby 70-65-71-68 274 -6 $210,625
T-7 Adam Scott 73-69-65-67 274 -6 $210,625
11 Mark Calcavecchia 72-69-68-66 275 -5 $177,800
12 Sean O'Hair 73-73-64-66 276 -4 $168,700
13 Jim Furyk 70-70-67-70 277 -3 $159,600
T-14 Luke Donald 70-67-70-71 278 -2 $144,867
T-14 Olin Browne 70-67-71-70 278 -2 $144,867
T-14 Tim Herron 73-68-71-66 278 -2 $144,867
T-17 Chris DiMarco 69-72-67-71 279 -1 $130,000
T-17 Ted Purdy 71-69-69-70 279 -1 $130,000
T-17 Chad Campbell 72-68-70-69 279 -1 $130,000
T-20 Kenny Perry 65-73-71-72 281 1 $124,500
T-20 Sergio Garcia 66-72-71-72 281 1 $124,500



Recent History
Year Champion Runner Up
2004 Retief Goosen Tiger Woods
2003 Chad Campbell Charles Howell III
2002 Vijay Singh Charles Howell III
2001 Mike Weir Els / Garcia / Toms
2000 Phil Mickelson Tiger Woods

FedEx Cup Points Leaders
And then there were? five? Technically, 30 players remain for the final event of the FedEx Cup series, but only the top five remain mathematically alive for the $10 million prize that goes to the winner.

FedEx Cup Points ( Top 30)
Rank Prev Player Points Wins Top 10s Last Wk
1 3 Tiger Woods 112,733 1 2 Win
2 2 Steve Stricker 109,600 1 3 3
3 1 Phil Mickelson 108,613 1 2 DNP
4 5 Rory Sabbatini 103,588 3 T10
5 4 K.J. Choi 103,100 1 T38
6 11 Aaron Baddeley 102,800 2 2
7 9 Adam Scott 100,227 1 4
8 7 Jim Furyk 99,838 T14
9 6 Vijay Singh 99,214 64
10 16 Sergio Garcia 98,277 1 9
11 8 Geoff Ogilvy 98,063 2 T61
12 10 Zach Johnson 97,823 T38
13 12 Charles Howell III 97,631 T18
14 14 Ernie Els 97,575 1 T18
15 17 Brandt Snedeker 97,507 T14
16 23 Justin Rose 97,250 1 T5
17 12 Woody Austin 97,223 T38
18 15 Mark Calcavecchia 97,019 1 65
19 18 Scott Verplank 96,632 T30
20 19 Hunter Mahan 96,516 T30
21 22 Brett Wetterich 95,774 1 T30
22 20 Boo Weekley 95,734 T57
23 21 John Rollins 95,710 56
24 32 Stewart Cink 95,513 1 T7
25 30 Jonathan Byrd 95,471 1 T10
26 24 Robert Allenby 95,450 1 T38
27 33 Tim Clark 95,425 1 T5
28 34 Camilo Villegas 95,003 2 T7
29 26 Heath Slocum 94,876 46
30 25 Padraig Harrington 94,841 DNP

 

[THE KOD]

good information

thanks

 

[abc]

Stan what is the difference between tourney matchups and don best? It seems like the greek has 2 options :shrug:

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

Tiger wins fedex -300 still available @ $plays
in combo with
Field wins fedex +450 still available @ 5D

 

[abc]

Tim Clark -110 over Singh

Need a few wins

 

[THE KOD]

abc

its gut check time now.

 

[Cantona7]

Cant say there is a lot to inspire me on either of main tours. tried a couple of obvious outrights but on matchbets will go with

Sabbatini ov Choi at 10/11- Stan James
Scott ov Furyk at 4/5 - Expekt

As I cant sleep as I'm playing Birkdale tomorrow and like a kid at Christmas, also had a look at the seniors and will try to min stakes:

Simpson ov Hatalsky at blue sq
Bean ov Kite at stan james

 

[abc]

abc

its gut check time now.

