FedEx Cup gets dream weekend contenders at Tour Championship

Brooks Koepka carries a one-shot lead over Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy into the weekend at Tour Championship with FedEx Cup on the line

When the PGA Tour announced the changes that would be coming to the FedEx Cup playoffs this year, the leaderboard this week at the Tour Championship must have been atop their wishlist.

Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka heads into the weekend at East Lake with a one-shot lead over Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, each chasing the FedEx Cup title and the $15 million prize.

Koepka and Thomas started Friday’s second round tied for the lead, along with Xander Schauffele, at 10-under. Koepka began a streak of three straight birdies at the sixth hole, getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the par-five. At the seventh, he hit his approach to the back of the green and made an 11-foot putt for birdie, then followed that up with a perfect approach at the eighth to five feet to go three-under on the front-nine.

Thomas, meanwhile, made birdie on three of his first eight holes on Friday to tie Koepka at 13-under, four shots clear of the rest of the field. But then the rains came, leading to a 90-minute delay that slowed the momentum for both players. Thomas didn’t make another birdie the rest of the round, dropping a shot at the 17th to finish with a two-under 68. Koepka was also forced to scramble, making six par saves from outside five feet during the round. It wasn’t until the par-five 18th, when he narrowly missed an eight-foot eagle putt, that he made another birdie to grab sole possession of the lead at 13-under after a second straight round of 67.

McIlroy was the clear beneficiary of the rain delay. Four behind Koepka and Thomas at nine-under when the horn blew, the Northern Irishman played the rest of his round in three-under. A good drive at the 12th hole left him just a 91-yard wedge shot to the flag, which he spun back to eight feet and converted the tricky downhill putt for birdie. After another birdie at the 17th, McIlroy hit his tee shot at the 18th into the right-side trees, the ball settling atop a bed of pine straw. With a small gap in between the trunk his ball came to rest near and another tall tree 50 yards in front of him, McIlroy choked down on a fairway wood and navigated around both to find the rough just short of the green. He chipped up to three feet from there and made the putt for birdie to equal Koepka’s 67, tying Thomas for second at 12-under.

In the absence of star players like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, having this trio competing for the title this weekend is a good alternative. It’s a situation helped by the new FedEx Cup format. Under this system, Thomas began this week at 10-under as the points leader, with Koepka at seven-under and McIlroy six-under before playing a shot. If not for this format, McIlroy instead would be tied with Schauffele and Paul Casey for the lead. Koepka would be a shot back, while Thomas would be four shots behind.

McIlroy and Thomas already know what it’s like to win the FedEx Cup, McIlroy winning in 2016 and Thomas in 2017. Koepka hasn’t added this trophy to his growing collection yet, but he leads all players on the PGA Tour this year with three victories, including the PGA Championship. McIlroy has won twice this year, while Thomas was winless until last week’s BMW Championship.

Together they have combined for 24 top-10 finishes on tour in 2019. McIlroy’s percentage of top-10 finishes was the third-highest on tour since 2000, behind only two seasons from Woods. McIlroy, Koepka and Thomas rank second, fourth and fifth, respectively, on tour in scoring average this season. McIlroy and Thomas are one-two in strokes gained: tee to green, with Koepka back in 11th place.

It’s an ideal scenario for the PGA Tour to have these three young stars, all of them no older than 30, competing for what’s supposed to be the sport’s grandest prize. And if the tour was judging the success of the new format by the names in contention at the end, then it’s been mission accomplished so far.