Here's everything you need to know about 2024 TOUR Championship PrizePicks plays for Thursday.
The TOUR Championship returns to East Lake, which has hosted this event annually since 2004.
East Lake is a par-70, 7,490-yard track designed by Donald Ross that was recently renovated by Andrew Green. If that sounds familiar, it's because Green also renovated Ross’ Oak Hill Country Club for the 2023 PGA Championship.
With that in mind, East Lake will still reward approach play and putting, as usual. Each of the top four finishers here last year ranked in the top seven among the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, the only statistic or metric in which such a trend occurred
Find my 2024 TOUR Championship PrizePicks plays for Thursday below.
2024 TOUR Championship PrizePicks
Sam Burns Less Than 68.5 Strokes
Sam Burns tied for the fourth-lowest non-adjusted score here last season and shot a 67 or lower in three of the four rounds. He was one of only three golfers to do so, joining the likes of Viktor Hovland (who won the event) and Xander Schauffele (who tied Hovland's tournament-leading non-adjusted score).
Burns' success at this venue makes sense when you consider course fit. Burns is an incredible ball striker and one of the best putters on Tour, which is the combination you need to win at East Lake.
He also enters this tournament in great form following last week's runner-up finish at the BMW Championship.
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Ludvig Aberg More Than 5 Birdies or Better
I wrote about Ludvig Aberg in my first-round-leader article this week, and if I like him to lead after the first round, then I also like him to record five birdies or better in the process.
He ranks 10th on Tour this season in birdies or better percentage, and that success is likely to continue into this week. Aberg just tied Burns in that T2 performance at last week's BMW Championship, which marked his third runner-up performance over his past 16 events.
Skill-wise, Ludvig can be the low man in any round. So why not the first, given that he ranks 20th on Tour this season in Round 1 Scoring Average.
Chris Kirk Less Than 69.5 Strokes
Chris Kirk is another golfer who enters this tournament in good form. He posted a T9 finish at last week's BMW Championship, a week in which Kirk put together a tremendous all-around performance.
Kirk gained true strokes putting, around the green, on the approach and off the tee while also remaining longer and more accurate off the tee than the field average.
He's only played this venue once prior to this week, but Kirk posted a T4 finish as he, once again, utilize his well-rounded game in which he gained true strokes in all four major categories while also remaining longer and more accurate off the tee than the field average.
He shot a 68 or lower in three of those four rounds.
For a more in-depth analysis of the TOUR Championship, check out the Links + Locks podcast.
