Endgame with a bang for the American tour, which arrives in Atlanta, Georgia, for the last round of the Play Offs and the 2015-2016 "championship". The top thirty players in the Fedex ranking are on the field and on paper they all have a chance to win the race and the $10 million super bonus.
There will be 4 days of great golf and very rich prizes, those that start today and end on Sunday. Up for grabs is $8,5 million for the Tour Championship, with a first coin of over $1,5 million. In addition, the annual prize will be distributed: 10 million to the first place, 3 million to the second, 2 million to the third and so on, for a total of 35 million dollars.
Participation in the tournament alone, the result of a year-long selection and the selection of the last 4 games called Play Offs, is worth 175 dollars, because this is what the 30th ranked player will collect.
The FedexCup is a generous circuit, which rewards the efforts and talent of the participants by delivering consolation prizes even to those who do not reach these goals: ranging from 165 dollars for the 31st in the standings (therefore out of the last race) to 32 dollars from 126th to 150th place. Golf is a tough and meritocratic sport, but it rewards those who overcome obstacles and can end up with stellar hauls.
The actors in the last act are names known to the general public. At the top of the Fedex rankings we find world number two Dustin Johnson, followed by Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Jason Day (number one in the world order of merit), Paul Casey, Rory Mcilroy and defending champion Jordan Spieth. On paper all 30 participants could win the race and circuit, but the odds are in favor of those mentioned, who base their future on the game of these four days, but also on the points accumulated so far.
The top 5 players are also "masters of their destiny", because if they win the race they will surely also win the Fedex ranking and the annual super prize. The others, to climb down, are less likely because their fate depends on those ahead. For example Rory, despite being close to the top 5, if he wins the tournament he must hope that Dustin Johnson finishes third or worse, otherwise the ten million dollars go to his rival.
It's a good finale, full of tension, with the right glowing atmosphere needed to get to next week's Ryder Cup in Minnesota. At the end of the Tour Championship, among other things, Davis Love III, captain of the USA team, will reveal his latest wild card, that is the name of the 12th and last member of the team.
To add some more spice, the organizers of the competition have also decided to exchange the first and second nine holes of the course, to arrive at the final stages with the 18th which can be decisive for the outcome of the tournament: a par 5, of about 540 meters, where you can eagle and overturn the ranking, instead of a par 3.
The course is the East Lake Golf Club, a par 70 of 6.600 metres, designed by Tom Bendelow in 1908, revised by Donald Ross in 1913 and redesigned by Rees Jones in 1994. The competition obviously takes place without cutting, because the players they are only 30; tee times are in pairs, in order of ranking.
In Europe, after the splendid Italian Open, won by Francesco Molinari, this week we play in Germany, on the course of the Bad Griesbach Golf Resort, in Bad Griesbach. Five blues on the field: Matteo Manassero, Edoardo Molinari, Renato Paratore, Francesco Laporta and Nicolò Ravano.
The star of the tournament is the German Martin Kaymer in a competitive field that includes, among others, the Belgian Thomas Pieters, who will compete in the Ryder Cyp with the European team, the Irish Padraig Harrington, the South African Ernie Els, the Austrian Bernd Wiesberger , the Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal, the Thai Thongchai Jaidee and the Chinese Ashun Wu. The prize pool is 2 million euros, 333 thousand euros for the first. Live coverage of both events on Sky Sport.
