The Fedex Cup Playoffs
Well golf fans we have made it to the most lucrative three weeks in golf, The Fedex Cup playoffs. Before we dive into the playoffs let's recap on what has happened around the golf community the past few weeks. The most shocking thing in my opinion is Tiger Woods being named as the sixth player-director on the PGAT Policy Board. Now this all happened because of the merger between the PGAT and the Saudi Arabian Investment Fund (PIF), the fund that also backs LIV Golf. Now this appointment of Tiger Woods was not surprising at all. This merger was done in secret and very few people knew, and one day it all just happened. The appointment of Woods to the policy board is simple, his position is to ensure that the leaders of the PGAT are maintained and ensure that the PGAT lives up to its mission of being a player-driven organization. Tiger Woods is the perfect person for this position, he has the players' trust and respect, his name carries all the weight in the world and he simply doesn’t want to see the game of golf ruined by the rich and powerful. It should be interesting to see what unfolds once the playoffs end next month. Speaking of LIV Golf something rather incredible happened last week in the Latest LIV event.
Last week at LIV Greenbrier Bryson DeChambeau shot 58. Yes, you read that correctly 58, the second person next to shoot the historic number, the only other person is Jim Furyk. En route to the 58 Bryson carded 13 birdies and one bogey on the par 70 golf course. Now to preface I don’t care what tour you are on if you shoot a 58 that is pretty incredible and there are no two ways about it. Bryson golfed his ball in the pouring rain I might add and field size, cut or not, has nothing to do with the fact that he shot 58. This 58 and win also raises the question for Bryson on his Ryder Cup legitimacy. At this point with no majors left and zero opportunity for LIV players to generate Ryder Cup points the hopes of these players being on the team rest entirely in captain Zach Johnson’s hands. It should be interesting on who gets picked and more importantly who doesn’t get picked. With the Ryder Cup on the minds of some players, most players have their eyes on the FedEx Cup and the bags of money that come with it. However, before we get into the players that found their way in the top 70 let's talk about the top players that missed out this year.
For starters the fact that the playoffs are now top 70 instead of 125 is an absolute joke. You are telling me that the top 125 players on the PGAT don’t deserve a chance to be in the playoffs? For most people, the answer is yes but for the PGAT and the wealthy elite that run the tour believe that Rory McIlroy and the select elite deserve a spot. With that being said, here are just a few great players who missed this year’s playoff due to rule changes. The long list begins with Justin Thomas, Adam Scott, Shane Lowry, Billy Horchel, Dylan Wu, Gary Woodland, and Ben Taylor who all fell inside the top 100. If you ask me I think it should be at the very least the top 100. If you finish in the top 100 on the PGAT for any given season you deserve to be in the playoffs. The PGAT has become so competitive and is flooded with so much talent that those players who fall inside the top 100 deserve a chance to win the cup because theoretically, anybody has a chance to make moves with the added points. Nevertheless, the tour has spoken and doesn’t care about all the players on the ones that are hand picked, Rory, Rahm, Jordan, etc. It’s quite simple the PGAT cares about lining their pockets and lining the pockets of the players at the top and that's our reality with golf at the moment. Regardless of the reality of golf, the playoffs begin this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. (Mike)
I’m sorry but it's honestly sad that fans are not only subjected to smaller playoff fields but the fact that the tour uses the same venues for playoff events is just downright lazy in my opinion. I believe that the playoff rotation of courses needs to change every year, make it tough for the players, and make them learn and think around new golf courses each year. In the end we all know it won't change because of the sponsors. They pay a lot of money to keep the playoff events at the same place. Regardless of the overplayed venues fans do have a chance to watch the players go at it in hopes of winning the FedEx Cup and the massive payday that comes along with it. Tune in this Thursday through Sunday to see who can claim the first leg of the playoff race.
My pick for this week is Patrick Cantlay. This is a place that he has a good track record at and I believe he will be using a strong performance this week to really push to win the playoffs. Another guy I think will perform well this week is Xander. He is great on par four scoring and can roll it well. These are two things you need to excel at to win at TPC Southwind. I usually do not like to pick Xander in big events, but this feels like it could be his week.
I would be shocked if neither Rahm nor Scottie won the Tour Championship after the season they have had. I do not think there are many guys that have a chance as it stands now, but a lot can change in the next two weeks. A dark horse I expect to make a run the next few weeks is Tony Finau. I know he is in the top ten so that hardly makes him a true dark horse, but nobody seems to be talking about him to win the whole thing. I continue to feel as if Tony is kind of forgotten about amidst everything on tour these days. Another guy that I think has a real chance to be a contender in a few weeks is Patrick Cantlay. I really think he will have a great week this week and set the stage for an immense three weeks of golf leading up to the Ryder Cup.
On the topic of The Ryder Cup, I do not envy Zach Johnson. Justin Thomas has put the captain in one of the tougher choices of the last few teams. Personally, I think his season was bad enough that he has no business being on the team. However, his potential replacement is Bryson Dechambeau. It has been well documented how this blog feels about him, but after an impressive 58 this past weekend it is pretty clear who would help Team USA the most in Rome. (Tyler)