The Tour Championship 2014: Top Storylines Going into Atlanta
It's the biggest week of the season for 29 PGA Tour players who have advanced to the Tour Championship in Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club.
There's an $8 million purse to be divided among those 29, and there's also a $10 million FedEx Cup bonus available if the right player wins.
In the days leading up to Thursday's opening round, there are some interesting storylines to be aware of.
Things like the possibility of Rory McIlroy putting the cherry on top of a very spectacular season with a win in the Tour Championship. Or the chances of Jim Furyk winning his second Tour Championship at age 44.
Here are a half-dozen top storylines to get you ready.
Can Rory McIlroy Cap off a Great Season with a Tour Championship Win?
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There isn't much doubt that Rory McIlroy is the PGA Tour's Player of the Year. He's won four tournaments worldwide, including three in a row: British Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.
In the first three weeks of the FedEx Cup playoffs, he's posted finishes of T22, T5, T8. Those are nice numbers for sure, and they added approximately $600,000 to his bank account.
And while he's slipped to fourth in the standings after entering the playoffs in the top spot, McIlroy is still the stallion in the stable of the top five players who can win it all by winning the Tour Championship.
His statistics are great in just about every category, with the most noticeable exception being fairways hit. McIlroy is 112th in hitting fairways, finding the short grass 60 percent of the time.
If he gets back to bombing drives down the middle as he did during his three straight wins, McIlroy will have it all by Sunday evening.
Will Fatigue Diminish Quality of Play in Tour Championship?
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It's truly difficult to crank up a great deal of sympathy for the best golfers in the world who began a four-week FedEx Cup journey with a possible $10 million payoff at the end.
It's not like the players were traveling by bus from week-to-week, and they're not forced to play on hard-scrabble municipal courses.
Let's face it: The FedEx Cup playoffs are a bountiful money-grab that begins with a field of 125 and finishes with the top 30 performers playing this week in the Tour Championship.
But I'm sure there are guys who are tired. For most of those who have qualified for the playoffs, playing the first three weeks of the postseason is necessary in order to make the final 30. And playing three weeks, let alone four, is something they rarely if ever do.
But Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose skipped the first week, and when Phil Mickelson's lackluster play continued into the BMW last week, he bailed.
Maybe the PGA Tour should look into the busy end-of-season schedule, but I can't believe the 29 guys (minus Dustin Johnson, who is on a leave of absence) playing this week can use fatigue as a reason for poor play.
How Great Would a Jim Furyk Victory Be?
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No, he hasn't won since 2010, a Tour Championship victory that took place at East Lake Golf Club. And yes, Jim Furyk's not getting any younger at 44 years old.
But the 2003 U.S. Open champion has had one heck of a 2014 season for a guy who hasn't won. He's earned over $5.2 million, has posted three runner-up finishes and has finished out of the top 25 one time since March.
He's had plenty of chances to win his year, and he'll need to do that and hope for some help if he's to win the Tour Championship. He's seventh in the FedEx Cup standings heading to Atlanta.
Furyk would be a popular champion if he was to win in his 17th start in the Tour Championship.
He can't hit it as long as the bombers, but he plays his game and relies on an accurate iron game and strong putting. Obviously, he's done that a lot this year; he's fourth in scoring average at 69.277.
If Furyk can pull it off, it would be a perfect capper to a very good year.
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Breaking Down the Top 5
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The top five players in the FedEx Cup points standings through the first three playoff events control their own destiny in the Tour Championship. If they can win this week, the $10 million bonus is theirs.
They are not dependent on what anyone else does, unlike those outside the top five.
Here's a quick look at those top five.
Chris Kirk: Has a pair of victories this year, most recently in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Has posted four top 10s and has earned a career-high $4.5 million. His win in Boston came a bit out of the blue with his other four starts in his last five being: T41, MC, T53 and T36.
Billy Horschel: By far the hottest of the five, finishing a tie for second at Deutsche Bank and winning the BMW Championship. Horschel has gone through a couple tough stretches this year, missing seven cuts in 26 starts. It will be interesting to see how he comes back just a week after winning.
Bubba Watson: He won the Northern Trust Open in February and his second Masters in April. Since then, he's done very little until last week when he finished second in the BMW Championship. His quick start to the season allowed him to post eight top 10s this year, and he's amassed $6.1 million in earnings. Unpredictability is his most predictable characteristic.
Rory McIlroy: Horschel may be the hottest player in the field, but there's no doubt who's the true power in the group. Three wins, 11 top 10s and $7.5 million earned. McIlroy hasn't been at his sharpest in the playoffs, but don't be surprised if he gets back to driving the ball long and straight down the middle of the fairway, leading to a lot of birdies at East Lake.
Hunter Mahan: He's in the top five because of the points amassed by finishing in a T7 at the PGA Championship and winning the Barclays Championship. Since then, reality has returned to Mahan, who was working on a fairly mediocre season until August. Don't expect much from the guy who will keep alive his record of playing in every FedEx Cup event since the inception in 2007.
What Effect Will Tour Championship Have on the Ryder Cup?
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Ten members of the United States Ryder Cup team and four members of the European team will compete at East Lake this week.
What will that mean when the two teams get together Sept. 25-28 at Gleneagles in Scotland? Probably very little other than allowing some of those guys to get in some good rounds before making the trans-Atlantic trip in a couple weeks.
Once Phil Mickelson played his way out of contention in the BMW Championship, he opted to pull the chute and withdraw before the start of the third round.
"My primary goal is to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup," Mickelson said in a statement (via sbnation.com). "Without a chance to contend at the Tour Championship, the most important thing for me now is to prepare for the Ryder Cup."
That's what makes this an interesting week. The majority of the field is grinding in an attempt to grab its share of the season-ending prize money. The guys at the top are gunning for the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus.
And then there are guys like Mickelson who figure to be better off resting and waiting for the Ryder Cup.
Will One of the Young Guns Come from Outside the Top 10 to Win?
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The golf world loves the young guns.
Those guys hit the ball farther than the older guys, are fearless and some of them have shown amazing abilities in handling pressure in the biggest situations.
Want a couple to keep an eye on at East Lake? How about Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth?
Fowler has had a remarkable season, even though he hasn't won anything since 2012. In seven of his last eight starts, he's finished in the top 10. He posted top-five finishes in all four major championships this year and appears to be on the verge of breaking through.
He was fourth in the BMW, so he has a bit of momentum in his favor.
Spieth capped a spectacular 2013 season with a T2 in the Tour Championship but hasn't been able to come close to duplicating last year's success in 2014. He contended in the Masters and Players Championship but faded and hasn't been a major factor since.
He did post a T8 last week in the BMW, his best outing since a T7 in the John Deere Classic in mid-July.
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