As we head into another amazing weekend of sports full off pigskins and seamheads its important to realize the greatest sport in history is teeing off in Utah. This time of year tends to lack the star power of tournaments held earlier in the season, but its got all the drama and the stakes. For many of these men playing, this isn’t about legacy, this is about survival. Lets get into it.

1.  Michael Brennan defends his title. Last year he won by posting a -22 and beating Rico Huey (shanks pick!) by four strokes. He won the Wyndham Championship in August and is now ranked a career high 33 in the world rankings. We’ll see if the belt holder can stave off the men trying to push him off his volcanic mountain top.

2. Utah is kind to newbies. Matt McCarty and Brennan each won here in their third career PGA Tour start. The course may reward players who haven’t been through the Tour grind. It’s important to know that especially if you have your eye on a young up and comer. Experience doesn’t take you as far in Utah golf.

3. Guys like Tony Finau and Billy Horschel will be fighting and clawing for tour status. Every shot matters, where they sit at the end of fall will determine if they are on the tour for 2027. So this weekend might as well be the PGA championship for them.

4. Gonna be a lot of birds! It’s gonna be a classic birdie fest at Black Desert Resort. Black Desert is a Tom Weiskopf design routed through a lava field. It plays as a par 71 at 7,421 yards, with 3,100 feet of elevation. The winning scores have been 23 under in 2024 and 22 under last year, so the question is who can keep pace with a low number.

5. Utah flavor and field shuffling. Bowen Mauss, the 2026 Utah State Amateur champion, got a sponsor exemption. The field also changed late: Lanto Griffin, Taylor Pendrith and Austin Eckroat withdrew, replaced by Kevin Streelman, Will Gordon and Harry Higgs.

This one is for all the marbles.

The final 30 golfers—those who made it through the first two weeks of the FedEx Cup Playoffs—will tee it up this week at East Lake, about five miles east of downtown Atlanta.

Whoever wins is the TOUR Champion.

On its face, that sounds meaningful. But the PGA TOUR has long had a major problem with how its season ends—namely, that fans and players don’t assign the same importance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs that they do to the major championships, which the PGA TOUR does not own or operate.

If you’ve watched the Playoffs over the years, it’s easy to understand why new CEO Brian Rolapp announced the changes he did yesterday.

They even put out a handy little video to break it all down:


That makes this the penultimate TOUR Championship at East Lake. After next year, things will look much different—and, hopefully, feel more meaningful to fans and players.

For now, it’s all eyes on East Lake and the final 30.

Key Stats for the TOUR Championship

Based on the 2025 tournament at East Lake.

  • Back the elite: East Lake separated the best players more than a typical TOUR course, so this is not the week to reach too far down the board.
  • Favor bombers: Distance was rewarded more than accuracy, giving longer hitters a clear advantage over shorter, fairway-first players.
  • Prioritize putting and approach play: Those two categories accounted for 84.4% of the scoring variance, while driving contributed just 8.5%. Target strong iron players with a hot putter.

The Details

Previous Winners

How to Watch

Featured Groups

ESPN+ has featured-group coverage for the TOUR Championship.

All featured groups and tee times are available here.

Weekly Bets: TOUR Championship

Last week, we gave out our sixth winner of the season, with Keith Stewart picking Wyndham Clark.

Join Keith’s private golf community here.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% off.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Wyndham Clark (+1600, DraftKings)

In two starts at East Lake, Wyndham Clark has finished third and eighth.

Multiple winners are a significant trend in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. In 19 editions, 12 players have won twice during the same playoff year. Five of them finished their FedEx Cup championship run by winning the final two events—a feat that has happened twice in the last five years.

Power and touch. Clark is your Player of the Year, and he’ll solidify that statement Sunday in Atlanta.

Gary Woodland (+4800, DraftKings)

It might be viewed as a sentimental pick, but Gary Woodland has the skill set required to win at East Lake.

Fresh off a fourth-place finish at the BMW Championship, Woodland learned a thing or two about his game while in contention. With smaller crowds and a better course fit, don’t be surprised if his dream season continues.

Gary gained on the field in all four major strokes-gained categories last week. That’s the type of well-rounded play that suits the TOUR Championship.

Caddyshanks Picks

Chris Gotterup (+2200, FanDuel)

Gotterup is having the best season of his career, with three wins so far. He also finished T4 last week at the BMW Championship, so unlike someone like Matt Fitzpatrick, we know his recent form is solid.

He finished T10 last year at East Lake. In a limited field, let’s trust Gotterup to get it done.

J.J. Spaun (+4000, DraftKings)

Spaun won the Valero back in April, and he’s added a few top-10 finishes since then. Admittedly, there aren’t any stats that jump off the page.

Last week, he played two great rounds to start but faltered over the weekend. He’s a grinder, and I think he finds a way to keep himself in the thick of things this weekend.

Scottie Scheffler (+350, DraftKings)

You know what’s funny?

If you had bet Wyndham Clark every single week he played this season, you’d be in the black—big time.

Not so much with Scottie. But the captain—that’s me—will go down with his ship.

Wyndham Clark played his first 36 holes at the BMW Championship without making a bogey, shooting 64 both days.

In the third round, he doubled the first hole—and then played the remaining 17 holes in 7-under to shoot 65.

He still almost blew it on Sunday.

How? By making three bogeys in his first 10 holes.

After all that good golf through the first three rounds, Clark watched his five-stroke lead disappear.

Poof. Gone.

And just like at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, the crowd seemed pretty happy to see it happen. They were certainly favoring Rory McIlroy, who caught Clark midway through the final round.

