FedEx Cup Playoffs 2014: The Complete Guide to the Tour Championship
And then 30 players made it to the end.
The final leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs heads to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the big prize of $10 million.
There have been three different winners of these events in the playoffs, and not a single person would have guessed who these winners were at the beginning of the run.
Who would have though Hunter Mahan, Chris Kirk and Billy Horschel would have won The Barclays, the Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship, respectively? Yet here they are, ranked No. 5, No. 1 and No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings, respectively.
Bookmark this chart right here. It tells you all you need to know about winning scenarios heading into the Tour Championship. It’ll be cited often throughout this preview as we try and shake out the storylines and the players most likely to win this thing.
Read on for the final chapter in the long run to the Tour Championship.
All stats were provided by PGATour.com.
About East Lake Golf Club
1 of 6
East Lake Golf Club was originally the grounds of an amusement park, but with the rise in popularity of amateur sports, the Atlanta Athletic Club saw fit to build a course in the Atlanta suburbs.
The Bendelow course opened on July 4, 1908, and it was redesigned by Donald Ross in 1913 so that the front and back nine ended at the clubhouse. (Imagine the nightmarish world where the back nine ended as far from the clubhouse as Mordor.)
The great Bobby Jones was six years old when the course opened and played there in 1930 as an amateur when he completed the Grand Slam of golf—winning the U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Open, the British Amateur and the British Open in the same year.
Recent winners at this course include Henrik Stenson, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
East Lake is the permanent home of the Tour Championship.
Where to Watch on Television
2 of 6
PGATour.com has you covered with its live stream Thursday and Friday from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET. On Saturday and Sunday, you can catch action from noon to 6 p.m. ET.
Thursday and Friday
- 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
Saturday
- Noon to 2:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
- 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, NBC
Sunday
- Noon to 2 p.m. ET Golf Channel
- 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, NBC
The Biggest Storylines
3 of 6
Will Bubba Watson bookend his season with a win?
Bubba Watson has had a mediocre year of golf, this in a year in which he won the Masters. Sergio Garcia would gladly trade a few of his runner-ups for a major of any kind.
Watson had just one top 10 after he won the Masters. Then, finally, his game didn’t come unstitched at the BMW Championship and he finished in second place.
Watson’s putting was poor—42nd over four days—and he still got up for third in points. If he cleans up his putting at the Tour Championship, Watson could be tough to beat.
“Maybe that's when I make my putts,” he said on Golf.com.
Will a big name win the FedEx Cup?
No offense to Kirk and Horschel, even Mahan, but neither of them would be mistaken as a big name. Kirk has a reasonable chance of winning the Cup if he finishes in the top three. Horschel needs a top-five finish for a chance. A win would solve all those problems.
The big names sitting on the fringe are Rory McIlroy (fourth in the standings), Watson (third) and Jim Furyk (seventh). Most need to win the tournament and get a little help from those above them in points.
Only the top five seeds who win the Tour Championship outright will win the FedEx Cup.
Can McIlroy put together a complete tournament?
McIlroy has ridden the wave of his three-tournament win streak that started with The Open Championship, Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship. That wave has started to crash.
In the three tournaments since his streak he’s finished T22, T5 and T8.
In each of those “subpar” efforts, he shot at least one round in the 70s. In each of those tournaments (with the exception of The Barclays) he was in serious contention. In the case of Hole 12 at Cherry Hills—otherwise knows as the four-putt heard ’round the world—that hole alone brought McIlroy down to sea level...twice.
Now’s the time to see if he can rise up from this relative slump and put together three to four elite days of golf.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
The Contenders
4 of 6
Billy Horschel
It looks like Billy Horschel has played the best over the previous three weeks of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. In order for that to be a universality, you’d have to ignore The Barclays where he missed the cut.
Since back-to-back 73s at Ridgewood Country Club, he finished T2 and first playing himself right into contention, undaunted by the names he’s beating.
