The Tour Championship
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| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Established | 1987 |
| Course(s) | East Lake Golf Club |
| Par | 70 |
| Yardage | 7,304 |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Purse | $7,500,000 |
| Month played | September |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 257 Tiger Woods (2007) |
| To-par | -23 Tiger Woods (2007) |
| Current champion | |
| Phil Mickelson | |
The Tour Championship (typeset as THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola) was historically the final event of golf's PGA Tour season. Since 2007, it has been the final event of the FedEx Cup, the competition for the first official championship trophy for the PGA Tour season. From 1987 to 1996, several courses hosted the event. Beginning in 1997, the event alternated between Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas and East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia; since 2004, East Lake has been the event's permanent home. It is one of the richest tournaments on the tour.
Through 2006, the top 30 money winners on the PGA Tour after the penultimate event qualified for the event. It took place in early November, the week after the comparable event in Europe, the Volvo Masters, which allowed players who are members of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour to play in both end of season events. After the Tour Championship, the money list for the season was finalized. There were, and still are, a number of additional events between the Tour Championship and Christmas which are recognized by the PGA Tour, but prize money won in them is unofficial. Also, because this tournament's field is not as large as other golf tournaments, there is no 36-hole cut; all players who start the event are credited with making the cut and receive some prize money.
Since 1998, the Tour Championship winner, if not already exempt by other means, receives a 3-year PGA Tour exemption (Category-5)
In 2007, the Tour Championship moved from its November date to a date in mid-September, where it ends a four-tournament "Chase for the FedEx Cup"; this was announced on the Wednesday of the week of the 2005 event. As in past years, 30 players qualify for the event, but the basis for qualification is FedEx Cup points amassed during the season instead of prize money. Despite the tournament's status as the final FedEx Cup event, the trophy is not necessarily awarded to the winner of the Tour Championship. The FedEx Cup instead goes to the player who has accumulated the most FedEx Cup points for the entire season. In 2007, Tiger Woods won both the 2007 Tour Championship and the inaugural FedEx Cup. However, in 2008, the Tour Championship was won by Camilo Villegas, while Vijay Singh won the FedEx Cup.
The season, however, does not end at the Tour Championship — 2007 was also the inaugural year for the Tour's Fall Series (also known as the "Quest for the Card"), which determines the rest of the Top 125 players eligible for the following year's FedEx Cup.
Contents |
[edit] Tournament hosts
| Years | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-09 | East Lake Golf Club | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 | Champions Golf Club | Houston, Texas |
| 1995-96 | Southern Hills Country Club | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 1993-94 | The Olympic Club (Lake Course) | San Francisco, California |
| 1991-92 | Pinehurst Resort (No. 2 Course) | Pinehurst, North Carolina |
| 1989 | Harbour Town Golf Links | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina |
| 1988 | Pebble Beach Golf Links | Pebble Beach, California |
| 1987 | Oak Hills Country Club | San Antonio, Texas |
[edit] Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Score | 1st Prize ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola | ||||
| 2009 | Phil Mickelson |  United States |
271 (-9) | 1,350,000 |
| 2008 | Camilo Villegas |  Colombia |
273 (-7) | 1,260,000 |
| 2007 | Tiger Woods | United States |
257 (-23) | 1,260,000 |
| 2006 | Adam Scott |  Australia |
269 (-11) | 1,170,000 |
| 2005 | Bart Bryant | United States |
263 (-17) | 1,170,000 |
| 2004 | Retief Goosen |  South Africa |
269 (-11) | 1,080,000 |
| 2003 | Chad Campbell | United States |
268 (-16) | 1,080,000 |
| 2002 | Vijay Singh |  Fiji |
268 (-12) | 900,000 |
| The Tour Championship | ||||
| 2001 | Mike Weir |  Canada |
270 (-14) | 900,000 |
| 2000 | Phil Mickelson | United States |
267 (-13) | 900,000 |
| 1999 | Tiger Woods | United States |
269 (-15) | 900,000 |
| 1998 | Hal Sutton | United States |
274 (-6) | 720,000 |
| 1997 | David Duval | United States |
273 (-11) | 720,000 |
| 1996 | Tom Lehman | United States |
268 (-12) | 540,000 |
| 1995 | Billy Mayfair | United States |
280 (E) | 540,000 |
| 1994 | Mark McCumber | United States |
274 (-10) | 540,000 |
| 1993 | Jim Gallagher, Jr. | United States |
277 (-7) | 540,000 |
| 1992 | Paul Azinger | United States |
276 (-8) | 360,000 |
| 1991 | Craig Stadler | United States |
277 (-7) | 360,000 |
| Nabisco Championship | ||||
| 1990 | Jodie Mudd | United States |
273 (-11) | 450,000 |
| 1989 | Tom Kite | United States |
276 (-8) | 450,000 |
| 1988 | Curtis Strange | United States |
279 (-9) | 360,000 |
| 1987 | Tom Watson | United States |
268 (-12) | 360,000 |
[edit] 2009 Tournament purse
Breakdown of the $7,500,000 purse for the 2009 Tour Championship
Prizes shown below are awarded for finishes in the Tour Championship itself. See also: FedEx Cup bonus pool payouts
| Finish | Earnings ($) | Finish | Earnings ($) | Finish | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,350,000 | 11 | 202,500 | 21 | 141,000 |
| 2 | 810,000 | 12 | 192,000 | 22 | 138,000 |
| 3 | 517,500 | 13 | 183,000 | 23 | 135,000 |
| 4 | 360,000 | 14 | 174,000 | 24 | 132,000 |
| 5 | 300,000 | 15 | 165,000 | 25 | 129,000 |
| 6 | 270,000 | 16 | 159,000 | 26 | 126,000 |
| 7 | 255,000 | 17 | 153,000 | 27 | 124,500 |
| 8 | 240,000 | 18 | 150,000 | 28 | 123,000 |
| 9 | 225,000 | 19 | 147,000 | 29 | 121,500 |
| 10 | 213,000 | 20 | 144,000 | 30 | 120,000 |
[edit] External links
- Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
- Past Results of the Tour Championship: 1987-2008 -- Complete field final scores and earnings of each event played
- East Lake Golf Club official site
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