Tommy Fleetwood says what his caddie told him about East Lake on the 18th hole which really surprised him

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Tommy Fleetwood was one of the only players in the field at the BMW Championship who managed to make the jump into the top 30 which secured the Englishman a spot in The Tour Championship this week.

Tommy Fleetwood went into the BMW Championship 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, so he would have always known that a very good week at Castle Pines would likely be enough to secure his ticket to East Lake.

Of course, much of the attention within his group on the final day in Colorado focused on Rory McIlroy, with McIlroy snapping his driver on the ninth hole. But Fleetwood’s impressive round of 69 was enough to earn the Olympic silver medalist a top five finish.

That moved the 33-year-old into 22nd place in the FedEx Cup standings, with Fleetwood set to begin The Tour Championship at one under par, nine shots back of Scottie Scheffler.

Tommy Fleetwood shares what he has just found out about East Lake

That is likely to be too much of a gap for Fleetwood given the form Scheffler has been in this year, but there is an element of stepping into the unknown in the coming days – with Fleetwood admitting in his press conference after his final round that he was not even aware of some of the changes which have been made in Atlanta.

“Do you know, Finno just said walking down the 18th, he said there’s 18 new greens, like it’s a new layout. That was the first I’d heard of it. I don’t know why. I probably knew at the time last year, but I haven’t heard anything, so that was the first I’ve heard of it. Looking forward to it. It’ll be a nice challenge,” he said.

One or two surprises now on the cards at The Tour Championship

Fleetwood may have too much work to do to win The Tour Championship, but there is reason to think that there may be one twist to come before the FedEx Cup is decided.

Scheffler has finished outside the top 20 on just two occasions all season, but he really struggled at Castle Pines, finishing at one over par. Scheffler could not hide his frustration at times.

Some think Xander Schauffele is favourite to beat Scheffler at East Lake, with The Open champion winning The Tour Championship previously while also having three runner-up finishes. Given that record, the two shots between the pair could evaporate quickly.

Having said that, the scale of the changes at East Lake could really throw the cat amongst the pigeons and set the stage for a surprise or two.