Winners and Losers from the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship
We'll start with a bonus winner: the scribes in the media tent. See the guy holding the trophy in the picture above? He sent them several bottles of champagne to celebrate his win.
Well played, Fowler.
Hopefully they'll follow the advice of fellow golf writer, Steve Elling and "Write, imbibe. In that order," otherwise we could be treated to some very interesting content on the PGATour.com GolfChannel.coms of the world.
Who joins the gentlemanly Mr. Fowler as a winner this week?
Click through to find out.
Winner: Fan Favorite Fowler
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Rickie Fowler is this week's big winner. And if you tuned in to any of the final-round broadcast or had the pleasure of finding yourself at TPC Boston Monday, you know that the result is exactly what New Englanders were hoping for.
Fans cheered vociferously for Fowler's 34-foot eagle bomb at the second hole and his birdies at the seventh, 11th and 14th holes. And they did everything but openly applaud Henrik Stenson's water-logged tee shot at the par-three 16th, which handed Fowler a one-stroke lead.
The Oklahoma State alum recovered from an opening tee shot that went left of the world and was steady down the stretch to claim his second "w" of the season.
Loser: Jordan Spieth
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Jordan Spieth did something for the first time in his professional career he certainly wishes he hadn't: missed the cut in consecutive starts.
Following an uninspired showing at the first playoff event, Spieth preached patience and the need to put in a little time on the range.
Unfortunately, the free weekend and work he put in early this week didn't help him any at TPC Boston, where he fired rounds of 75, 73 to miss the cut by a pair.
While golf fans surely realized the 22-year-old would cool off eventually, few would have forecasted the Texan finding himself in the deep freeze on a hot week in Boston.
Righting the ship at Conway Farms in two weeks will be of paramount importance for the Masters and U.S. Open champion, lest talk of a slump or exhaustion begin to gather steam.
Winner: Henrik Stenson's Ball-Striking
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This guy is a flusher isn't he?
Henrik Stenson, who leads the tour in greens in regulation, hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation in his second round. He was even better in the the third, finding 17 of 18 putting surfaces in regulation.
Not surprisingly, Stenson, who has improved his putting this season, led the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green and strokes gained: total entering Monday's final round. His precision mashing led to an important third-round eagle when he drove the green at the par-four fourth hole.
Stenson's precision striking continued Monday, and his usual fairways-and-green play led to an outward 34 and a three-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler.
Unfortunately, Stenson's double bogey at the par-three 16th hole cost him the tournament: He handed Rickie Fowler a one-stroke lead and was unable to recover.
Still, the man' ball-striking was brilliant all week save for a mis-club at the 16th.
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Losers: Players Left out in the Cold
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The top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings make it into the field for the BMW Championship.
These gentlemen just missed out. Thus, their seasons are over.
- No. 71: Alex Cejka (T39)
- No. 72: Marc Leishman (Cut)
- No. 73: John Senden (T33)
- No. 74: Jim Herman (Cut)
- No. 75: Kevin Streelman (T69)
Winner: Players Booking Late Passage to the BMW
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The top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings make it into the field for the BMW Championship.
The golfers who just squeaked inside the top 70 are winners this week, obviously. Perhaps none more than Jerry Kelly, who birdied his final hole to secure the No. 65 position.
- No. 65: Jerry Kelly (T9)
- No. 66: Ian Poulter (T33)
- No. 67: Billy Horschel (72)
- No. 68: William McGirt (T12)
- No. 69: Bryce Molder (Cut)
- No. 70: George McNeil (Cut)
Loser: Constant Bubble Updates
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NBC didn't hesitate to throw it to Steve Sands at the (probably sponsored) touchscreen to deliver the information you desperately craved: Who was positioned, at that very moment, to finish inside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings and thus make it into the BMW Championship's field.
Not only do most golf fans not really care who advances in the ultimately meaningless playoffs, but the actual beneficiaries of continuing on are largely the players' wallets, which doesn't exactly make for compelling drama. The question "which of these rich guys is going to get richer?"
Not exactly compelling stuff and certainly not the sort of heart-pumping drama that necessitates moment-by-moment updates.
Winner: Hunter Mahan
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The only player to compete in every FedEx Cup playoff event since the competition's inception in 2007, Hunter Mahan arrived at TPC Boston in real danger of seeing that streak come to an end.
Mahan, who hasn't had a stellar season, was perched at 91st in the standings entering the Deutsche Bank Championship. And as you've been bludgeoned with this past week, only the top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings advance to the BMW Championship in two weeks.
“It’s something I want to continue. How important is it? I’m trying as hard as I can. I’m very proud of it. I feel like it’s a sense of accomplishment to be the last person to have played in every single one of them," Mahan said in the press room.
Mahan, who won a playoff event at The Barclays last year, helped out his cause with a third-round 64. He closed with a one-under 70 to finish tied for fourth at eight-under par. In the process, he locked up the No. 54 spot in the ranking, thus extending his streak.
Loser: Bill Haas
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With the conclusion of automatic qualifying for next month's Presidents Cup wrapping up this week, Phil Mickelson and Bill Haas found themselves under the microscope as potential captain's picks for the U.S. squad.
Haas' father, Jay, of course, is the captain for the U.S. team, so you'd have to imagine he wants to see his son playing well to spend a pick on him (and avoid charges of nepotism). Fortunately, Haas is positioned at 11th in the standings, just one stroke outside of the automatic qualifiers.
Unfortunately, he didn't play well this week, finishing tied for 60th: not the statement the younger Haas wanted to make before asking for help from dad.
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