The Biggest Storylines on the PGA Tour Ahead of the BMW Championship
Back from a week layoff following Rickie Fowler's Deutsche Bank Championship triumph, the FedEx Cup playoffs continue with the BMW Championship from Conway Farms Golf Club this week.
The Lake Forest, Illinois, course hosts the the tournament for the second time in three years and the second time overall.
Last time the tournament was contested at Conway Farms, Jim Furyk fired a second-round 59 but faded over the weekend with Zach Johnson eventually raising the trophy.
This year, we arrive at the 7,198-yard track with a number of compelling storylines.
Here are the biggest.
Players on the Bubble, Positioning
1 of 5
While 30 players will make it into next week's Tour Championship and a points reset will give everyone in the field a mathematical chance of taking the trophy, only the top five will be able to win the tournament without any help from the rest of the field.
Thus, top-five positioning is important.
Here are the top five currently:
- 1. