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What you need to know about the new Tour Championship scoring system

The stars of the PGA Tour have battled over the entire season and fought through two playoff events over the last two weeks. Now, all that remains is the Tour Championship at East Lake, the finale of the 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs . But the lucky few pros who have survived this far will face a new Tour Championship scoring system and format at East Lake.

New FedEx Cup Playoffs format

The first change to the FedEx Cup playoffs format introduced this season has already happened. In the new system, the FedEx Cup Playoffs were reduced from four tournaments to three. After the 40 regular season events were complete, the Top 125 in the standings earned a spot in the Northern Trust at Liberty National, won by Patrick Reed .

The Top 70 players at the end of the Northern Trust made it to last week’s BMW Championship at Medinah, where Justin Thomas stormed to victory to set himself up for a shot at the FedEx Cup crown.

Following Thomas’ win, 40 more players were eliminated , including Tiger Woods . Now, the final 30 pros have gathered at East Lake outside of Atlanta, where they will play four rounds to determine the Tour Championship winner and the FedEx Cup champion. But the Tour Championship scoring system is radically different this year.

New Tour Championship scoring system

In the past, the Top 30 players in the FedEx Cup Playoffs also earned a spot in the Tour Championship. However, the event was played as a normal tournament, with all 30 players starting at even par, and the lowest 72-hole score winning the Tour Championship. Though performance in the Tour Championship counted toward a player’s point total, the FedEx Cup was awarded separately. That old scoring system allowed Tiger Woods to win the 2018 Tour Championship but finish 2nd behind Justin Rose for the FedEx Cup title last September.

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This year, and for the foreseeable future, the winner of the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup champion will always be the same . Under the new scoring system, the No. 1 player in the standings will begin the finale at 10 under par. The second-ranked pro will begin with a score of eight under, no. 3 at seven under, no. 4 at six under, no. 5 at five under, nos. 6-10 at four under, nos. 11-15 at three under, nos. 16-20 at two under, no.s 21-25 at one under, and nos. 26-30 at even par.

From there they will simply play a normal 72-hole event with the lowest score at the end winning both titles. That means for the player ranked 30th to win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, he’ll have to beat the No. 1-ranked player by more than 10 strokes.

Tour Championship scores (pre-tournament)

With the field set, we can look at where the players’ scores stack up on the Tour Championship leaderboard before the tournament begins.

1. Justin Thomas -10 2. Patrick Cantlay -8 3. Brooks Koepka -7 4. Patrick Reed -6 5. Rory McIlroy -5 6. Jon Rahm -4 7. Matt Kuchar -4 8. Xander Schauffele -4 9. Webb Simpson -4 10. Abraham Ancer -4 11. Gary Woodland -3 12. Tony Finau -3 13. Adam Scott -3 14. Dustin Johnson -3 15. Hideki Matsuyama -3 16. Paul Casey -2 17. Justin Rose -2 18. Brandt Snedeker -2 19. Rickie Fowler -2 20. Kevin Kisner -2 21. Marc Leishman -1 22. Tommy Fleetwood -1 23. Corey Conners -1 24. Sungjae Im -1 25. Chez Reavie -1 26. Bryson DeChambeau E 27. Louis Oosthuizen E 28. Charles Howell III E 29. Lucas Glover E 30. Jason Kokrak E

FedEx Cup bonus, purse and prize money

A silver trophy isn’t the only thing on the line at East Lake, a lot of money is at stake, too . The player who is crowned FedEx Cup Champion will receive a whopping bonus of $15 million. In addition, the Tour Championship win will count as an official PGA Tour victory, and the champion will receive a five-year Tour exemption.

The runner-up gets a nice pile of cash, too: $5 million. The payouts decrease as you go down the leaderboard, with eight players guaranteed to make at least $1 million. But no one gets left out; every player who makes it the Tour Championship receives a minimum payout of $395,000.

One obvious positive to the new Tour Championship scoring system is that there will be far less confusion about who is leading the tournament versus the FedEx Cup. With only one leaderboard combining the two races, it definitely will be easier for viewers to follow along. Although, there could be unforeseen consequences. Had the new system been in place last year, for example, Tiger Woods would not have won the Tour Championship , which capped his comeback season and set him up for major glory at Augusta in April.

Only time will tell if the new scoring system sticks around for the long haul.

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2022 Tour Championship final results: Prize money payout, leaderboard and how much each golfer won

The 2022 Tour Championship final leaderboard is headed by winner Rory McIlroy , who prevailed by a shot to win the FedEx Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.

Starting the final round six shots behind No. 1 seed and leader Scottie Scheffler , McIlroy tracked down Scheffler and ultimately took the lead late in the round. He held on down the stretch, including nervy play of the par-5 18th hole, to win the FedEx Cup for the third time.

Scheffler made par on the final hole to secure a share of second place with Sungjae Im .

McIlroy won the $18,000,000 winner's share of the $59,725,000 purse.

Tour Championship recap notes

McIlroy had the lowest 72-hole score in the event without starting strokes, meaning he won the 38 first-place Official World Golf Ranking points with the win in the 72-hole stroke-play championship, which will boost his world ranking.

McIlroy earns a five-year PGA Tour exemption for winning the FedEx Cup.

A total of 29 players finished the tournament in the 48th event of the 2020-2022 PGA Tour season after a 36-hole cut was not made. Will Zalatoris did not compete in the event due to back injury and earned $500,000 for 30th place.

The 2021-2022 PGA Tour schedule is over, with the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season starting in two weeks with the Fortinet Championship in California.

2022 Tour Championship final leaderboard, results and prize money payouts

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About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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Collin morikawa's career-low round, scottie scheffler's putting woes among tour championship's first-round takeaways, share this article.

ATLANTA — On a sweltering hot day, Adam Schenk torched East Lake Golf Club in his Tour Championship debut to the tune of 7-under 63. Yet he still got beat by two strokes in his pairing with fellow competitor Collin Morikawa.

“It sounds bad to say, but I’ve never won out here, so I guess I get kind of used to losing a little bit,” Schenk said. “But I played great, he just played a little better.”

If it makes Schenk feel any better, the 26-year old Morikawa posted his career-low on the PGA Tour, a sizzling 9-under 61 that was as hot as the temperature. Morikawa, who entered the week at No. 24 in the FedEx Cup, began the tournament at 1 under and 9 strokes behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler in the staggered start. By the time the day was over he was in the thick of the trophy hunt, tied with Keegan Bradley, who shot 63, and Viktor Hovland (68) for the lead at 10 under.

Scheffler (71) led by as many as five strokes on the front nine but hit it in the water and made a triple bogey at 15 to squander his lead. At the conclusion of the Tour Championship, the player with the lowest stroke total over 72 holes when combined with FedEx Cup Starting Strokes, will be crowned the FedEx Cup champion.

