This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
TOUR Championship
Atlanta, Georgia
East Lake Golf Club - Par 70 - 7,346 yards
Field - 30 entrants
The Preview
A five-year PGA Tour exemption and the Calamity Jane trophy accompany the $15M top prize that awaits the winner at this week's TOUR Championship, which marks the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs and an extraordinary 2019-20 campaign. We'll have a Labor Day finish in Atlanta at East Lake Golf Club where an exclusive 30-man field is guaranteed 72 holes. Not everyone is given an equal chance to find the podium, however, as the current format introduced last year features staggered starting positions based on the points list at the conclusion of the BMW Championship. East Lake features tree-lined fairways, but the rough isn't anywhere near as penal as we saw at Olympia Fields CC last week and bombers can generally swing away to find a length advantage on this par-70 layout that stretches to almost 7,400 yards.
Recent Champions
2019 - Rory McIlroy
2018 - Tiger Woods
2017 - Xander Schauffele
2016 - Rory McIlroy
2015 - Jordan Spieth
2014 - Billy Horschel
2013 - Henrik Stenson
2012 - Brandt Snedeker
2011 - Bill Haas
2010 - Jim Furyk
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
GIR percentage
Driving distance
SG: Putting
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Jon Rahm - $47
Coming off a playoff victory at the BMW Championship where he posted a final-round 64 and then sank a 66-foot birdie putt to defeat World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Rahm leapt from ninth to second in the FedExCup standings as he'll begin the TOUR Championship with an eight-under handicap ahead of Friday's first round. The Spaniard ranks second in both SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green since the PGA's restart in June, though he's also excelled with the flat stick through the first two legs of the playoffs with 8.4 strokes gained putting dating to the Northern Trust. Additionally, Rahm leads the Tour in total driving and ranks fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee this season.
Webb Simpson - $41
Simpson is likely going to be chalky and it's mathematically possible to combine him at $41 with two of the top-3 players in salary (Johnson, Thomas, Rahm) on the board while deploying a stars and scrubs strategy. Nonetheless, he's definitely worth consideration with a six-under head start after a week of rest in preparation for East Lake, notably dropping just one spot in the FedExCup standings despite sitting out the BMW Championship. Simpson is first in SG: Putting and second in SG: Approach over his last eight rounds, which led him to top-6 finishes at the Northern Trust and Wyndham Championship. On the season, he paces the entire Tour in birdie and scoring average while ranking sixth in GIR percentage, seventh in scrambling and 11th in proximity.
Glue Guys
Daniel Berger - $38
There are only six options to choose from when looking at a wide salary range from $36 to $46, where Simpson and Xander Schauffele should serve as the most popular plays. This provides what could be a slight pivot opportunity to Berger, who just finished outside of the top-third on the BMW Championship leaderboard but gained 1.4 strokes on his approaches during Sunday's final round en route to four birdies and a hole-out eagle from 118 yards on the par-4 seventh. Berger ranks ninth or better among this week's field in every Strokes Gained subcategory since the Tour's schedule resumed this summer, and he should enjoy the bermuda greens down there at East Lake.
Tony Finau - $31
Finau racked up five birdies throughout his final eight holes last week at Olympia Fields CC to join the top-5 late, closing with a five-under 65 as he nearly matched Rahm's low score of the day. He jumped nine slots to 20th in the FedExCup standings as a result, earning a two-under starting position for the TOUR Championship. Finau has gained strokes off the tee in all 10 of his starts dating to the Charles Schwab Challenge and he's eighth on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Bargain Bin
Hideki Matsuyama - $24
Matsuyama's salary doesn't reflect the fact that he just tied for third at the BMW Championship where he held a share of the 54-hole lead and ultimately climbed to 10th in the FedExCup standings, so he'll begin the TOUR Championship at four-under-par. He led the BMW field in SG: Around the Green while ranking second in both SG: Tee-to-Green and scrambling, but he's also gained an average of 2.5 strokes on approaches per event over his last 10 starts. Matsuyama notched two top-5 finishes in five attempts at East Lake prior to the playoff finale's shift to the new format last year.
Scottie Scheffler - $21
Scheffler comes in at seventh in SG: Off-the-Tee since the restart, which has guided him to a current streak of five consecutive top-25s beginning back at the Memorial Tournament. He's gained an impressive 7.1 strokes from tee to green per tournament during this span, likely securing Rookie of the Year honors in the process. Scheffler ranks seventh in birdie average, 15th in driving distance and fifth in par-4 scoring average in his first full season on Tour.
