Something new for everyone

FedEx Cup playoffs near finish with $25-million prize on line at East Lake

- DOUG FERGUSON

Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler starts the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup finale, at 10 under par with a two-shot lead.

Shane Lowry is a newcomer to the Tour Championship and the format at the FedEx Cup finale. He is No. 13, meaning he will start at 3 under par, seven shots out of the lead when he tees off Thursday.

He has 72 holes to make that up. And after all the money games the Irishman has played at home over the years, Lowry is no stranger to giving up a few shots.

There’s one big exception.

“I give shots to my friends every day at home, but my friends are not Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele,” the 2019 British Open champion said Wednesday.

There is something new for everyone at East Lake, starting with the golf course.

Lowry doesn’t have to worry about that. He is among nine golfers in the field for the Tour Championship for the first time, having finished among the top 30 in the FedEx Cup.

For everyone else, it’s like being on a brand-new course.

“I just read an article or two, and the article only highlighted maybe a couple holes,” said Justin Thomas, the 2017 FedEx Cup champion, who was the last man to advance this time.

“I thought it was just those holes that were changed, not every single one of them.”