Tag: East Lake Golf Club

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan booed during 2023 Tour Championship trophy ceremony

Monahan got the Roger Goodell treatment Sunday night.

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PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan got the Roger Goodell treatment on Sunday night.

Goodell, the longtime commissioner of the NFL, is often booed when he speaks at events like the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony or the NFL Draft. Monahan got the same response when he stepped to the mic to introduce Viktor Hovland as the winner of the 2023 Tour Championship and the PGA Tour’s season-long race for the FedEx Cup.

The commissioner recently returned to work after taking some time off to deal with a health issue, but did give his annual State of the PGA Tour press conference ahead of this week’s season finale at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Monahan addressed his health but was silent on the pending deal between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

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Final round of 2023 Tour Championship resumes after weather delay in Atlanta

The final round was suspended shortly after the last group teed off.

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Shortly after the last group teed off on Sunday afternoon the 2023 Tour Championship was suspended.

At 1.57 p.m. ET the final round of the PGA Tour’s season finale was suspended due to inclement weather. Viktor Hovland, the 54-hole leader, held a six-shot advantage at 21 under over Xander Schauffele when the horn was blown at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

At the time of the delay, all 30 players were on the course. The first group off, featuring Taylor Moore and Emiliano Grillo, is through 15 holes, while the last group of Hovland and Schauffele is currently on No. 2.

On Saturday the third round of the Tour Championship was delayed for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The Tour announced the range would open at 3:15 p.m. ET and play would resume at 3:50 p.m. ET, ending the 1 hour and 53 minute delay.

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Five years ago, fans stormed East Lake to follow Tiger Woods march to victory

Tiger Woods called it a stampede. It felt more like The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

ATLANTA — Tiger Woods called it a stampede. It felt more like The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

Five years ago, as Woods marched downhill to the 18th green on the verge of his 80th PGA Tour title, 1,877 days since he hoisted his last trophy at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. The ropes opened behind him, and a sea of humanity fueled by alcohol blew past troopers and knocked over volunteer marshals to celebrate the long-awaited victory as if attending Tiger Woods-tock.

I was traipsing along in Tiger’s gallery that memorable day when it turned into bedlam, and I remember flashing my inside the ropes badge just before an officer built like a linebacker was about to flatten me Adam Hadwin-style, but somehow he pulled up just short and I survived.

I have so many fond memories of one the coolest tournaments I’ve ever had the pleasure of covering. I couldn’t help chuckling when after Woods rolled in his fourth birdie in five holes on Saturday, NBC’s Roger Maltbie sidled up to him and said, “You play a lot like that golfer Tiger Woods.”

Woods broke his concentration for a moment to share a smile with Maltbie before continuing his assault on par.

Woods grabbed the lead in the opening round with a 65, and golf fans were on red alert that something special was in the making. Former NBA All-Star Vince Carter walked the front nine inside the ropes with Tiger’s group on Saturday while former Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn, whose home backs up to the fifth tee at East Lake, climbed out of his La-Z-Boy and poked his head over a mesh fence to watch Woods blast a drive 320 yards, stuff a wedge to 7 feet and can the putt for birdie.

His Comeback Tour after undergoing a fourth back surgery that fused a vertebrae in April 2017 had been nothing short of miraculous and the faithful showed their enthusiasm for Tiger from the moment he arrived on the golf course with a 3-stroke lead over Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. It was just the first hole, but when Tiger’s 10-foot birdie putt rattled in, it was like a roundhouse right that floored McIlroy. He limped home in 74.

Woods led by five at the turn, but it got a little dicey near the end after Billy Horschel posted 9 under and Tiger’s lead was cut to two. On 18, there was still the formality of getting out of a greenside bunker, but for the Tiger faithful at East Lake, he had already done it: He’d made Sundays great again.

The whole scene was too good to be true, but it happened in front of our eyes.

Fans lined tee boxes and fairways elbow to elbow, 10, 15-deep, and all day long, loving superlatives fluttered around the fairways like confetti. “It’s your time,” a woman yelped. “You’ve got this, Tiger,” a man screamed. When Tiger birdied the 13th hole, the crowd circling the green exploded. Moments later, a second eruption of cheers emerged from the Grey Goose 19th hole and other hospitality tents as the TV delay showed the putt drop.

