The Biggest Storylines on the PGA Tour Ahead of the Deutsche Bank Championship
With the arrival of the second FedEx Cup playoff event, we're treated to a bevy of compelling storylines that go well beyond "Who is well positioned to hoist the cup?"
Of primary interest to golf fans, the game's brightest international star, Rory McIlory, makes his 2015 playoff debut.
McIlroy, who reclaimed the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking after Jordan Spieth's missed cut last week, will be keen to return to form this week.
The deposed Jordan Spieth, coming off a missed cut, will also be looking to assert himself in Boston, which isn't to say anything about the hottest golfer in the game and last week's winner, Jason Day.
Click through for storylines aplenty.
Jason Day
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First, a revelation from Jason Day's pre-Deutsche Bank Championship press conference: Day needs to dumb down Tiger Woods' texts to understand them (or so he joked).
The Australian is absolutely scorching: He's won three of his last four starts. Further, he's finished inside the top 10 in five of his last six starts.
Now perched at the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings, Day is returning to a venue where he finished tied for seventh last year.
All signs point toward another strong finish for Day, and with a win, he could take over the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.
World No. 1
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Who will be the No. 1 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking at the tournament's end? Whether you place great weight in the OWGR's rankings, which purport to identify the best golfer in the world over a rolling two-year period, they're a significant talking point.
Whether Rory McIlroy plays well enough to retain his prime perch or Jordan Spieth overtakes him or whether both golfers play poorly and Jason Day plays exceptionally well to become No. 1, expect to hear a lot of debate about who the best golfer in the world is presently and who will earn the No. 1 spot.
Rory Returns
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Rory McIlroy will be playing competitive golf for just the second time since the U.S Open in July thanks to an ankle injury sustained while playing soccer.
McIlroy finished 17th at the PGA Championship where he showed signs of rust in his distance control and work on and around the greens. He did not, however, suffer any ill-effects from his ankle injury, so we have to assume he'll have no lingering issues at TPC Boston.
With a couple of weeks of what have to assume is something resembling his regular practice regimen under his belt and returning to a course he's eaten up in the past, it will be interesting to see how Mr. McIlroy fares this week.
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Player of the Year 'Debate'
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There is no debate! But that won't stop the usual punditry and questions like "If Jason Day wins the FedEx Cup could he beat out Jordan Spieth for Player of the Year?"
Spieth has won four times this year, including two major championships. He tied for fourth and finished second in the other two majors and has tallied 14 top-10 finishes in 22 starts.
Jason Day, while he's won four times, has only one major victory and wasn't impressive at Augusta, where he tied for 28th. He's totaled nine top-10 finishes in 17 PGA Tour starts.
Same number of wins, with one golfer having two majors and another having one, and the guy with more majors has more top-10 finishes? What's there to debate?
John Daly
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While he wasn't close to making the FedEx Cup playoffs, John Daly has dominated the PGA Tour-related news cycle after his collapse at a golf event over the weekend.
Daly reportedly is doing well, despite dealing with a collapsed lung, but you can expect to hear more about Long John this week and plenty of armchair analysts calling for the 49-year-old to modify his chain-smoking lifestyle and take better care of himself.
Apparently, Daly thinks he's been doing just that. As he said on his SiriusXM radio show Tuesday: "They thought I had a heart attack. But I only smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, not three, so I'll be all right."
Presidents Cup
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This week's Deutsche Bank Championship marks the end of automatic qualifying for the Presidents Cup. The top 10 players in a two-year tally of FedEx Cup points make the U.S. side and the top 10 non-European golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking make the respective squads.
Here's a look at the bubble players for the U.S. side.
| 8 | Rickie Fowler | 4,670 | ||
| 9 | Matt Kuchar | 4,537 | ||
| 10 | Chris Kirk | 4,345 | ||
| 11 | Bill Haas | 4,122 | ||
| 12 | J.B. Holmes | 4,032 | ||
| 13 | Billy Horschel | 3,955 |
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