Tour Championship: what to watch for in Monday’s final round

The Tour Championship story line for Monday starts and ends with Dustin Johnson, at this point. But what else can make the final round interesting?

There are 18 holes remaining at the 2020 Tour Championship, but there are many stories still developing at East Lake. Here’s what to watch on Monday in the final round, one that will decide who wins the FedEx Cup.

Dustin Johnson – He entered the event with a two-shot lead over the field and he’s not letting up. Johnson had his game going on Sunday and he enters the final round with a five-shot advantage over the field. Can DJ claim his first FedEx Cup title?

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Jon Rahm – If not for a bad back nine on Saturday, this could be a two-horse race on Monday. But Rahm faltered then and finds himself six shots behind DJ with 18 holes to play. Can he rally, as he did last week at the BMW Championship, and catch Johnson on Monday?

Justin Thomas – Some, including yours truly, thought Thomas was the one to beat this week. However, he has made some mistakes along the way, including a costly three-putt from 12 feet on the 10th hole on Sunday, that have kept him from seriously challenging for the lead this week. Can he put together something special on Monday to rally and win?

Xander Schauffele – His affinity for East Lake continues to show, as the Californian has come from seven shots back to be one of the most serious contenders to Johnson. It will take a Herculean effort on Monday for Schauffele to catch DJ, but anything can happen. And Xander loves this track, so he might be the one who could, with some help, do it.

Rory McIlroy – It’s been an inconsistent week for the former world number one and new father. After shooting a sparkling 64 on Friday, he came back with a 71 on Saturday, then a 70 on Sunday. He finds himself 11 shots behind DJ with 18 to play, and likely out of contention at this point.

Coming from off the pace – It doesn’t seem likely that anyone more than seven shots behind DJ will be able to catch him. That means just four players not named Dustin Johnson still have a chance to win, unless Johnson gives some shots back to the field. Other than the players listed above, Collin Morikawa is likely the only one who has a chance to make up that kind of ground on Monday.

The battle for last place – There are three players who have been left behind by the rest of the field. Ryan Palmer, Marc Leishman and Billy Horschel are the only players over par for the week. Horschel sits in last, one shot behind Palmer and Leishman, with 18 holes to play. While it won’t really matter, these three players are in a little tournament of their own at this point.