The Starter, Round 2: THE TOUR Championship

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Sep. 24, 2010

The first round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola is set to begin Thursday. Here's a preview.

Groups we're watching:

Tee time	Players
12:30 p.m. ET No. 1		Matt Kuchar, Camilo Villegas Kuchar is down, but certainly not out. Perhaps playing with a former champ will give him a boost.
1:50 p.m. ET, No. 1		Paul Casey, Jim Furyk A tale of two comebacks: Casey after a Ryder Cup snub and Furyk after missing The Barclays
2 p.m. ET, No. 1		Geoff Ogilvy, Luke Donald Two players who started the week outside the top five, but saw their chances at the FedExCup increase Thursday

MORE ROUND 2: Tee times | Inside the field | Inside the course | Transcripts

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Brian Katrek previews Friday's action:

Friday's forecast

Sunny
Temp: 90 high/67 low
Chance of precipitation 0 percent. Winds from S around 5 mph.

East Lake is hard. Firm even. And fast. And getting firmer and faster as the week goes on. It is common to see a PGA TOUR event get tougher as the week goes on, but this course is starting tough. It has been a hot, dry summer in Atlanta and East Lake is showing it. With the lead at 4 under on Thursday, expect things to get tougher as the week goes on.

The decision was made after the tournament in 2007 to change the greens here at East Lake from bentgrass, to Mini Verde Bermuda in order to better deal with the late summer heat. The new grass is doing so well, that the greens are some of the fastest of the year. Ryan Moore said they were so slick, even his putter was sliding when he leaned on it.

Tim Clark had this to say about the greens here: "We haven't played greens this quick in quite a few weeks." He might know this particular surface better than most. Clark won the Players earlier this year on the same Mini Verde Bermuda at TPC Sawgrass.

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today: September 24, 2010 Three players are tied atop the leaderboard after the first round at East Lake. Casey Black takes a look at the leaderboard and discusses different players' scenarios for winning the coveted FedExCup. Watch it
	Round 1 Highlights: THE TOUR Championship Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Geoff Ogilvy share the lead after the first round or THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Watch it
	Shot of the Day: Phil Mickelson Phil Mickelson holes out from 118 yards on the par-4 12th hole at East Lake Golf Club. Watch it