In 2014, Horschel has just four top 10s, and two of them have come in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
He has a short memory too. His approach on No. 18 in the DBC landed in the hazard and cost him the tournament. A week later he closed down the stretch to win. Now all it takes is one more run through a tough field.
Horschel said on ESPN.com, “Some players, it could have lingered for them, but I was over it. Within a few minutes after I hit the shot, I sort of laughed. It wasn't a big deal to me. And listen, things are going to happen in life and in golf. The sooner you get over it, the sooner you can move on."
Bubba Watson
Watson hasn’t been much of a factor in 2014. Prior to his second-place finish at the BMW Championship, his average finish since winning the Masters in April was 28.75.
His putting at Cherry Hills wasn’t great, but he was second in sand saves, third in driving distances, second in strokes gained total and first in strokes gained tee-to-green.
Watson needs to shore up his putting and, if he does, the Cup is his. Even if he finishes as low as T4 he has a chance to win.
Then again, what has Watson done all year that suggests he can pair up big efforts? Something to think about.
Chris Kirk
Kirk sits at No. 1 in the standings and has the most control of his fate and the most wiggle room among all the top seeds.
He actually has a mathematical chance of winning the tournament if he finishes as low as 29th. A finish in the top five still gives a strong shot at the Cup.
His T53 and T36 in The Barclays and BMW Championship, respectively, matter little after his win in the DBC. Kirk has had a solid year and has come on strong when the most money is on the line.
He was never in contention at Cherry Hills, and that raises questions about how he’ll perform with the spotlight on him.
The Dark Horses
5 of 6
Look who has contended every week in the FedEx Cup playoffs: Adam Scott.
The Aussie finished T15, T16 and T8 at the previous three events, and let’s not forget he’s still the No. 2 player in the world.
In the DBC and the BMW he shot three consecutive rounds in the 60s. He was third in strokes gained tee-to-green but T40 in driving accuracy. Few are better at striking the ball than Scott, and that always puts him in contention.
He’s No. 12 and can win the Cup by winning the Tour Championship with Kirk T7 or worse, Horschel T4 or worse, Watson T3 or worse, McIlroy finishes in a three-way tie for second or worse and Mahan finishes T2 or worse.
Hunter Mahan
Ever since Mahan shaved his Barclays beard, he has been nowhere close to the leaderboard.
After winning The Barclays, he finished 64th and T59 and hasn’t looked good doing it, eight-over par in total. He was named a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup then promptly shot seven-over at Cherry Hills.
The win at The Barclays reminded us that those types of efforts are possible when Mahan is firing.
Mahan can win the Cup by winning the Tour Championship or by finishing as low as a tie for second.
Rickie Fowler
Then there’s Fowler, someone who knows a thing or two about showing up for the big stage. Sure, he hasn’t won a major, but he has finished in the top five all year in all four majors, and his play in the FedEx Cup playoffs has been solid too.
He finished T9 at The Barclays, T23 at the DBC and T4 at the BMW.
At No. 9 in the standings, he also needs help to win the Cup. He’ll need to win the Tour Championship and hope the top two seeds finish T3 or worse and the third and fourth seeds finish T2 or worse.
The Favorite
6 of 6
McIlroy still gets favoritism even though he hasn’t put together a total weekend of golf throughout the playoffs. Despite that, he’s shown on many occasions that he’s still the player who won four majors and three tournaments in a row this year.
There’s a good chance McIlroy wins the BMW if he doesn’t four-putt the 12th hole on consecutive days. One day it was a six, the other a five. If he pars that hole both days, he’s at 13-under, one back of Horschel.
He’s got one more shot to close out the season with another coveted trophy and a serious paycheck (and, one can only hope, free shipping for life with FedEx).
McIlroy can finish as low as third and still win the Cup, but this guy wants to leave no doubt who the champ is. He’s out to win this tournament and head to Gleneagles.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