I know right.
My opinions of this tourney are that bad putters should be faded here. The worst the greens are.. the more you need a good putter with a true stroke aka badds or stricker.

Also looking to fade calc who was miserable last week and who i doubt is in the best shape.

 

[Whalers Rule]

I would go the opposite, and favour bad putters. Good putters might get upset watching good putts bounce off line, bad putters are used to putts missing from ten feet constantly.

 

[abc]

I would go the opposite, and favour bad putters. Good putters might get upset watching good putts bounce off line, bad putters are used to putts missing from ten feet constantly.

I read in 2 transcripts.. where the pros said that the better putters had an advantage here. Also talked to a guy who covers the tour he echoed the same point. Either way good luck

 

[Another Steve]

Only five players still have a shot at the $10 million and the gleaming silver trophy that go along with winning the FedEx Cup. 25 others will attempt to throw a wrench into the proceedings at East Lake in Georgia without having the pleasure of being able to practice even once on the greens, which have been devastated by weeks of searing heat and dry weather.



The Favorites
Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker are the only two players who control their own destiny this week. A victory by either guarantees them the title no matter what happens. Tiger has only won this event once in 10 tries, so there is actually a chance he doesn't run away and hide this weekend. Stricker hasn't appeared in this event since 2001, but he carded top-five finishes in each of his first two trips to Atlanta and is obviously on fire in recent weeks. 2000 champ Phil Mickelson needs a win and some help to overtake Woods and Stricker in the standings, while K.J. Choi and Rory Sabbatini need even more help. Mickelson hasn't performed all that well at East Lake outside of his win, while Choi and Sabbatini look like long shots based on their sub-standard TOUR Championship resumes.


The Best of the Rest
Adam Scott ranks as the top wrench-thrower this week. The defending champ is coming off an impressive fourth place finish last week in Chicago and should be considered extremely dangerous this weekend. Ditto Aaron Baddeley, who has consecutive top-five results after finishing second to Tiger at Cog Hill. Badds, however, is making his TOUR Championship debut; a task that won't be made any easier by the tough conditions this week. Scott Verplank, Vijay Singh, and Jim Furyk rank among the veterans with the best track record at this even. Verplank has registered six top 10s in seven tries, Singh has 11 top-10 results in 13 appearances, and Furyk has two runner-up finishes among his five career top 10s. All three players have been struggling in recent weeks, but have the ability to make plenty of noise.


Player Trends
It's not a fool-proof indicator of future success, but golfers who fare well at a particular venue tend to do so time and again. With that in mind, we provide a list of players who have notable trends at this week's event (most recent results are listed first).

The Good
Scott Verplank (3, T7, T9, T5, 14, T5)
Tiger Woods (three runner-up finishes, one win in 10 tries)
Steve Stricker (24, T5, 3)
Charles Howell III (T24, 2, 2)
Jim Furyk (Five top 10s in nine appearances)

The Bad
Rory Sabbatini (T22, T10)
Zach Johnson (16, 13)
Phil Mickelson (Yes, he has a win here, but only one other top 10 in 10 trips to Atlanta)
Robert Allenby (T13, T22, T22, T16)
K.J. Choi (26, 27, T19, T9)

The Ugly
Stewart Cink (no top 10s in five appearances)


Weekly Rankings
1. Tiger Woods
2. Steve Stricker
3. Adam Scott
4. Scott Verplank
5. Aaron Baddeley

 

[Whalers Rule]

That means the possibility of bumpy, patchy surfaces that might bring an added element of luck to the proceedings.

"I think all good putters want to have the greens as fast and as slope-y as possible, just get them as fast as can be, where you can use creativity to get a ball in the hole," Woods said. "If you look at the winners at Augusta, you don't see bad putters there. ? Fast, pure greens, if you don't start the ball on the right line with the right speed, it's not going in, period."


The greens are expected to be better, but not up to usual tournament standards. This favors no one, but benefits players of lesser putting talents.