“Shoot, no better time, I guess, in our Tour Championship to show up and start playing some golf,” Morikawa said.

The two-time major champion said he made some subtle changes to his setup on Tuesday, and his iron play shined Thursday. He hit 16 greens in regulation and gained nearly four strokes on the field with his approach shots and ranked first in proximity too. Walking up the 15 th hole with caddie JJ Jakovac, Morikawa joked he had already hit more shots pin high than he had in four rounds at most tournaments of late. At the water-guarded 224-yard par-3 15 th , Morikawa oozed with such confidence that he didn’t even bother to watch the ball flight.

“Because I knew where it was going to go, and that’s the kind of control you want,” he said.

On one of the rare occasions when Morikawa misfired, he got a lucky break when he tugged his tee shot at the fifth hole and it ricocheted off a tree, back to the fairway and he made birdie.

“That’s kind of the momentum stuff that I just haven’t seen all year,” he said.

One hole later, he drilled his second shot from 224 yards to inside 4 feet and made eagle. Morikawa and Schenk combined to make 15 birdies and that eagle and nary a bogey between them for what would’ve been a best-ball 13-under 57, and both agreed they fed off each other as the round built.

“There’s a rhythm to it,” Morikawa said. “It was just really, really easy I think for both of us.”

Schenk, 31, also started the tournament trailing by nine strokes but closed the gap with four birdies in his final five holes and improved to T-5.

“I just fed off more of Collin than anything probably, and then I made some, and then he made some maybe off of me, but it’s definitely an enjoyable day when you are playing with someone that does play really well,” said Schenk, who is searching for his first career Tour title and summed up the round “as one of those days where nothing could go wrong.”

Here are four more things to know from the first round of the Tour Championship.

Scheffler struggles

Scottie Scheffler of the United States lines up a putt on the tenth green during the first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

World No. 1 Scheffler shuffled away from a short post-round media session with his head down. He looked deflated after frittering away an early five-stroke lead and making a triple bogey at 15 en route to shooting 71 at East Lake.

That’s the bad news. The good news is he has three rounds to right the ship, and he’ll enter the second round in fourth place, just one stroke back at 9 under.

“It is a bit weird starting a tournament with the lead. I don’t know. It’s definitely an interesting format,” he said. “I guess it’s a little bit of a blessing to have a pretty bad day and still be in the tournament. So, yeah, go out there tomorrow and just keep fighting.”

Scheffler returned this week to his Scotty Cameron Special Select Tourtype GSS putter, the one he used to win the 2022 Masters and several tournaments, but it provided no spark to his struggles with the short stick. Scheffler ranked dead last in the 30-man field in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing 3.229 strokes in the first round.

Scheffler carded three birdies in his first six holes to reach 13 under, but he took three putts from 34 feet at No. 8 for his first bogey of the day. He bounced back by stuffing his approach at 10 for an easy birdie, but made back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 11 (another three putt) and 12. The 15 th proved to be his bugaboo, first rinsing his tee shot and then lipping out for yet another three putt and a triple-bogey six on the card, his first triple or worse on a hole all season (2,179 holes between them). No one else made worse than a bogey at 15 all day.

Scottie Scheffler entered today as the Tour's leader this season in first round scoring average. He was 1 of just 7 players Thursday to card a score over par. — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) August 24, 2023

“I was expecting him to keep going after that start that he had, but that’s just this golf course,” Viktor Hovland, who played alongside Scheffler in the final group, said. “It’s not easy, especially that 14, 15, corner there.”

Bradley’s hot putting performance

Keegan Bradley tees off on the 16th hole during the first round of the TOUR Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Bradley finished with three birdies in his final four holes to shoot 63, his lowest score in 17 rounds at East Lake.

He is competing in the Tour Championship for the fifth time, but is making his first trip to Atlanta since 2018. This is the 10 th time he has held the 18-hole lead or co-lead on Tour, and he has yet to convert any of them into victory. In fact, he held the solo 18-hole lead at the 2011 Tour Championship, his first appearance in the event, where he opened with a 64 and went on to finish T-11, his best result in four previous starts.

Bradley played solid in all departments but had an especially good day with the putter, ranking second in Strokes Gained: Putting.

“I’ve been playing this last month under so much pressure every week, it seems like, and to go out there and shoot a round like that felt really nice,” he said.

Ryder Cup hopefuls make final push

Rickie Fowler chips onto the 15th green during the first round of the TOUR Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

As Zach Johnson contemplates his six Captain’s picks for the 12-man team representing Team USA, he had to notice that some of the names under consideration were making a move on Thursday at East Lake. Check out this exchange with Bradley:

Does this week, how far do you think it goes for Ryder Cup, for being considered or picked?

KEEGAN BRADLEY: Man —

Q. You knew this was coming, didn’t you?

BRADLEY: I knew it was coming, yeah. I was saying, I try my hardest to not think of the Ryder Cup, but everybody asks me about it. And as I’m walking down the fairways everyone’s yelling to me about it. So it’s impossible for me to not think about it. I got to think, a two-year qualifying process, with the tournament a month away, I don’t think everything is based on this tournament. But it might be. So, better to go play well than to not. I mean, they know how much I want to be on the team.”

The other player who help his cause is Morikawa.

“Hopefully, my record speaks for itself. Hopefully the golf speaks for itself today,” Morikawa said.  “But, look, at the end of the day, I want to win this tournament. I really do. It’s been too long. I want to find a way to win. Today definitely helped that.”

Rickie Fowler, who is also part of the conversation for a pick, shot 2-under 68, and Sam Burns signed for 4-under 66. Lucas Glover’s late push for a pick took a hit with a 2-over 72, which included a triple bogey.

Jordan Spieth, who is expected to get one of the six picks, shot 1-under 69.

Hovland seeking back-to-back wins

Viktor Hovland putts on the 18th green during the first round of the TOUR Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

There’s no cooling off Hovland, not in this heat.

Hovland didn’t go crazy like he did on Sunday at the BMW Championship, making seven birdies in his final nine holes to ride off with the title, but he did enough in the opening round on Thursday to grab a share of the lead in the Tour Championship.

Hovland fired a bogey-free 2-under 68 at East Lake to join the three-way tie at 10 under. It was a subpar putting day by Hovland’s standards, as he lost nearly 2½ strokes on the greens and ranked 29th in SG: Putting (better than only Scheffler).

“I feel like it was a solid round,” he said. “I felt like I played a little bit better than the score, but hopefully that comes tomorrow or the rest of the week.”

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Collin Morikawa shoots 64 for 36-hole scoring record, grabs share of Tour Championship lead with Viktor Hovland

One bad shot during practice led to Collin Morikawa spending two hours looking for a fix. And now he has a scoring record at East Lake that previously belonged to Tiger Woods.

