Thomas leading FedEx before he even tees off
JUSTIN Thomas will start with a two-shot cushion as he aims to crown his season with victory at the Tour Championship and a $15 million FedEx Cup payday this weekend.
Under a revamped “staggered start” format to the PGA Tour’s lucrative season finale, Thomas will automatically tee off on 10 under as the 30-man field at East Lake have been given starting totals which reflect their performances this season.
Thomas, who captured his 10th career title with a win at the BMW Championship on Sunday, is now in pole position at the top of the leaderboard.
Patrick Cantlay will start in second on eight under, while Brooks Koepka will tee off in third place on seven under.
Patrick Reed starts on six under with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy fifth on five under. Despite the unusual position of starting the tournament with a lead, Thomas insists he will not be thinking about defending his advantage at the top of the leaderboard when this week’s event gets underway.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Thomas, who could join Tiger Woods as the only man to win two FedEx Cup Championships after his victory in 2017. “I’m just going to have to try to play another golf tournament and act like everyone’s starting at zero and try to shoot the lowest 72 holes.”
McIlroy, the 2016 FedEx champion, who will start five shots off the lead this week, believes Thomas can take a conservative approach into the tournament on the 7346-yard par 70 layout.