It all comes down to this…the finale of the 2021 PGA Tour season is upon us and the champion will be crowned at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The top-30 in the FedEx standings will be in attendance and the playoff format will be implemented. Last week’s BMW Champion Patrick Cantlay will pace the field starting at 10 under Par…while the subsequent golfers fall behind at different numbers. Dustin Johnson won last year’s championship sitting at P1…but he is the only to do so. There will not be any cuts this week, so scoring is a premium. All of the research…all of the playing…it all comes down to this, so let’s see what we have learned this season.

East Lake is the oldest golf course in the ATL and is a pretty basic golf course. Scoring may be high, but driving the ball is difficult enough that it may hinder some of the long-bombers. Last week, Caves Valley initially seemed to be a course that played well for the risk-taker and my thought was pretty much spot-on. Bryson DeChambeau nearly defeated Cantlay and after a long OT session, Cantlay nudged him out of the way…but it won’t be so simple this week. Past course history will be crucial for me…as well as all-around game. I want golfers who have distance, but are pretty accurate…good putters…and good scramblers. If they meet most of this criteria, consider them a lock. Weather may play a factor on the first day due to the Hurricane Ida that came through, but it should be smooth sailing after that.

Tier 1: Justin Thomas ($11,000)

The course history is way too strong here…in 5 starts Thomas has never finished worse than 7th. Thomas ranks 3rd in Approach and Strokes gained Tee-to-Green. Accuracy would be the one thing that scares me a little, but he loves this place. Starting at 4 under Par…CBS Sports has him at 16/1 to win.

Tier 2: Harris English ($8,700)

You knew I had to pick the rock steady English right?!?!? The 10th best putter and a game that virtually has zero weaknesses…it is a no-brainer to have Harris English in your lineup. He’s from Georgia too for what that’s worth. 33/1 to win and he’ll be starting at 4 under just like Thomas.

Tier 3: Daniel Berger ($5,800)

When looking at my statistics…one name kept coming up…and that is Daniel Berger. The Florida State product is ranked 5th in Approach and has an all-around game similar to English. He will be starting at even par, but I think he can contend here…he has never finished worse than 15th at East Lake. I really wanted to go Horschel since he has won here…but the game doesn’t lie and Berger does it all. He is my dark horse at 125/1.

References: Rotowire, PGA Tour, Wiki

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