Clark stepped onto the 16th tee tied with Rory. He hadn’t made a birdie all day, and the odds were against him—the 232-yard par-3 had yielded just five birdies all round.

Then he made his best swing and his best putting stroke of the day, rolling in a birdie to regain the lead.

He went on to birdie the 17th and 18th as well, ultimately winning by three strokes over Patrick Cantlay after McIlroy faltered with a bogey on the 17th.

The BMW Championship was Clark’s third victory of the season. He’s officially a lock for the Presidents Cup team—and firmly in the Player of the Year conversation.

Player of the Year?

Wyndham Clark has an argument.

He’s won three times this season, including a major championship.

Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup have also won three times, but neither won a major.

Scottie Scheffler has the best statistical résumé and two victories, but he didn’t win a major this season.

So, what matters more: the best golf over the full season or three victories with a major?

What’s Next?

The TOUR Championship at East Lake.

TOUR Championship Odds

  • Scottie Scheffler: +300
  • Rory McIlroy: +850
  • Ludvig Åberg: +1400
  • Wyndham Clark: +1400
  • Xander Schauffele: +1400
  • Patrick Cantlay: +1600
  • Sam Burns: +1600
  • Tommy Fleetwood: +1600
  • Cam Young: +1800
  • Chris Gotterup: +1800
  • Collin Morikawa: +1800
  • Matt Fitzpatrick: +2000

We’ve got a fog delay in Scotland on Saturday morning.

The first few players off got a few holes in, and then they called it. Here’s how the PGA Tour describes the weather on their site:

A cold front moving down from northwest Scotland overnight brought rain and fog as play began Saturday morning at The Renaissance Club. Rain was expected to become heavy briefly at 11 a.m. and taper around 1 p.m. The fog was expected to remain, but weaken throughout the day. When play was suspended, only 17 players were on the golf course.

The conditions are known as haar, a cold, wet sea fog or mist that frequently rolls in from the North Sea onto the eastern coast of Scotland and northern England.

Now we all know the word “haar”.

When the fog lifts, those who made the cut will be chasing a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, held by Rory McIlroy, Tom Kim, and Jordan Smith at nine-under.

In all, there are 12 players within two shots of the lead – and 37 within five.

Several big names missed the cut this week; Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele among them.

Who’s Chasing?

-8 M Fitzpatrick, MW Lee; –7 C Gotterup, R MacIntyre; –6 N Hojgaard, W Clark; -5 P Reed; -4 J. Thomas

Full Leaderboard & Tee Times Here

How To Watch The Action This Weekend

  • Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-noon (Golf Channel); noon-3 p.m. (CBS)

I won’t lie, I’m pretty excited for this one.

First off, Trump National Doral Golf Club – aka The Blue Monster – can be an absolute brute. It stretches over 7,700 yards, and those closing, water-lined holes are one of the toughest finishing stretches we see anywhere in pro golf.

Tiger Woods once put it plainly, talking about the 18th:

“It’s one of the toughest par 4s you’ll ever play if it’s into the wind.”

Good news if you like carnage – wind might be a factor on Saturday, with gusts up to 20mph. Unfortunately, it may thunderstorm on Sunday, but it’s Florida so that could change by the time you’re reading this.

Additionally, there’s some real history here.

The Blue Monster has crowned winners like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd, Nick Faldo, Ben Crenshaw, and of course, Tiger Woods. Always nice when a course brings a little pedigree with it.

It’s a Signature Event, so a strong field is expected, but this one will be missing a few stars; Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay are all sitting it out.

In fairness, it makes sense. The schedule right now is a bit of a gauntlet – Signature Event (Cadillac), Signature Event (Truist), then straight into a major at the PGA Championship. Not exactly a light stretch, and this week is clearly where some guys are choosing to take a breather.

Someone at the PGA TOUR should do a better job with the schedule.

The Details

Previous Winners 

How To Watch 

Featured Groups

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+

Weekly Bets: The Cadillac Championship

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Collin Morikawa (+2000 bet365)

The first player I looked for on property at Trump National Doral was Collin Morikawa. Since returning from his PLAYERS WD, Morikawa has finished T7 and T4. Is Collin healthy? Not only did he swing beautifully, but his driver speed looked fast, much quicker than in his last two starts. If you need one player to hit a 200-yard approach, I’m picking Morikawa. If Morikawa was contending with injury concerns, imagine how confident he will be swinging, not that he feels good!

Keegan Bradley (+6500 Caesars)

Keegan Bradley is one of the best mid- to long-iron players in the field. With the number of approaches around 200 yards during each round, Doral is playing right into the best part of Bradley’s game. A Southeast Florida resident, I don’t worry about the Bermudagrass or the short game. Twelfth at the RBC Heritage, Keegan has two top 8 finishes on the Blue Course in four starts. Bradley’s ball striking is solid in the wind, which is another characteristic I’m focusing on this week.

Caddyshanks Picks

Sam Burns (+3100 Draftkings)

Sam Burns has played quite well over the last 9 months, particularly with his approach play and putter, but he’s also got the length necessary to beat it around Doral.

Hideki Matsuyama (+3100 Draftkings)

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for awhile, you know I love betting Hideki, and you know it rarely ever works out for me, but we will always have that final round 62 to win the Genesis Invitational. He hasn’t won yet this year, but he will. He’s top 20 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Approach and Around-the-Green.

Scottie Scheffler (+310 Draftkings)

Admittedly, the “bet Scottie every week no matter what” strategy hasn’t played out very well this season, but he’s averaging 5.1 birdies per round so far for the year – the best mark on TOUR. The wins are coming.

That’s all folks – see you next week for the Truist Championship.