The crowd swelled as Woods grew closer to victory. Fans climbed trees, and dads placed daughters on their shoulders for a better vantage point. They exhorted as if at a religious revival, breaking into spontaneous chants of “U-S-A” and “Ti-ger, Ti-ger.”

When fans broke through the ropes, it was the culmination of an incredible celebration of golf, and it reminded Woods of his rookie year in 1997 at the Western Open in Chicago coming down the last hole.

“That was a little bit like that, but not this fevered pitch,” Woods said during his press conference.

Standing on the 18th green after the trophy ceremony, Woods wore the biggest smile on his face. NBC’s Dan Hicks turned to a bunch of us writers and said, “Did you ever see a scene like that?”

Who knew then that this was just an appetizer to what Tiger would do eight months later down the road in Augusta.

Viktor Hovland leads by a touchdown in pursuit of $18 million payday at Tour Championship

There’s a lot of hungry players behind me who can shoot 61 tomorrow. I’ve got to be ready.”

ATLANTA — It’s Viktor Hovland’s world right now; we’re just living in it.

The 25-year-old Norwegian shot a 4-under 66 at East Lake Golf in Atlanta to improve to 20-under par and open a six-stroke lead at the Tour Championship, the third and final leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Hovland carded back-to-back birdies at Nos. 6 and 7, the latter a 12-foot putt. He held a four-stroke advantage at 18 under when play was suspended due to lightning in the area.

“We thought last Sunday was good,” CBS’s Frank Nobilo said. “This is every bit as good.”

Hovland came back out when play resumed and made back-to-back birdies at Nos. 12 and 13. He made a bogey at 14, but drilled a 6-iron to 15 feet at the water-guarded 212-yard par-3 15th.

“The pin was on the right which made the green feel a little bigger for me,” he said. “It was a perfect 6-iron.”

While a touchdown seems like it should be an insurmountable edge — it is the largest 54-hole lead lost in Tour history — Scottie Scheffler blew a lead of the same amount last year in trying to win the $18 million winner’s prize. That’s over 192 million Krone for Hovland.

“That’s a lot of cash,” he said. “But we’re here to win tournaments. There’s a lot of hungry players behind me who can shoot 61 tomorrow. I’ve got to be ready.”

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2023 Tour Championship Sunday final-round tee times, TV/streaming info

Everything you need to know for the final round at East Lake.

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It all comes down to this.

One round and 18 holes separate one golfer from winning the 2023 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs. And the golfer with the best shot (by far) of winning?

Viktor Hovland.

The 25-year-old from Norway shot 4-under 66 on Saturday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, moving to 20 under for the tournament. Hovland, who won the BMW Championship last week and the Memorial Tournament earlier in the season, leads by six shots heading into the final round. Xander Schauffele is second at 14 under, and Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley are tied for third at 13 under. Six shots matches the largest 54-hole lead on Tour this year.

Last year, Rory McIlroy trailed by six heading to Sunday before chasing down Scottie Scheffler for the FedEx Cup.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the final round of the 2023 Tour Championship. All times Eastern.

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Sunday tee times

Tee time Players
10:56 a.m.
Emiliano Grillo, Taylor Moore
11:07 a.m.
Jordan Spieth, Jason Day
11:18 a.m.
Si Woo Kim, Sungjae Im
11:29 a.m.
Tony Finau, Tom Kim
11:40 a.m.
Rickie Fowler, Nick Taylor
11:56 a.m.
Corey Conners, Russell Henley
12:07 p.m.
Tyrrell Hatton, Brian Harman
12:18 p.m.
Lucas Glover, Sam Burns
12:29 p.m.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood
12:40 p.m.
Sepp Straka, Max Homa
12:56 p.m.
Adam Schenk, Rory McIlroy
1:07 p.m.
Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay
1:18 p.m.
Wyndham Clark, Jon Rahm
1:29 p.m.
Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa
1:40 p.m.
Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele

How to watch

You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming. All times Eastern.

Sunday, August 27

TV

Golf Channel: 12-1:30 p.m.
CBS: 1:30-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 12-1:30 p.m.

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2023 Tour Championship Saturday third-round tee times, TV/streaming info

Everything you need to know for the third round at East Lake.

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It’s Viktor Hovland’s world, we’re just living in it.

The 25-year-old from Norway has been playing out of his mind the past three rounds of golf. He shot a 61 in the final round to win the BMW Championship last week. Then on Friday, he shot a 6-under 64, including a 30 on the back nine, to stay in the lead heading to the weekend at the 2023 Tour Championship in Atlanta at East Lake Golf Club.

Hovland sits at 16 under after two rounds, tied with Collin Morikawa for the 36-hole lead in the final Tour event of the 2022-23 season. Morikawa started the week at 1 under and has carded rounds of 61-64 to vault up the leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler, who entered the week No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings, is solo third at 14 under.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the 2023 Tour Championship. All times Eastern.

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Saturday tee times

Tee time Players
12:21 p.m.
Emiliano Grillo, Taylor Moore
12:32 p.m.
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim
12:43 p.m.
Corey Conners, Sungjae Im
12:54 p.m.
Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler
1:05 p.m.
Nick Taylor, Sepp Straka
1:16 p.m.
Tony Finau, Jason Day
1:27 p.m.
Brian Harman, Tom Kim
1:38 p.m.
Russell Henley, Lucas Glover
1:54 p.m.
Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay
2:05 p.m.
Sam Burns, Adam Schenk
2:16 p.m.
Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick
2:27 p.m.
Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark
2:38 p.m.
Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm
2:49 p.m.
Scottie Scheffler, Keegan Bradley
3 p.m.
Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa

How to watch

You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming. All times Eastern.

Saturday, August 26

TV

Golf Channel: 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-7 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 2-7 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 12-7 p.m.
Peacock: 1-3 p.m.

Sunday, August 27

TV

Golf Channel: 12-1:30 p.m.
CBS: 1:30-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 12-1:30 p.m.

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Collin Morikawa’s career-low round, Scottie Scheffler’s putting woes among Tour Championship’s first-round takeaways

Here’s everything you need to know from the first round at East Lake.

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 15th 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 15th, 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.

Rory McIlroy explains back injury, what he’s doing to play through pain

“The muscle spasm is what’s giving me the discomfort.”

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ATLANTA — Less than 24 hours before his Thursday tee time at the Tour Championship, Rory McIlroy couldn’t address a golf ball. That’s how much his lower-right back hurt.

“I was at the bottom of a squat, a body-weight squat, and my whole lower back spasmed, seized up. I couldn’t move,” McIlroy said. “So to get to where I am today is good.”

The 34-year-old McIlroy grimaced frequently and set a personal record for one-armed finishes but posted a gritty round of even-par 70 at East Lake in the first round of the Tour Championship, the final playoff event that will determine the FedEx Cup champion.

McIlroy, who is the defending champ, started the day three strokes behind in the staggered-start tournament and claimed to be “over the moon” to not lose any ground. He said he’s suffering from a muscle spasm that began bothering him earlier in the week.

“The muscle spasm is what’s giving me the discomfort,” he said. “I think when I play a lot of golf, especially the end of the season, I always have to manage my right side. My right side always gets pretty tight, my rib cage, intercostals, lats, like, all the way down, right hip.”

On Tuesday morning, McIlroy said he felt a little tight, and he stretched and used a foam roller at his home gym.

“I went to grab something and my whole right side just completely seized up, spasm. So I spent two hours with the physio at home, flew up here, felt a little better, some treatment, then Wednesday morning still my right side was feeling better, and then went into the gym just to do some movements and stuff,” he said.

McIlroy said he arrived at the golf course Thursday six hours before his 1:49 p.m. ET tee time, hopped in the cold plunge and worked with a team of trainers on his ailing back. He hit 20 wedges around 10 a.m., the first balls he has hit since competing Sunday at the BMW Championship.

2023 Tour Championship
Rory McIlroy plays a shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

“I felt OK, so then just thought I would give it a go,” he said. “I was always going to tee off. It was just a matter of how I felt on the course. And it got progressively a little tighter as I went, but it will hopefully get loosened up here and just another 18 hours of recovery and go again tomorrow.”