Morikawa followed his 61 with another clean card for a 6-under-par 64 on Friday in the PGA Tour Championship, giving him the lowest 36-hole score at East Lake and a share of the lead with Viktor Hovland going into the weekend of the FedEx Cup finale in Atlanta.

“Sometimes just being out there when you don’t realize that you’re out there for that long of a period, but you find one thing that you hope works,” said Morikawa, winless since the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2021.

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“I’ve done that for the past few years, hoping that we’re going to find that one thing that clicks and right now, I’m going to stick with it.”

Scores can look inflated at the Tour Championship because players start at various points under par depending on the FedEx Cup position. Looks were not the least bit deceiving with Morikawa, who shot 125 without a bogey over two days in extreme heat.

He was No. 24 in the FedEx Cup and started at 1 under par. Hovland, who has been hotter than Atlanta dating to the final round in the BMW Championship last week, was the No. 2 seed and began the tournament at 8 under.

They now are 16 under par, two shots clear of top seed Scottie Scheffler. The world’s No. 1 player was running hot under the collar after opening with a 71 that included the worst kind of triple bogey — a tee shot in the water and a three-putt from 15 feet.

Friday was another ball-striking clinic — he missed only two greens — and Scheffler made enough birdie chances for a 65.

The difference?

“I was six shots better,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t hit it in the water on 15, and I had three less three-putts, so there you go.”

That’s about the only simple math in the FedEx Cup, that and the $18 million to the winner.

Woods shot 127 for the opening 36 holes in the 2007 Tour Championship, back when everyone started at even. That was the year grass was hard to find on the putting surfaces and the pins were in the middle of most greens.

This year it’s all about the wind, or lack of it. The heat has been stifling, but only an occasional breeze has allowed for extreme scoring. Five players shot 65 or lower.

“There’s going to be a lot more low scores, a lot more birdies made. I’m going to have to continue that heading into the next two days,” Morikawa said.

Hopkinton High School graduate Keegan Bradley, doing what he can to make those six wild-card picks even tougher for Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, birdied three of his last five holes for a 67 and was at 13 under.

Masters champion Jon Rahm (65) and Xander Schauffele (64) were four shots behind.

Schauffele twice has posted the low score at the Tour Championship and only has one trophy to show for it in 2017. The other time, during the era of the staggered start, he had the low score in 2020 but started seven shots behind Dustin Johnson. Schauffele began this year seven shots behind and rounds of 67-64 have allowed him to at least get in the mix.

“I look up at the board and I’m just barely picking up ground,” he said. “So still a lot to do.”

Rory McIlroy, who has been dealing with back spasms since Tuesday, felt marginally better on Friday though he still struggles to go after shots with a shorter iron, and he isn’t launching drives like he normally does.

He had a 67 and was at 10-under, six shots behind.

“I’m limited in what I can do, but I’m here grinding away, battling away,” McIlroy said. “So happy to be through 36 holes.”

The timing isn’t great. McIlroy started the tournament only three behind Scheffler, and he has won all three of his FedEx Cup titles from behind. The upside?

“I would rather it pop up now than in three or four weeks’ time,” he said, eyeing the Ryder Cup.

Morikawa was No. 10 in the Ryder Cup standings, and even with Johnson having six captain’s picks, two rounds have at least served up a reminder that Morikawa’s iron play, the hallmark of his game, works in Atlanta and Rome.

Now it could be a wild race on the weekend for a FedEx Cup title involving a world-class list of contenders. That includes Hovland, whose 28 on the back nine at Olympia Fields led to his victory in the BMW Championship last week. He shot 30 on the back nine Friday, which featured four straight birdies.

“I just tried to do more of the same and I was able to make some putts on the back nine,” Hovland said. “So, yeah. It was good.”

European — Alexander Bjork, Nicolai Hojgaard, and Ludvig Aberg delivered strong Ryder Cup auditions at the Czech Masters. Playing alongside European team captain Luke Donald, the No. 103-ranked Bjork shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead at 13-under par after the second round of the European tour event near Prague.

Hojgaard and Aberg are two of the hottest young European players around. They were grouped with one of Donald’s assistants, Francesco Molinari, and shot 67 and 66, respectively.

Hojgaard was alone in second place. Aberg, a 23-year-old Swede playing for the first time on the European tour after turning pro in June, was three shots off the lead.

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2023 Tour Championship leaderboard: Viktor Hovland dominates to hoist FedEx Cup after second straight victory

Hovland pulled off the rare bmw championship, tour championship double to claim an $18 million grand prize.

The summer heat wave sweeping across the United States has a new name: Viktor Hovland. Running away from the field in record fashion at the 2023 Tour Championship, Hovland finished the week at 27 under and five strokes clear of Xander Schauffele to claim his first FedEx Cup.

Beginning the week at 8 under, Hovland was the top name on both the official leaderboard and the shadow leaderboard (which the Official World Golf Rankings recognizes) as his 72-hole total of 19-under 261 matched that of Schauffele's.

The young Norwegian became just the fifth man to claim the final two legs of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. In the process, he cashed a pair of checks amounting to $21.6 million, $18 million of which came this week for winning the FedEx Cup.

Hovland did most of the heavy lifting early in the week, but the laidback Sunday stroll most envisioned was anything but stress-free. Starting off the final round with a six-stroke lead, the 25-year-old was faced with immediate stress as a two-hour weather delay arrived just as he was lining up a 15-foot par putt on No. 2.

While all 29 of Hovland's counterparts were busy on the driving range in the lead up to the restart, he was hanging out on the putting green. Practicing a left-to-right tickler, Hovland's added reps paid dividends as his successful conversion for par was met with an unsuccessful birdie bid from Schauffele.

Schauffele, the unofficial king of East Lake Golf Club, mustered together a mighty charge. Five birdies on his front nine saw the 2017 Tour Championship winner turn in 30, the lowest front-nine score of the week. Hovland's lead foot was heavy on the gas pedal in lockstep with his playing competitor as Schauffele's front-nine heater was only able to trim the edge to five.

Avid golf fans know a tournament doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday. Take a look at Hovland seven days ago, and birdies from the blade of Schauffele on the 11th and 12th cut the front runner's lead to three and pumped blood back into the heart of the postseason finale.

Heartbeats of spectators and players began to pulse even faster as pressure ramped up and shots were magnified. Right when it looked like Hovland's margin would get cut once again, the man who has done no wrong the last week found an extra gear and let out a hearty fist pump when his par putt from 23 feet -- his longest made putt of the week -- found the bottom of the cup on the 14th.

The championship was put on ice with that conversion, and Hovland's ascension to the top of the sport was official roughly an hour later. Complete throughout his game and throughout his mind, Hovland proved yet again to be a quick study and aced this year's final with flying colors. Grade: A+

Here are the grades for the rest of the leaderboard at the 2023 Tour Championship.  