"If the greens are bad, then everyone putts the same, pretty much," Scott Verplank, one of the game's better putters, said. "If you're a good putter, you want to putt on good greens. You want to be able to use that advantage."

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

I'm in same camp as Whaler big time--I think this tourney is wide open due to the greens--

Don't believe Tiger is too enthuised about par 70 course with bad greens.

 

[abc]

My opinion is if you have a poor stroke, and dont make consistent contact the odds of your ball hoppin off line on the 4 footers is greater.

 

[abc]

Sabbo -120 over Choi ( 4 top 10's last 5 )
Rose -125 over Singh ( like this one ):shrug:

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

Tough tourney to cap and conditions make it tougher to cpmpare to previous years--will continue to fade Singh until he turns it around--has only 2 rds in 60's in last 5 events --odds not as generous as in previous weeks--but understandibly so. Hate to put so many eggs in one basket--but expect odds to be beyond my limits if his form does not improve this week.


--The Tour Championship - Winning Score (72 Holes)
Winning Score
Winning Score 09/13/07(11:50 ET)
Under 267.5 (-115)

--could be wrong on this if entire greens are toast--but look for them to improve last years 269 score--reasoning last year had some pretty significant winds 1st 2 rds--rough should be sparser which could be plus or minus as I can't remember and have no notes on tree lines--can't see firm greens as they'll have to water the hell out em to save them--and they generally place hole where greens are best in these conditions--which should alleviate some of the tougher pin positions.

72 holes
Choi -112 over Singh @ Expekt
T
hu 07-09-13 17:50 Singh Vijay - Choi K-J
Tour Championship, 72 holes
Golf US PGA Tour 2 -112

Garcia -122 over Singh @ Pinn

Accepted Event Type Description Risking To Win
108403388-1
1 2:57am
12-Sep-07 10:30am
13-Sep-07 Future Golf - Tour Championship - Tournament Mat... -122
Tour Championship
Tournament Matchups
V. Singh vs S. Garcia
S. Garcia vs V. Singh

Rose -126 over Singh @ Pinn

2:57am
12-Sep-07 10:00am
13-Sep-07 Future Golf - Tour Championship - Tournament Mat... -126
Tour Championship
Tournament Matchups
J. Rose vs V. Singh
J. Rose vs V. Singh

Ogilvy -120 over Singh @ Bodog

No Action. Max $500. Matchup for the Entire Tournament.
(3405) Geoff Ogilvy -120 Thu@9:00a
Competitor: (3404) Vijay Singh

 

[Another Steve]

Cant say there is a lot to inspire me on either of main tours. tried a couple of obvious outrights but on matchbets will go with

Sabbatini ov Choi at 10/11- Stan James
Scott ov Furyk at 4/5 - Expekt

As I cant sleep as I'm playing Birkdale tomorrow and like a kid at Christmas, also had a look at the seniors and will try to min stakes:

Simpson ov Hatalsky at blue sq
Bean ov Kite at stan james

Please come back and let us know how much Fun you had Playing Brikdale..I know how I am when I get to Play Colonial......

 

[Another Steve]

The Tour Championship.....Still means more to me than the FedX DeallyBob. Tiger is so HOT right now, he should walk but the problem with the Greens....May give someone else an edge.On the Greens..how do you let a Golf Course get on the Bad side....Just water all the time..do what ever it takes....

R SABBATINI OV/KJ CHOI pick @-1.15
S GARCIA OV/V SINGH pick @-1.40
J ROSE OV/V SINGH pick @-1.35
S VERPLANK OV/S CINK pick @-1.15

S VERPLANK wins THE TOUR pick @+40.00
J ROSE wins THE TOUR pick @+16.00
C VILLEGAS wins THE TOUR pick @+40.00

 

[abc]

Looks like we are on the same page this week steve.. the plays all should follow form. I mean as far as hot vs cold. But last week was a kick in the sack.. hopefully this one is better. :mj06: