With the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship yesterday, we have officially moved into the FedEx Cup playoffs for the #PGATour. The top 70 players in FedExCup points have qualified for the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The field will diminish to the top 50 in points after this week's event in Memphis, Tennessee, will then move on to the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields with the top 30 thereafter competing in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
Points are quadrupled for the first two playoff events, with the winner earning 2,000 points and 70th place netting 12 points.
Here's a look at the schedule for the three playoff events:
Top 70 – Thursday-Sunday, FedEx St. Jude Championship, TPC Southwind, Memphis
Top 50 – Aug. 17-20, BMW Championship, Olympia Fields (Ill.) CC
Top 30 – Aug. 24-27, Tour Championship, East Lake GC, Atlanta
Players Missing Out:
While Justin Thomas’ streak of seven consecutive appearances in the Tour Championship will come to an end, unlike years past, his Tour membership is not in doubt. Thomas came oh-so-close to making the field in Memphis, but his chip on the 72nd hole bounced brutally out of the cup. As I said, his Tour status isn’t in doubt, but it would sure be awkward to arrive at a Signature Event he’s not qualified for. The only way he can make it to the first one of the year at the Sentry is to win one of the fall events. Finishing in the top 10 of the fall standings would only get him into Pebble and Riv.
Adam Scott put together an even more furious charge to make the playoffs than Thomas, birdieing four of the last five holes at the Wyndham. Ultimately his T7 finish wasn’t enough to keep his streak of qualifying for every edition of the FedEx Cup Playoffs intact. He’s exempt on Tour through next season so membership is not an issue for him, but he won’t want to miss out on the $20 million Signature Event purses.
Billy Horschel started Sunday projected as the only other player besides Lucas Glover to move into the top 70 after starting the regular season’s final week at 116 in the standings. He started the day in a tie for the lead, needing a two-way tie for second to qualify, but a final-round 72 left him in solo fourth and on the outside looking in. His status is good through 2025, but it was only a year ago when he finished 21st in the FedEx Cup and made the Presidents Cup team.
US Ryder Cup:
Thanks to Fred Couples, we already know that Max Homa, Cam Young and Jordan Spieth are surefire captain’s picks for the U.S. side to go along with the already qualified Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark, and likely auto selections Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Now, the question for U.S. captain Zach Johnson is what other three Americans will he take with him to Italy. I am available to go if need, ZJ.
Rickie Fowler and his return to form this season has me believe he will be on the team. Collin Morikawa has also showed he deserves a spot on the team. Tony Finau and Denny McCarthy are a couple longshots, while it’s unlikely that LIV players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson would get nods despite DeChambeau’s recent LIV victory, which he capped with a 58, and Johnson’s Cup record.
That last pick, though, is going to be a tough one. Keegan Bradley is twice a winner this season, including at the designated Travelers, though he’s slipped to No. 10 in points and hasn’t played on a Cup team since 2014. Sam Burns figures to be a future Cup star and is Scheffler’s best friend, and he’s No. 12 in points with a WGC-Match Play win under his belt this season. But Burns also missed two major cuts this season and doesn’t have a top-10 since May. And then there’s the slumping Justin Thomas, whose playoff bid came up one shot short at Wyndham, and his inclusion on the team would be based solely on experience.
Player Of The Year:
I think everyone knows it's going to come down to two guys on who is the PGA Tour Player of the Year: Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. Rahm has the advantage in terms of wins (4-2) and majors (1-0). The Masters champ also was T-2 at The Open and T-10 at the U.S. Open. But Scheffler owns a 9-5 head-to-head record against Rahm this season, and he had rattled off 19 straight top-12s before a T-23 at Royal Liverpool.
If you value wins and majors, Rahm is the current favorite.
If you value consistency, Scheffler, who leads the Tour in strokes gained total (nearly 0.4 shots per round better than Rahm), is the man to beat right now.
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