Biggest Storylines on the PGA Tour Ahead of the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola
At about this time last year, we were talking about how unbeatable No. 1-in-the-world-ish Rory McIlroy was. About halfway through this golf year, the same discussion surrounded college dropout* Jordan Spieth.
Now? That player is Jason “Down Under Par” Day who has surged to No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking on the coattails of his PGA Championship win and two trophies in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
"I remember sitting on my mom's bed and thinking that [predicting he'd be No. 1 someday] might not go over too well. I expected to get a little bit [of criticism] but not the response that I got from practically everyone. But it's good to sit in this chair right now,” Day said in an Associated Press story via ESPN.com.
It’s simple for Day. All he has to do is win (simple, right?) and the FedEx Cup is his along with $10 million and, most likely, the honor of Player of the Year. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, though.
Thirty golfers head to Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club who technically can win the FedEx Cup. Read on for the biggest storylines ahead of the Tour Championship, which starts on Thursday.
*Sounds funny to say that.
Rory McIlroy Looks to Reassert Himself in the Tour Championship
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At the beginning of July, McIlroy was still firmly the No. 1 player in the world. He had recently won the Wells Fargo Championship, but his grip on No. 1 started to slip when Spieth won his second major of the year.
On July 5 McIlroy ruptured that now infamous ankle ligament playing soccer with his mates and missed the Scottish Open, Open Championship and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational—he had won the latter two in 2014.
While McIlory limped, Spieth and Day flew past him, and now, oddly enough, McIlroy (No. 11 in the FedEx Cup standings) is, of all things, overlooked.
"It's sort of nice to just come in and do my own thing,'' he said in Bob Harig’s ESPN.com story. "I don't mind it. Obviously it's not the position I want to be in, but it's a nice little change.''
For McIlroy to win the FedEx Cup, he must win the tournament and receive a bunch of help from his rivals. He finished second a year ago in the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he’s most certainly an underdog to win it this year.
So with all the pressure on Day, McIlroy, who finished in a tie for fourth at the BMW Championship, will be one of the most interesting players to watch throughout the tournament.
Can Jordan Spieth Return to Form?
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Jordan Spieth fell from No. 1 in the rankings a few weeks ago and fell from No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings this past week.
He won those two majors, you know, like, five and three months ago, and our collective attention spans can’t feel the significance of those accomplishments. It feels like yesterday’s news, sad as that sounds.
Spieth was once the favorite to win the FedEx Cup and Player of the Year, but both of those are in jeopardy.
He could win the FedEx Cup by winning the Tour Championship and has a “reasonable” (whatever that means) chance of winning the FedEx Cup with a top-three finish. Spieth may also finish as low as a tie for sixth and still win the Cup.
But let’s look at that Player of the Year discussion. It was once a guarantee (four wins, two majors), but now maybe it won’t be if Day wins the Tour Championship.
Spieth, however, has an ace up his sleeve: pizza and beer. Reporters, most notably sports reporters, are thick around the middle and have weaknesses for salty food and booze and especially free salty food and booze. Press boxes are a trough for reporters, and Spieth found a way to the hearts of voters after sinking a hole-in-one.
Spieth has tailed off the past few tournaments, most notably missing the cut in the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship.
He picked it up in the BMW Championship by sharing a tie for 13th. Does that mean he’s ready to win the FedEx Cup? Well, he needs the win to clinch Player of the Year, and if he doesn’t, there’s always the pizza and beer that could sway a voter or two away from the resurgent Day.
Will Henrik Stenson Win His Second FedEx Cup?
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Henrik Stenson, fourth in the FedEx Cup standings, is in position to be the second two-time winner of the FedEx Cup. The first, of course, was Tiger Woods, who won his second back in 2009.
Stenson hoisted the FedEx Cup in 2013 and heads to East Lake as one of five golfers who, more or less, control their destiny. A win at the Tour Championship would hand him his second Cup, and he can finish as low as a tie for third and still win it.
The only golfer playing with greater consistency than Stenson is Day. Stenson earned two solo seconds in the first two legs of the playoffs and then “slipped” to finish in a tie for 10th at the BMW.
Stenson drilled 80.56 percent of his greens at the Barclays and 76.39 percent at the Deutsche Bank, both good for third. Hitting 65.28 percent of his greens made him slide down the leaderboard at the BMW.
If Stenson stays above 75 percent of greens in regulation, he stands as good a shot as any of the top five golfers at winning the Tour Championship and thus the FedEx Cup.
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How Will Rickie Fowler Putt at the Tour Championship?
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Rickie Fowler, winner of the Deutsche Bank Championship and third in the FedEx Cup standings, is, yet again, one of the overlooked golfers in these playoffs.
People still have a hard time taking him seriously, despite his winning the Players and the DBC. He won both, mind you, down the stretch and under pressure. As far as golfers coming from off the pace, Fowler may be the best when he chases a target.
"It's been a good year as far as being able to get the door knocked down," Fowler said in John P. Borneman’s Pioneer Press story (h/t ChicagoTribune.com). "Last year, I put myself in positions to win, and this year I finally took care of business, and I've been able to rack up a few trophies."
Fowler needs a top-five finish to remain in contention for the FedEx Cup; an outright win will grant him the title.
When he won the DBC, he putted extraordinarily. He ranked second in strokes gained from putting. That number fell off to 23rd at the BMW, where he still managed a tie for fourth.
When Fowler won the Players, his strokes gained from putting through the first three rounds looked like this: .126, minus-.872, minus-.213. On the final Sunday—when he went six under par over the final six holes—that number exploded to 3.994.
When Fowler rolls it, he’s about as unbeatable as they come. His putter will hold all the answers, good or bad.
Dustin Johnson: FedEx Cup Sleeper
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Dustin Johnson isn’t known for his clutch play of late. There was his now infamous three-putt on the 72nd hole at Chambers Bay and several mid-round hiccups that saw his score rise like the tide.
Doing the math for East Lake, the course may play right into his strengths. It's a par-70 course totaling 7,307 yards. That’s long, but with par so low, that can only mean the heavy hitters will have room to operate.
Johnson is a multi-tournament winner in the FedEx Cup playoffs, having won the BMW Championship in 2010 and the Barclays in 2011. His past two trips to East Lake (2013 and 2012) saw him finish alone in fifth and in a tie for 10th.
He plays well in the FedEx Cup playoffs and has shot low at East Lake, so that makes him a sleeper to win the Cup.
It’s not as easy as winning, however. Johnson is one of several golfers who have the "and" attached to the win. He must win the Tour Championship and see Day finish in a three-way tie for second or worse—and see Spieth take a T2 or worse.
If you were to look outside the top five (Day, Spieth, Fowler, Stenson and Bubba Watson), Johnson could be that pick to win this tournament and, if luck should bounce his way, hoist the FedEx Cup.
All stats come via PGATour.com.
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