2. Xander Schauffele (-22): Take away Hovland, and Schauffele wins the FedEx Cup running away. That pretty much sums up his season as he enjoyed the best statistical year of his career but walks away without a win. He ran into a bulldozer at the Wells Fargo Championship, and the same was true this week. Schauffele continued to be one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour in 2023 as he racked up 17 top 20s in 23 starts and did not miss a single cut. Grade: A+

3. Wyndham Clark (-16): What a year for Clark. A first-time PGA Tour winner turned major champion turned top-three finisher in the FedEx Cup. His rise to the upper echelon of the game has been a joy to watch, and it begs the question: What will next year have in store? Enjoying one of the five best seasons on the PGA Tour this year, Clark proved to have the game and mettle in the big moment. He will head to Rome as one of the many rookies on the U.S. Ryder Cup team where this new affinity for the bright lights will be needed for the American side. Grade: A

4. Rory McIlroy (-14): The back injury took center stage at East Lake for the three-time FedEx Cup champion. Unable to hit any shots leading up to the tournament, McIlroy did well to get around East Lake in even par Thursday and remain within three strokes of the lead after beginning at 7 under. However, without the vintage McIlroy firepower, that was the closest he would get to the top as he ultimately became a non-factor in the championship. It would have been a nice bow on a stellar summer that featured 10 straight top-10 finishes dating back to the PGA Championship. Grade: A-

T6. Collin Morikawa (-11): He clipped Tiger Woods' 36-hole scoring record by two at East Lake, but that was as good as it got for the two-time major champion. He would have become the first player to start from 1 under to win the FedEx Cup and would have done so in a season where he once again was winless. It has now been more than two years since Morikawa has won on the PGA Tour, but there should not be any cause for concern. This season marked the best of his career in terms of total strokes gained and strokes gained around the green. Grade: B+

T6. Scottie Scheffler (-11): The world No. 1 entered the week atop the FedEx Cup standings only to relinquish his edge with a poor opening round. Scheffler did well to bounce back Friday -- when he gained nearly two strokes on the greens -- but the putting woes lurked and spelled his demise ending the week dead last with the putter. This year had all the makings of one of the all-time seasons on the PGA Tour as Scheffler led in strokes gained tee to green, strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained approach. He was only able to notch a pair of victories when a minimum of five felt certain as his 145th-ranked flat stick proved to be a constant hindrance. He became the first player in the staggered start era to begin the week with the lead and finish outside the top five. Grade: C

T18. Jon Rahm (-7): The Spaniard led the FedEx Cup for 30 consecutive weeks, entered the postseason in pole position but stumbled when it mattered most. Forgettable outings at the St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship put Rahm at 6 under to start the Tour Championship. He got within four at the halfway point before heading in the wrong direction on Moving Day. The big left miss was heavy on the mind of Rahm with the driver in hand and mirrored early spring troubles he endured. Despite a relatively quiet summer, Rahm should be the PGA Tour Player of the Year with a Masters title, three other victories and his runner up at The Open. Grade: C-

27. Jordan Spieth (+1): While he was lucky to qualify for the Tour Championship, the 2015 FedEx Cup champ did nothing with his good fortune. Spieth ranked outside the top half in each strokes gained category and put the finishing touches on a year that did not include a single trophy. The injuries the week of the Wells Fargo Championship sent his season into a frenzy, and not even the rollercoaster that is Spieth could get his game back on track. Grade: D

Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter, Patrick McDonald and Greg DuCharme to break down Viktor Hovland's clinical performance at the Tour Championship. He is the 2023 FedEx Cup Champion. Follow & listen to The First Cut on  Apple Podcasts  and  Spotify .

Hovland up four with two to go

That will do it. Viktor Hovland birdies the 16th to get to 25 under and four clear of Schauffele. Xander did his best to make this thing interesting, but the par save from Hovland on the 14th really put it on ice.

Huge save for Hovland

That was the longest putt Hovland has converted all week, and it came at a momentous time. Jarring a 23-foot par save on the 14th after a poor chip, Hovland maintained his three-stroke lead with four holes to play. The Norwegian flashes a fist pump just as it seems like things were going the other way.

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Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley Rocket Up Leaderboard at Tour Championship

• Author: Bob Harig

ATLANTA — Collin Morikawa’s objective starting the week at the Tour Championship was to simply shoot the lowest score he could and do his best to be lower than anyone else through 72 holes.

Now it’s time to readjust that mindset.

After making seven birdies and an eagle to at East Lake Golf Club to shoot 9-under-par 61, one behind Zach Johnson’s 2007 course record, the two-time major champion can now dream about winning the FedEx Cup title.

Such are the nuances of the strokes-adjusted format for the final event of the PGA Tour’s 2022-23 season, which saw him start nine strokes back of leader Scottie Scheffler , who struggled in the opening round.

Morikawa, Keegan Bradley and Viktor Hovland share the lead after the first round. Bradley shot 63 and Hovland, who won on Sunday at the BMW Championship, shot 68, having started the day in second place.

"You can look at it both ways," said Morikawa, who trailed Scheffler by eight strokes at the start of the day. “I've heard both sides of we like it, we don't like it.

"But at the end of the day, if you play really good golf for four rounds and you win the tournament without the strokes, I mean, you can't be too mad about yourself, right? You played some good golf and you beat 29 other guys and that's kind of the goal this week. That was the goal at the beginning of the week, but obviously where I sit now, it's to keep pushing and not let my foot off the gas."

At 24th in the FedEx Cup standings starting the week, Morikawa was assigned a strokes-adjusted starting point of -1. Scheffler, the leader in points, was given -10, with Hovland in second at -8, Rory McIlroy in third, despite a back injury, at -7 and Jon Rahm in fourth at -6.

The strokes allotments go down to the end of the 30-player field, with those in 26th through 30th positions starting at even par.

The idea is to reward those who have had the best seasons on the PGA Tour by giving them a small head start on attempting to earn the $18 million bonus that goes to the winner at the end of this week.

Scheffler’s advantage is now gone, but if this were any other week, he’d be 10 shots back of Morikawa. Instead his 72 left him just one back of the tournament co-leaders.

This is the format that has been in use since 2019. The previous year, Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship for his 80th PGA Tour victory while Justin Rose won the FedEx Cup. That scenario could not occur today.

“I can happily say I've been on both sides of it," said Xander Schauffele , who won the Tour Championship in 2017 when Justin Thomas was the FedEx winner and also shot the low 72-hole score in 2020 when Dustin Johnson won the FedEx Cup. Schauffele was credited with a victory in 2017; but not in 2020.

“I've never won the whole thing, but I've won this event and I was given a trophy and I've won it and was not … I haven't thought of a way to make it better. I still believe that when I talk to some friends and people they still feel like a little confused on how it all happens. I think this is supposed to be like our most important event all year. It kind of comes down to this moment. And, like, for people to be like a little bit confused, it's still not a finished product to me in that sense.

“But I think after Thursday and after Friday, like everyone knows. Like it doesn't even matter anymore how it started, it's all about how you finish it. And everyone knows what's going on when guys are coming down this nice final stretch here at East Lake and everyone knows what's at stake."

For a time on Thursday, Scheffler appeared to be making a mockery of the situation. Starting with a two-shot advantage, he played the first nine holes in 2 under and had a five-shot advantage through 10 holes.

But bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes made things interesting with Morikawa and Bradley shooting up the leaderboard. And then he hit his tee shot in the water at the par-3 15th, leading to a triple-bogey 6.

That suddenly made the tournament very interesting, regardless of how the players started.

"It’s strange," Bradley said. “I was saying earlier, I looked up at the leaderboard at one point today and I thought they had my score wrong because I started at 3 under and I think I was 3 under for the day, and I was like, that's not right, and then I realized it's my first time playing this format.

“But if I'm looking at what Scottie Scheffler's doing on Thursday, whether we're starting at even or he's whatever ahead, I'm going to be in trouble anyways. So I'm trying to go out there, as hard as it is, I'm trying to play each hole individually, each shot, all the cliches."

Things look very different now for both Morikawa and Bradley, who won the Travelers Championship in June and is still in the running for an at-large pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. So is Morikawa, who has not won in each of the past two years, his last victory coming at the 2021 DP World Tour Championship.

“It's been another frustrating and up-and-down year, but he (caddie J.J. Jakovac) looked at me on Sunday last week and just said, 'look, let's just go and have fun.’ It's not easy it to make it here. I can't take it for granted that I I'm here again. I had to grind my butt off to get here again, play well in playoffs, have a couple finishes. Like, it's not easy. There's a reason why only 30 guys make it.

“So you have an opportunity. Rory was 11 back last year (early in the first round and went on to win the FedEx Cup) after so many holes. Like, it's doable. So you got to play some good golf and that's what he did last year. But the way the game felt today, it's just like how do we just continue that and how do we keep that for three more days."

What Is The Lowest Ever Score In Golf?

What is the lowest ever score in golf? The game’s primary objective is to get the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes. Who has achieved the lowest number?

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During the leadership of Kim Jong II of North Korea, the Supreme Leader apparently displayed a preternatural ability for golf. In the only round he ever played, he carded five holes in one and racked up a score of just 34 strokes over a testing 18-hole layout in Pyongyang. Well, that’s it then – the lowest ever score in golf… Stop…

No wait… It’s not quite as simple as that. No one is doubting the integrity of the erstwhile Korean dictator (Supreme Leader, sorry,) his unblemished record speaks for itself. But there may have been a small problem with the scoring system used.

Loyal servants (scoring officials, sorry,) actually used a modified scoring system to mark Kim Jong’s card. They were giving him points - 0 for par, 1 for bogey and 2 for double bogey… So his five aces were actually five bogeys… Were they really? For someone who had never swung a club before, it seems far-fetched… but who’s to question the Supreme Leader…? Not this author, that’s for sure.

Except, we now can’t have that as the lowest ever score in golf. It’s still a little more complicated than being a single number though, there are a few rounds worthy of mention.

Lowest Score over 18 holes

Don't forget Homero Blancas

Australian Rhein Gibson managed a 55 at the River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma on 12 May 2012 (6,700yds par 71). The round included two eagles and 12 birdies.

Other rounds of 55 have been documented but most have been discounted either due to length of the course or the type of round being played.

Homero Blancas shot a 55 in the 1962 Premier Invitational while still an amateur. It’s a course that no longer exists but was apparently extremely short but very tight and tricky.

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Lowest 18-hole Score on Main Professional Men’s Tours

Jim Furyk's card

Jim Furyk carded a 58 in the 2016 Travelers Championship. It’s the lowest score on the PGA Tour.

Other 58s have been recorded by Ryo Ishikawa – in 2010 on the Japan Golf Tour – and by Kim Seong-hyeon, also on the Japan Golf Tour in 2021.

The lowest score ever posted on the DP World Tour is a 59 by Oliver Fisher in the Portugal Masters of 2018 .

The lowest score in a men’s Major championship is a 62 by South Africa’s Branden Grace in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Lowest 18-hole Score on Main Professional Women’s Tours

Annika and scorecard

59 – It was posted by the great Annika Sorenstam in the Standard Register PING tournament on the 2001 LPGA Tour.

The lowest score in a women’s Major is a 61, recorded by three players – Kim Hyo-joo and Lee Jeong-eun of South Korea, and Ireland’s Leona Maguire. All posted their 61s in The Evian Championship.

Low 9-hole Scores

Corey Pavin shot 26 over nine on the PGA Tour

Corey Pavin holds the PGA Tour record for nine holes – a 26 over the front nine in the first round of the 2006 US Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

On the front nine of the 2011 Stanley Ladies Golf Tournament on the Japan LPGA Tour, Shinobu Moromizato shot a nine-under par 27.

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

The Majesticks GC co-captain completed a golfing challenge during Port Adelaide's home game against St Kilda

By Jonny Leighfield Published 26 April 24

Hannah Gregg has described how even making the cut can see her lose money for a tournament week due to the worrying lack of prize funds on the LET

By Paul Higham Published 26 April 24

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TOUR Championship betting preview: Can anyone chase down Scheffler?

New to golf betting? Check out theScore's PGA TOUR wagering guide here . All odds listed are courtesy of theScore Bet and are subject to change.

The FedEx Cup finale is here with the TOUR Championship set to take place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

This is by far the most difficult PGA TOUR event to handicap since it's the only one that has starting strokes. Scottie Scheffler already has a two-shot lead over Viktor Hovland thanks to his position atop the FedEx Cup points list following last week's BMW Championship.

The conversion of points to starting strokes creates a staggered start for the 30-man field. Therefore, we need to handle this event as though we're betting the tournament while it's in play ... if you're wagering on who'll win the TOUR Championship and hoist the FedEx Cup.

Thankfully, oddsmakers understand bettors' issues with this format and provide an additional market - lowest 72-hole score - that removes the starting strokes and can allow us to treat this tournament a little bit more like a traditional one.

• East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta
• Donald Ross design
• 7,346 yards, par 70
• Bermuda-grass greens
• All four par 3s over 195 yards
• Tree-lined, parklands course with emphasis on approach play

Past winners at East Lake

2022: Rory McIlroy 2021: Patrick Cantlay 2020: Dustin Johnson 2019: Rory McIlroy 2018: Tiger Woods 2017: Xander Schauffele 2016: Rory McIlroy 2015: Jordan Spieth 2014: Billy Horschel 2013: Henrik Stenson

The favorites

Scheffler is obviously the heavy favorite to win the FedEx Cup and is also deservedly a co-favorite to post the lowest 72-hole score. However, it's hard to feel comfortable backing the World No. 1 at +145 and hoping he can hang on to his pre-tournament lead for four days.

With that said, DataGolf gives Scheffler a 45.6% chance of winning the $18-million prize, which equates to odds of +119 and makes the +145 seem like value. The data likes Scheffler and his incredible strokes gained: tee-to-green stats, but the number is simply too short with 72 holes of golf remaining.

If forced to choose any wagers from the favorites section of the oddsboard, last week's winner is the most appetizing. A two-shot deficit is nothing for Hovland and makes his +450 price tempting, but +1000 for the low 72-hole score is also a real possibility and pays out considerably more.

The next tier

This is where the betting board becomes a lot more interesting in both the FedEx Cup and low 72-hole score markets.

The first name of note is Xander Schauffele, who has an incredible track record around East Lake. He won the TOUR Championship in his 2017 rookie season, came second to Rory McIlroy in 2019, then posted the lowest 72-hole score in 2020.

However, Schauffele is starting seven shots back of Scheffler, which seems like a mountain too steep to climb considering he also has to chase down Hovland, McIlroy, and Jon Rahm in the process. If looking for Schauffele stock, backing him at +1100 or higher (if you can find it) is your best option.

Lucas Glover at +4000 to post the lowest 72-hole score is worth a look. He's won two of his last three starts and beat everyone in this field two weeks ago at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. East Lake is a course that better fits Glover's game, and his odds are longer than last week's despite the field shrinking by 20 players.

If you're tempted by the FedEx Cup winner market and want to avoid tracking a shadow leaderboard for four rounds, Matt Fitzpatrick at +4000 is the play from this range. He played great last week in Chicago and was in contention until the final few holes. His odds to post the lowest 72-hole score are +3300, which he'll likely have to do in order to win the tournament, so take a few extra points on the +4000 and cross your fingers.

We're at the point of the oddsboards where looking at the low 72-hole score is really the only option. McIlroy is the only player to have won the FedEx Cup with a starting score of 4-under or lower since the staggered start was implemented in 2019.

Tommy Fleetwood posting the lowest 72-hole score would be too perfect. He's struggled mightily to get across the finish line at a PGA TOUR event, so how fitting would it be if he shoots the lowest score but still doesn't get credited with a win? His recent form suggests this is a real possibility.

Aside from Fleetwood, only Si Woo Kim (+6600) is a viable option for the low 72-hole score market. He's the best ball-striker of the long shots, ranking eighth in the field in strokes gained: ball-striking (off the tee plus approach) over the past 24 rounds. He's historically played very well at Donald Ross-designed courses, most notably Sedgefield, host of the Wyndham Championship.

Tommy Fleetwood (+2200, low 72-hole score)

For both bets this week, we're targeting the low 72-hole score market to avoid dealing with the staggered-start leaderboard.

We'll start with Fleetwood at +2200, which is the shortest price you should be making this bet at.

The Englishman is fifth in the field in strokes gained: total over the past 50 and 24 rounds. He's earned a top-10 result in five of the past seven events he's played while demonstrating a well-rounded game along the way.

Fleetwood will have the opportunity to play extremely aggressively by playing from behind prior to Round 1. If the game he's carried with him since mid-June shows up at East Lake, expect him to make a ton of birdies and narrow the gap on the current leaders with the lowest 72-hole score.

Lucas Glover (+4000, low 72-hole score)

Glover at +4000 is about as short as you'll find him this week, and it's still worth a bet. He's been playing lights out for nearly two months. His T22 from last week may not be the top-10 result we've become accustomed to, but he still gained four strokes on approach shots.

In Glover's last seven starts, he has two victories and three additional top-six showings. We're not asking him to win this week, but rather to post the lowest 72-hole score at a venue that will allow him to separate from the majority of the field due to his elite iron play. Like every week with Glover, it'll all come down to the flatstick.

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Former fgcu men's golfer matches second-lowest score in korn ferry tour history.

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Former Eagles' standout men's golfer Frankie Capan III shot a 13-under 58 Thursday at the Veritex Bank Championship's opening round in Arlington, Texas.

Capan was chasing the lowest professional golf round in history, and he didn't even realize it until he turned in his scorecard after the round. The FGCU product thought the Texas Rangers Golf Club was a par 72, but it really is a par 71.

Frankie Capan III had no idea he shot a 58 😳 @frankiecapan @VBChampionship pic.twitter.com/suv16TTAer — Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 25, 2024

The Minnesota native was 13 under through 16 holes, and he was on the prowl for another birdie to carve a new page in the golfing history books. Capan found the cup and was able to score a 58, surpassing phenom Scottie Scheffler's 2020 score of 59.

Scottie's first L in four weeks @frankiecapan carded a 58 in the first round of the @VBChampionship -- the same course Scottie Scheffler shot a 59 in 2020. pic.twitter.com/8TrtFzJeNF — Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 25, 2024

Capan has now matched the second-lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history.

Signed, sealed, delivered ✍️ @frankiecapan matched the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history with a 58 in round one @vbchampionship . pic.twitter.com/epRoLLBkNy — Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 25, 2024

Over the course of the first round, Capan was able to hole 11 birdies, six pars and one eagle. He will now head into Friday's round two match in the driver's seat, sitting in first place.

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Frankie Capan III shoots 13-under 58 in Korn Ferry Tour event at Texas Rangers Golf Club

ARLINGTON, Texas — Frankie Capan III shot a 13-under 58 on Thursday in the Veritex Bank Championship at Texas Rangers Golf Club to tie the Korn Ferry Tour record for relation to par and match the second-lowest score in tour history.

Capan played an eight-hole stretch in 9 under, making an eagle on the par-5 ninth and following with seven straight birdies. He two-putted for par on the par-4 17th, then hit into a fairway bunker on the par-5 18th and ended up saving par with a 7-foot putt.

“Whenever you’re out there playing well and going low, I really just wanted to keep going as much as I could,” Capan said. “I know this course might be gettable the next few days, so just tried to get as many as I could.”

Cristobal Del Solar shot the lowest round in Korn Ferry Tour history with a 13-under 57 in February in the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia. There have been 13 sub-60 rounds on the Korn Ferry Tour, six in the last 370 days

The 58 broke the course record of 59 set by Masters champion Scottie Scheffler in a casual round with friends on May 3, 2020.

“When someone said it was for 58, I was excited because I know Scottie Scheffler shot 59, so whenever you can beat that guy, especially nowadays, I mean, you’ve got to take advantage,” Capan said.

The 24-year-old Capan, making his 31st Korn Ferry Tour star, played at the University of Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast He previously shot 59 in the final round of a high school state championship

“I shot 59 before, so I thought, you know, may as well break that,” Capan said. “It was a lot of fun out there. After the first four, five holes, I just felt really comfortable with my game and where I was at.”

Trent Phillips was second after a 61. Tim Widing, the winner of the LECOM Suncoast Classic last week, had a 62.

The wind gusted to 30 mph on the mostly cloudy day, with a high temperature of 78.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Frankie Capan III opens in 58, Miles Russell shoots 68 at Veritex Bank Championship

Daily Wrap Up

Miles Russell carded a 68 in his second-ever Korn Ferry Tour start Thursday at the Veritex Bank Championship. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

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Miles Russell, 15, has played five rounds on the Korn Ferry Tour. He has shot under par in each one.

Russell opened the Veritex Bank Championship in 3-under 68, playing his first 17 holes bogey-free before a three-putt bogey at the par-5 18th hole Thursday at Texas Rangers Golf Club. Remarkably, he’s still outside the projected cut line; 79 players stand 4 under or better after the opening round, with the top 65 and ties making the 36-hole cut in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Russell, the reigning AJGA Boys Junior Player of the Year, earned his spot at the Veritex Bank Championship with a T20 at last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, into which the left-handed Floridian received a sponsor exemption. He validated that spot and then some with four rounds under par – 66, 68, 70, 66 – to become the youngest player to record a top-25 finish on the PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour, on record (since 1983).

Russell proved Thursday that his game travels well. After opening with eight straight pars in his afternoon round, he caught fire with birdies on Nos. 9, 11, 12 and 16. Although the day ended with a disappointing three-putt bogey from 25 feet at the finishing hole, missing a 4-footer for par, he’s well within striking distance of the cut line into Friday’s second round.

Russell will begin Friday 10 strokes back of leader Frankie Capan III, who shot a course-record, 13-under 58 in the opening round, matching the second-lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history.

Here’s more from Thursday’s opening round at the Veritex Bank Championship:

Leaderboard

Things to know.

• Frankie Capan III cards 13-under 58 to tie the Korn Ferry Tour record for lowest 18-hole score relative to par, in addition to tying the second-lowest 18-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history
• Capan makes 11 birdies – including seven in a row on his back nine – and one eagle, tying the second-most birdies and eagles in an 18-hole round (12) in Korn Ferry Tour history
• Trent Phillips cards career-low round of 10-under 61, sits three strokes off the lead in solo second
• Tim Widing , who won last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, opens in 9-under 62 and ties his career-low round

Charting the leader

Frankie Capan III (1st/-13)

• Cards 13-under 58 to tie the Korn Ferry Tour record for lowest 18-hole score relative to par, in addition to tying the second-lowest 18-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history

Lowest 18-hole score relative to par in Korn Ferry Tour history

Lowest 18-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history

• April 21, 2023 – Mac Meissner / 12-under 59 / LECOM Suncoast Classic / Round 2
• June 8, 2023 – Michael Feagles / 12-under 59 / BMW Charity Pro-Am / Round 1
• August 27, 2023 – David Kocher / 12-under 59 / Albertsons Boise Open / Round 4
• February 8, 2024 – Cristobal Del Solar / 13-under 57 / Astara Golf Championship / Round 1
• February 9, 2024 – Aldrich Potgieter / 11-under 59 / Astara Golf Championship / Round 2
• April 25, 2024 – Frankie Capan III / 13-under 58 / Veritex Bank Championship / Round 1
• Sam Saunders holds record for most birdies and eagles in an 18-hole round in Tour history (13 birdies/2017 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance/12-under 59/Round1
• Ties the second-lowest birdie-eagle streak relative to par in Korn Ferry Tour history with 9-under par stretch from Nos. 9-16 (Eagle-Birdie-Birdie-Birdie-Birdie-Birdie-Birdie-Birdie)

Lowest birdie-eagle streak relative to par in Korn Ferry Tour history

• Holds first career 18-hole lead/co-lead in what is his 31st career start on the Korn Ferry Tour; his previous career-high 18-hole position was T2/2023 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship/finished T11
• Previous career-low round in PGA TOUR-sanctioned play was 9-under 62/2023 Memorial Health Championship/Round 2
• Finished T30 at 2023 Veritex Bank Championship, his only previous appearance at the event
• Finished No. 51 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie last season, earning fully exempt status for the 2024 season
• Finished T8 at Final Stage of 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry); he was one of eight players who advanced through each stage of Q-School, beginning with pre-qualifying, in 2022
• Played two seasons at the University of Alabama (2018-20) and two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University (2020-22), earning one victory and garnering All-Atlantic Sun Conference Second Team honors in 2021 and 2022 while at Florida Gulf Coast
• Won back-to-back individual state titles at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III Championships in 2017 and 2018, winning the latter by 10 strokes off the strength of a second-round 11-under 59 on the Sonoran Desert Course at Omni Tucson National Resort

Frankie Capan III on when a sub-60 round first entered his mind… “I'd say going to the back nine. When I turned at 6 (under par)… the front nine's playing at shorter than the back nine, so you might have a few more birdie opportunities. At the same time, I'm really just still trying to hit every shot, just stay really patient and present out there to where… it was on the radar, but I wasn't really focused too much on it. I actually forgot it was par 71. I thought it was par 72, so when I got to 13 I knew that, OK, there's 59. I shot 59 before, so I thought, you know, may as well break that. I didn't know it was par 71, but was really just trying to birdie No. 17, No. 18, but unfortunately didn't get either one. Yeah, made like an eight foot slider on 18 to shoot 58. It was pretty cool.”

Capan on his focus during the round… “I knew where I was at the whole time out there. I thought it was cool, it was fun, but at the same time like you're hitting those shots. I think that's the part I fell in love with the most is just enjoying being out there, hitting great golf shots. That to me is where I get the most joy. So instead of thinking about a number or anything like that, I just want to keep hitting great shots. Obviously going lower is a result of just staying present and hitting those great shots.”

Capan on what stuck out about his round… “I think the funny thing is I look back on my round and I actually didn't capitalize on a lot of the easy holes. Like No. 1, short par 4, didn't birdie. No. 7, really short par 4, didn't birdie. I just was always in the proper spot. I would say the best shot I hit all day, I had a 7 iron into No. 9, par 5, and hit it to like four feet. That was probably the best shot I hit, because I was in between clubs and the wind was kind of swirling off the left, so (I) was able to kind of flight a 7 iron in and stuff it in there and made eagle. It gave us a nice boost going to the back nine.

Additional Player Notes

• Phillips is the first player with three eagles in the same round on Tour since Yuxin Lin/2023 Price Cutter Charity Championship/Round 1
• Tim Widing (3rd/-9), who won last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, posts bogey-free 9-under 62 to tie his career-low round (9-under 62/2023 Utah Championship/Round 1)
• Hunter Eichhorn (T9/-7) leads the eight open qualifiers; his only previous PGA TOUR-sanctioned start was at the 2023 Veritex Bank Championship (finished T60) as an open qualifier
• Reigning champion Spencer Levin (T50/-4) opens title defense bid with four birdies, one eagle, and two bogeys en route to 4-under 67
• Arlington, Texas native, University of Texas-Arlington alum and conditional member Caleb Hicks (T80/-3), competing as a sponsor exemption, is seeking his first made cut in what is his second career Korn Ferry Tour start (MC/2024 Astara Chile Classic)
• Stout, a freshman at Oklahoma State University who earned co-medalist honors Wednesday at the 2024 Big 12 Conference Championship, countered two bogeys with six birdies in the first round of what is his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned start
• Russell, age 15, who became the youngest player to make a cut in Korn Ferry Tour event at last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, parred his first eight holes, made four birdies and bogeyed the par-5 18th en route to a 3-under 68; he finished T20 at last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic and became the youngest player on record (i.e. – since 1983) to record a top-25 on either the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA TOUR

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Frankie Capan III makes history with a 13-under 58 on Korn Ferry Tour

Andrew Wevers

Frankie Capan III tied the lowest under-par round in Korn Ferry Tour history on Thursday.

Capan, a Minnesota native and product of Florida Gulf Coast University, turned in a 13-under 58 at the Veritex Bank Championship in Texas, breaking Scottie Scheffler's course record.

Capan was four under through his first eight holes at Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington before making an eagle at the par-5 ninth. He proceeded to roll off seven consecutive birdies on the back, finishing with back-to-back pars on his final two holes for a 29-29 finish.

Interestingly it wasn’t even the lowest score on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. In February there were two sub-60 scores at the Astara Golf Championship thanks to Cristobal Del Solar (57) and 19-year-old Aldrich Potgieter (59). Those scores came with asterisks of sorts, as the course was a par 70 and playing at just 6,254 yards, a distance extremely short by pro standards made even shorter by the course’s elevation of 8,600 feet above sea level. For context, the Texas Rangers layout is a par-71 layout measured at 7,010 yards.

There have been just six other 58s recorded on world-ranked professional golf tours, including one at the KFT circuit (Stephan Jaeger at the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic). This group does not include Bryson DeChambeau’s 58 at a LIV Golf event in West Virginia last year, as the Saudi league does not qualify for Official World Golf Ranking points. Jim Furyk has the PGA Tour record with a 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

Capan, 24, is in his second year on the Korn Ferry Tour. He entered the week ranked 30th on the season-long points list, with the top 30 earning PGA Tour cards for the following season.

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Frankie Capan III shoots 13-under 58 in Korn Ferry Tour event at Texas Rangers Golf Club

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Frankie Capan III shot a 13-under 58 on Thursday in the Veritex Bank Championship at Texas Rangers Golf Club to tie the Korn Ferry Tour record for relation to par and match the second-lowest score in tour history.

Capan played an eight-hole stretch in 9 under, making an eagle on the par-5 ninth and following with seven straight birdies. He two-putted for par on the par-4 17th, then hit into a fairway bunker on the par-5 18th and ended up saving par with a 7-foot putt.

“Whenever you’re out there playing well and going low, I really just wanted to keep going as much as I could,” Capan said. “I know this course might be gettable the next few days, so just tried to get as many as I could.”

Cristobal Del Solar shot the lowest round in Korn Ferry Tour history with a 13-under 57 in February in the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia. There have been 13 sub-60 rounds on the Korn Ferry Tour, six in the last 370 days

The 58 broke the course record of 59 set by Masters champion Scottie Scheffler in a casual round with friends on May 3, 2020.

“When someone said it was for 58, I was excited because I know Scottie Scheffler shot 59, so whenever you can beat that guy, especially nowadays, I mean, you’ve got to take advantage,” Capan said.

The 24-year-old Capan, making his 31st Korn Ferry Tour star, played at the University of Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast He previously shot 59 in the final round of a high school state championship

“I shot 59 before, so I thought, you know, may as well break that,” Capan said. “It was a lot of fun out there. After the first four, five holes, I just felt really comfortable with my game and where I was at.”

Trent Phillips was second after a 61. Tim Widing, the winner of the LECOM Suncoast Classic last week, had a 62.

The wind gusted to 30 mph on the mostly cloudy day, with a high temperature of 78.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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Former Alabama golfer shoots 13-under 58 on Korn Ferry Tour

April 25, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.

by The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas — Frankie Capan III shot a 13-under 58 on Thursday in the Veritex Bank Championship at Texas Rangers Golf Club to tie the Korn Ferry Tour record for a single round in relation to par and match the second-lowest score in tour history.

Capan played an eight-hole stretch in 9 under, making an eagle on the par-5 ninth and following with seven straight birdies. He two-putted for par on the par-4 17th, then hit into a fairway bunker on the par-5 18th and ended up saving par with a seven-foot putt.

"Whenever you're out there playing well and going low, I really just wanted to keep going as much as I could," Capan said. "I know this course might be gettable the next few days, so just tried to get as many as I could."

Cristobal Del Solar shot the lowest round in Korn Ferry Tour history with a 13-under 57 in February in the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia. There have been 13 sub-60 rounds on the Korn Ferry Tour, with six of those in the past 370 days.

Capan's 58 broke the course record of 59 set by PGA Tour star Scottie Scheffler in a casual round with friends on May 3, 2020. Scheffler, who recently won the Masters for the second time in two years, is atop the Official World Golf Ranking and has won four of his past five starts.

The only player to beat Scheffler in that stretch?

Chattanooga resident and Houston Open winner Stephan Jaeger , whose 58 at the Ellie Mae Classic in July 2016 set a Korn Ferry Tour record that stood until Del Solar went lower this year .

"When someone said it was for 58, I was excited because I know Scottie Scheffler shot 59, so whenever you can beat that guy, especially nowadays, I mean, you've got to take advantage," Capan said.

The 24-year-old Capan, making his 31st Korn Ferry Tour start, played at the University of Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast University. He previously shot a 59 in the final round of a high school state championship tournament in his native Minnesota.

"I shot 59 before, so I thought, you know, may as well break that," Capan said. "It was a lot of fun out there. After the first four, five holes, I just felt really comfortable with my game and where I was at."

Trent Phillips was second after a 61. Tim Widing, the winner of the Suncoast Classic last week, had a 62.

The wind gusted to 30 mph on the mostly cloudy day, with a high temperature of 78.

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