Strengths and Weaknesses of Top FedEx Cup Contenders
There is a lot of money on the line this week—$11.4 million is possible—when the Tour Championship is held at East Lake Golf Club near Atlanta.
But the guy who gets the Tour Championship title and/or the FedEx Cup title will have to rely on the strengths of his game and minimize exposing his weaknesses.
Billy Horschel will need to keep control of his emotions if things get a little rough. Rory MCIlroy needs to get back to hitting the ball long and back down the middle of the fairways.
The top players in the 29-man field all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Check out the following list.
Rory McIlroy
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After his hat trick of big wins in July and August, Rory McIlroy listed winning the FedEx Cup, getting the career Grand Slam and becoming the most successful European golfer as next up on his radar screen. That makes him a dangerous player, sitting at fourth in the points standings going into the Tour Championship.
Strengths: The way he overpowered golf courses on the way to those three straight wins is obviously his biggest strength. He was driving the ball longer and straighter than everyone else, making the rest of the game much shorter and simpler. His mental strength was also spectacular as he got into that "zone" and eased his way through rounds. He's sixth in greens in regulation, hitting over 69 percent for the year. When his putting is on, he is tough to beat.
Weaknesses: As shown last weekend in Denver, when his putter isn't working, it can destroy rounds. Imagine a player of his caliber four-putting the same green in consecutive rounds. He goes into streaks where his driver won't listen to him (for the season he's only hit 60 percent of the fairways), and that wildness contributes to his difficulties at times. He's one guy whose list of weaknesses is short.
Billy Horschel
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While Rory McIlroy is deservedly the No. 1 player in the world, Billy Horschel comes to the Atlanta Athletic Club this week as the undisputed hottest player in the world. He's coming off a T2 performance in the Deutsche Bank and a win in the BMW and is brimming with confidence.
Strengths: Horschel's statistics tell the story of a guy who has been great tee-to-green all year long, including being fourth on tour in greens in regulation. His putter is a very big weapon for him coming into the Tour Championship as shown by him being second from five-10 feet and fourth from five-15 feet on the tour starts. Coming to a course that rewards ball-striking as East Lake does, Horschel should be a serious contender.
Weaknesses: He is a very confident young man, finishing the second of his two best years on the PGA Tour. But one thing he's battled in his career has been his tendency to run a bit hot when things don't go particularly well. Horschel has gotten better in that regard but still needs to be mindful of it. His scoring average of 70.685 and his birdie average of 3.57 rank him 63rd in both categories. A definite weakness is his bunker game, where his sand-save percentage is 43.59 percent, 154th on the tour.
Chris Kirk
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Chris Kirk might be the least recognizable of the six players in the field this week with connections to the state of Georgia. But the three-time winner on the PGA Tour will be the only one who is in the top spot of the FedEx Cup standings going into the Tour Championship.
Strengths: This 29-year-old is a bulldog, no pun intended. He's won twice this year, including the Deutsche Bank Championship, in which he played the last 37 holes without a bogey. He played with and outdueled No. 1 player in the world Rory McIlroy the last two rounds. None of his statistics are dazzling, but they've been good enough for him to earn $4.51 million this year.
Weaknesses: Kirk is inside the top 50 in most statistical categories this year, but in three significant ones—driving distance, driving accuracy and greens in regulation—he's not quite as good. Those could be his undoing this week when he'll play in the most pressure-packed tournament of his life, with the possibility of an $11.4 million payday glaring at him. And he'll be trying to do that against a very tough field. It all might be a bit much for him.
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Bubba Watson
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There will be a large contingent of Georgia Bulldog fans rooting for Bubba Watson this week, given how entertaining his wildly unpredictable game can be. On which side of unpredictable is the big question. Will he be the guy who won the Masters or the guy who wasn't a factor in a major after that?
Strengths: Nobody moves the ball better than Watson, sometimes aiming 40 yards left or right of his target and working it back to the desired destination. Nobody drives it farther that Watson, either, as he leads the PGA Tour in driving distance at 314.2. He has a brilliant short game, which allows him to make up for mistakes. He comes to Atlanta on something of a roll, having posted three straight 66s to finish second in the BMW Championship.
Weaknesses: When that pink-headed driver of his starts to go bad, it can create some really ugly results. That's why he's ranked 102nd in fairways hit this year. The other biggest weakness that he has is putting. Simply put, he's been awful on the greens this year. He's ranked 110th in that category and 150th in sand-save percentage. When the heat is on, as it will be this week, and there's $11.4 million out there to be won, those weaknesses could significantly damper any title hopes Watson might have. He's been very erratic emotionally this year, a prime example of which was when the rains came at Valhalla in the PGA Championship and caused great consternation.
Hunter Mahan
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Hunter Mahan has an admirable record of having played in every FedEx Cup event since the inception of the postseason playoffs in 2007. He's not won a Tour Championship or a FedEx Cup title, but he's teed it up every time an event was played. He won the Barclays somewhat stunningly, since he hadn't done much since posting four top 10s in his first seven starts in 2014.
Strengths: When he's on his game, Mahan is a solid striker of the ball, not only off the tee, but from the fairway, as he showed in the final round of the Barclays. He's another player who doesn't have dazzling statistics, ranked in the 30s, 40s and 50s in a lot of categories. He's only in the top 10 in two, total driving third and FedEx Cup points fifth. But obviously when things click, he can play.
Weaknesses: Unfortunately for Mahan, he'll always be be remembered for having chunked a chip in a critical singles match in the 2010 Ryder Cup against Graeme McDowell. That shot gave the Europeans the final match of the event and allowed them to retain the Cup. Mahan has worked on his short game, although his bounce back and scrambling stats are not good, 126th and 149th, respectively. His up-and-down season in microcosm is in his last three starts: win, 64 and T59. It could be a tough week for him.
Rickie Fowler
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Even though Rickie Fowler hasn't won since 2012, he's going to get one. You can't play as well for as long as he has without getting one soon. If this is his week, it would be the absolute perfect way to end a season.
Strengths: The kid has great control over all facets of his game, and if you don't think so, here are some numbers to chew on. He finished in the top five in all four majors; in his last seven starts, he has six top 10s; and since the Memorial, he's posted just seven scores in the 70s in 32 rounds. Only two of those came in the final round. He drives it long, has great command of his irons and can be a marvelous putter.
Weaknesses: His statistics show Fowler has the sixth-best final-round average on tour, at 69.19. But one of the weaknesses in his game has been his inability to close the deal. He posted a pair of seconds and thirds this year and nipped at McIlroy's heels most of the summer. Other than that, there aren't a great deal of weaknesses to note.
Adam Scott
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You remember Adam Scott? Much was made of his ascenscion to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking back in May. And then what happened? Well, not all that much actually. He won the Colonial and went on a streak that ended with six top 10s and three more top 20s. But he wasn't much of a contender in any of the majors and has had a quiet $3.8 million season.
Strengths: His statistics are those you would expect from the No. 2 player in the world. Scott averages over 300 yards off the tee, and he hits over 68 percent of greens in regulation. He's third in scoring average, third in birdie average and No. 1 in overall ranking.
Weaknesses: Again, it's hard to find many weaknesses when you're dealing with a player of his quality. One oddity is that he's ranked third, third and 13th in the first, second and fourth rounds. He's 31st in the third round, however. He was run over by the McIlroy express midseason and was never a serious threat in any of the majors.
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