The 2026 PGA Tour season reaches its climax this week at the Tour Championship, hosted at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings will compete for a $40 million purse – the largest of the season – and the season-long FedEx Cup title, as reported by TSN, CBS Sports, and several Gannett-affiliated outlets including The Arizona Republic, Asheville Citizen-Times, and Herald-Tribune.

Scottie Scheffler enters the tournament as the world No. 1 and the top seed in the FedEx Cup standings. He is also the betting favorite at +300 odds, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, with Rory McIlroy (+850), Xander Schauffele (+1200), Ludvig Aberg (+1400), and Wyndham Clark (+1400) rounding out the top of the board.

$100 Million Bonus Pool

Beyond the tournament purse, the PGA Tour has established a $100 million bonus pool to reward season-long excellence, distributed after the BMW Championship for the first time. According to CBS Sports, Scheffler earned a $23 million bonus for finishing No. 1 in the standings – $22 million in cash and $1 million deferred to his pension fund. The rest of the top 10 players each received over $1 million in combined cash and deferred bonuses.

Wyndham Clark's victory at the BMW Championship on Sunday moved him from fifth to third in the FedEx Cup standings. That win, worth $3.6 million, also increased his bonus payout from $5.4 million to $8 million, as reported by CBS Sports.

The bonus pool supplements the $20 million purses for the St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship, bringing the total prize money awarded over the three-week playoff span to $180 million.

Tournament Format and Course

All 30 players will start the Tour Championship at even par for the second straight year. The Tour abandoned the previous format, where players began with stroke advantages based on their standings, to reduce confusion and create a more climactic finish, according to TSN. Under the old system, the leader would start at 10-under par, with subsequent players given smaller advantages.

East Lake is described as a long, difficult course with lightning-fast greens, penalizing rough, and water hazards that can quickly turn errant shots into double bogeys. The winning score typically falls between 11- and 20-under par, according to multiple outlets.

Tommy Fleetwood is the defending champion, having won last year at 18-under par to claim the $10 million first-place prize. That victory was his first on the PGA Tour after 163 starts without a win, despite a career that included seven DP World Tour titles and more than $33 million in prize money, as detailed by TSN. Fleetwood reflected on that breakthrough, saying, "It's easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight. It's different when you actually have to prove it." He enters this week as the ninth-ranked player in the field.

Scheffler's Path and Health

Scheffler won the St. Jude Championship two weeks ago by eight shots, his second win of the season. He also endured a bout of hand, foot, and mouth disease during the BMW Championship, struggling to grip clubs and later saying, "If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance." He added, "Feel like I'm starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today."

Scheffler won the 2024 Tour Championship using a 10-under starting score to finish at 30-under and win by four shots, as noted by TSN.

The Tour Championship field includes six first-timers and two PGA Tour rookies, according to TSN. Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 11 a.m. ET on TSN Premium, with full network coverage Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Expert Picks and Odds

Several outlets offered expert picks for the tournament. Xander Schauffele was highlighted for his strong course history at East Lake, including a 2017 win and the lowest gross score in 2020 and 2023, plus solid recent form. Patrick Cantlay was noted for his exceptional ball striking despite putting struggles last week. Adam Scott was cited for similar strengths, while Justin Rose was mentioned for his ball striking but short-game issues. Akshay Bhatia was seen as a potential contender despite driver troubles and a quiet 12th-place finish at the BMW Championship.

Odds are provided by BetMGM Sportsbook, with lines last updated Monday at 3:34 p.m. ET.