McIlroy didn’t seem to be swinging full tilt, but he still was able to outdrive Jon Rahm at the first hole. He made two bogeys on the front nine and didn’t make a birdie until his 10th hole. In all, McIlroy made four birdies and four bogeys for the day.

“I hung in there and I just felt like if I could get through today, it’s better than it was yesterday, hopefully tomorrow’s better than it was today, and just sort of try to keep progressing,” he said.

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2023 Tour Championship Friday second-round tee times, TV/streaming info

Everything you need to know for the second round at East Lake.

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The first round of the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta is in the books, and there are plenty of changes at the top of the leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler started the day with a two-shot lead, but he’s ending it one shot back at 9 under after a 1-over 71. For the first time since 2019 when the Tour went to Starting Strokes format, the No. 1 seed is not holding at least a share of the first-round lead.

Meanwhile, there’s a three-way tied at the top. Collin Morikawa shot 9-under 61, the lowest score of his Tour career, to move to 10 under. Also at that number is Keegan Bradley, who shot 7-under 63 and Viktor Hovland, who won last week’s BMW Championship. He shot 2-under 68 in the first round and rounds out the group tied for the lead.

Rory McIlroy, dealing with a back injury, carded an even-par 70 and is three shots behind.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of the 2023 Tour Championship. All times Eastern.

Friday tee times

Tee time Players
11:26 a.m.
Nick Taylor, Emiliano Grillo
11:37 a.m.
Sungjae Im, Taylor Moore
11:48 a.m.
Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth
11:59 a.m.
Si Woo Kim, Tony Finau
12:10 p.m.
Lucas Glover, Corey Conners
12:21 p.m.
Sam Burns, Max Homa
12:32 p.m.
Sepp Straka, Jason Day
12:43 p.m.
Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay
12:54 p.m.
Brian Harman, Tom Kim
1:05 p.m.
Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark
1:16 p.m.
Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton
1:27 p.m.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy
1:38 p.m.
Adam Schenk, Russell Henley
1:49 p.m.
Viktor Hovland, Scottie Scheffler
2 p.m.
Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley

How to watch

You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming. All times Eastern.

Friday, August 25

TV

Golf Channel: 1-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 12-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 11:15 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 1-6 p.m.

Saturday, August 26

TV

Golf Channel: 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-7 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 2-7 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 12-7 p.m.
Peacock: 1-3 p.m.

Sunday, August 27

TV

Golf Channel: 12-1:30 p.m.
CBS: 1:30-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 12-1:30 p.m.

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Defending champion Rory McIlroy playing Tour Championship despite back injury

As first reported by Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, McIlroy is nursing an injury to his lower back.

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ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy teed off in the second to last group of the Tour Championship, but not without some concern.

As first reported by Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, McIlroy, the defending champion in the FedEx Cup, is nursing an injury to his lower back suffered earlier this week at his home.

“It’s a muscular issue,” Lewis tweeted. “This morning he arrived at East Lake, received treatment and hit 20 balls, which was the first time he hit balls this week. He will it up today for Tour Championship but may have discomfort.”

McIlroy didn’t mention an injury during his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday morning, but he also wasn’t asked if anything was ailing him. There is no pro-am at the Tour Championship and McIlroy took the last two days off to give his back a rest.

He finished third on Sunday at the BMW Championship and enters the Tour Championship in third place with a starting position of 7 under in the staggered-start tournament, three strokes behind Scottie Scheffler. Last year, McIlroy fell as many as 11 strokes behind before erasing a six-stroke deficit in the final round to become the first three-time champion of the FedEx Cup. He’s attempting to become the first player to win the Cup back-to-back.

McIlroy has $18 million reasons — the prize for winning the FedEx Cup — for attempting to play this week despite back trouble. There’s also a scenario where he could return to world No. 1.

McIlroy is expected to take next week off and then compete in the Horizon Irish Open (Sept. 7-10) followed by the BMW PGA Championship (Sept. 14-17) ahead of the Ryder Cup (Sept. 29-Oct. 1).

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