JERSEY CITY, N.J. – If you can suspend whatever preconceived ideas you have about the FedExCup playoffs – primarily the notion that a true post-season seems counterintuitive with the ethos of golf – and drill down to the competitive particulars of the next three weeks, there is no small amount of deliverance.
The playoff opener here at Liberty National is filthy with the kind of storylines that make the post-major championship season compelling – from the quest to cash the richest check in all of golf at the Tour Championship to the most basic of goals of players just trying to advance.
If you needed them, here are a half-dozen reasons to pay attention the next few weeks:
Just win, baby
The late Al Davis had it right and any examination of the PGA Tour’s post-season begins and ends with the FedExCup finale and a mountain of cash.
Dustin Johnson won the Tour Championship and the $15 million lottery last year, thanks to the strokes-based scoring system. Technically, Xander Schauffele shot the lowest four rounds of the week – and he actually received first-place world ranking points for his effort – but because he began the finale 14th on the points list and seven shots behind front-runner Johnson he had no realistic chance of winning the cup.
“I was pretty far back, and I played really well at East Lake, and I found myself finishing second,” Schauffele said. “I made it very apparent to myself, even if I play really good golf, it’s not enough to come back if you’re too far back starting the week, which is sort of how it should be.”
Player of the Year
The last two Jack Nicklaus Award winners were also the FedExCup champions, so it should be no big surprise that this year’s race will also come down to East Lake.
Even with the current “super season,” which includes six majors, there is no real separation at the top of the marquee. Collin Morikawa has two victories – his second major at The Open and a World Golf Championship – and leads the points list, but Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Stewart Cink and Jason Kokrak also have two victories and could close the gap with a solid post-season. And then there’s Jon Rahm, whose lone victory came at the U.S. Open and he leads the Tour with a dozen top-10 finishes, and Jordan Spieth, whose comeback also includes a victory this season.
“I have no idea. Couldn’t tell you honestly,” Rahm said when asked his thoughts on a potential Player of the Year Award favorite. “Hopefully, I can have a good playoffs and state my case.”
Full-field tee times from The Northern Trust
One more week
At the other end of the competitive and financial spectrum are dozens of players who are just trying to advance either to next week’s BMW Championship or beyond.
Chesson Hadley is the ultimate bubble boy at 125th on the point list thanks to an inspired final round at last week’s Wyndham Championship, which included his first hole-in-one, that moved him from 132nd in points to 125th.
It will take an equally gutsy performance at Liberty National to survive.
“I’m playing with house money. I’m on credit at the casino, and I can just kind of let it go,” Hadley said. “I need to set a new goal. I probably need to figure out exactly what I need to finish to get inside the top 70, just kind of look at the leaderboards and kind of get motivated and figure out a way to get to that number and obviously try and win the golf tournament.”
Ryder Cup
The cut off to qualify for Team USA and the Ryder Cup later this fall is after next week’s BMW Championship, but it’s never too early to start crunching the numbers.
The top 6 on the U.S. points list on Aug. 29 automatically qualify, which currently leaves the likes of Spieth (No. 7), English (No. 8), Patrick Reed (No. 9) and Daniel Berger (No. 10) vying for one of captain Steve Stricker’s six picks.
Also on the outside are Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Scottie Scheffler and Kevin Kisner, who vaulted five spots in the rankings with his victory last week at the Wyndham Championship.
“In match play, it’s a total different animal than stroke play, so I’m not having to beat 155 other guys on the golf course. I just have to beat one or two, depending on the format,” Kisner said. “I can bring value to the team in the ways I can get the ball in the hole.”
Redemption
The concept varies wildly from player to player, but for some starting the post-season this week at The Northern Trust, it’s a chance to change an unwanted narrative.
Bryson DeChambeau – who has found himself on the wrong side of the media, both traditional and social, far too often this year – would be the best example. From his beef with Brooks Koepka to an ill-advised comment about his driver at The Open, the conversation has been about everything except his golf.
But a solid post-season could change all that and, if we’re being selfishly honest, set the stage for what we all want – a Bryson vs. Brooks showdown at the finale.
East Lake or bust
Whatever individual motivations keep players going over the next three weeks they all ultimately end with a trip to East Lake. You can’t win the $15 million if you’re not in Atlanta.
For Kisner, whose victory last week moved him to 29th on the points list, advancing to the Tour Championship is about much more than earning a big check. It’s about setting yourself up for success.
“If you make it to the Tour Championship, it sets up your whole next year. You get into all the majors and all the invitationals, and you can really set your schedule up,” he said. “Being one short [of qualifying for East Lake] is the first loser, in my opinion, and it won’t be a success.”