BMW Championship
It’s safe to say Lucas Glover is on an absolute tear. Glover has now won in back to back weeks including the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs that has propelled him to fourth in the cup standings, only 500 points behind leader Jon Rahm. Although Glover did win last week it didn’t come easy. Glover ultimately fended off Patrick Cantlay in a playoff that only lasted one hole. Cantlay unfortunately put his tee shot in the water which set up Glover to claim his second tour victory of the year and his sixth career win. I can’t stress this enough golf is all about confidence and Glover has all the confidence in the world. With that being said I’m not sure if he can catch Rahm and Scottie who sit at number one and two in the points race but he is currently set up for his best FedEx Cup finish of his career. Prior to this season, his best finish in the FedEx Cup was 17th in 2009. It’s safe to say Glover is not only trending in the right direction, but he’s in a great position to potentially capture his first FedEx Cup title.
As we all know the playoffs look a little different this year, more specifically with the field size and the first event becoming a no cut event. In years past we’ve seen the top 125 make it to the playoffs and the field being cut to 70 in the second week and 30 for the tour championship. This year the first event only featured the top 70 and it was a no cut event as well. This week for the BMW championship the field will be cut to the top 50 and the final week will still feature the top 30 players in points. When it’s all said and done I think everyone understands why they cut it to 70, the tour wants to feature the best of the best however in my opinion If you finish in the top 125 on the PGA Tour that’s pretty darn good and you deserve a shot at the playoffs. Nevertheless with Jay Monahan still at the helm, we will continue to see small fields along with no cut events. On a brighter note, Jay is back to work after his month long medical leave during the back end of the regular season.
Speaking of smaller fields and no cut events, LIV Golf wraps up another week in New Jersey at Trump National Bedminster. This week Cam Smith blitzed the field and won with a score of 12 under par. He dominated the field claiming yet another LIV victory by a margin of seven shots over Anirban Lahiri. While Cam’s victory was impressive it was not the highlight of LIV Golf this week. The biggest news revolved around Phil Mickelson. If you didn’t already know about Phil’s gambling addiction you do now. After numerous reports surfaced regarding Phil and his extreme gambling, certain numbers surfaced on how bad his problem actually was. With that being said throughout Phil’s adult life it was suspected that he’s gambled upwards of $1 billion over the past 30 years. I’m sorry but that number just seems unfathomable. With that being said even though all these reports have just recently surfaced, Phil's gambling addiction has not been a secret and many were not shocked by this news at all. All in all as people we wish the best for one another and I know many hope that he gets control and seeks the proper help for his addiction. From a schedule standpoint, LIV golf goes quiet until September 22nd when the tour heads to Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago for the final stretch of the season.
Speaking of the final stretch the PGA Tour is down to its last two events of the year. This week is the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, The BMW Championship. This year’s BMW will be held at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Olympia Fields is no stranger to high level tournament golf, along with hosting multiple BMW Championships the venue has hosted two U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, a U.S. Amateur, and a U.S. Senior Open. I’m sure many of you remember, but the last time we’ve seen Olympus Fields was during in Covid in 2020 when Jon Rahm defeated Dustin Johnson in a playoff. Not only did Rahm defeat DJ he made a 65 foot triple breaking putt. On top of that since there were no fans allowed at the event it was also the quietest playoff victory. Luckily this year will be much different. With fans returning to Olympia Fields once again this year's event is poised to be a great one. With that being said there are a couple of players that quickly come to mind. For starters Jon Rahm of course. He’s having a superhuman season although his back half was not as great as the first half, but he’s won at Olympia Fields before so don’t be surprised when he makes a run at it. The other obvious answer is Lucas Glover. Once again Glover is playing the best golf of his life but I’m not sure he can win three weeks in a row, that just seems a little far out for me. Nevertheless, he’s putting well, probably better than he has his entire career and he is dripping with confidence so I’m sure at the worst Glover will find himself in the top 10. The last player I would keep my mind on is Viktor Hovland. Hovland is coming off a solid t-13 finish and not only that he’s determined. After a lackluster first round last week, he was the last player on the range and fired multiple low rounds after that. I believe he’s trending in the right direction and if he can improve his putting stats he’s got a real shot at claiming his second win of the year and his fifth career victory. (Mike)
Lucas Glover is nowhere near a household name, but up until a couple of weeks ago he had made an honest living for many years on tour. He was fighting to keep his Tour card when he won at The Wyndham and then last week was just playing with house money at the St. Jude. In a span of two weeks, he had made more money than he did in his career up until that point. He is now in the conversation for The Ryder Cup team. I still think he is a long shot to make the team, but the fact he is even in the conversation is impressive. One of the reasons I love golf so much is because of how fast it can all change for you. Lucas Glover is a prime example of that and taking full advantage of the moment.
My picks have been pretty bad this year, but I am hoping to finish strong. This week I really love the guys who are great ball strikers. For that reason, I am going with Collin Morikawa. He is one of those guys who is fighting for a spot as well on the Ryder Cup team so a win this week would go a long way. Another player I really like this week as a dark horse is Keegan Bradley. He has had some career revival and what better way to cap it off with a win in a playoff event. I think a lot of people have forgotten about him this week at a course he should favor himself at. (Tyler)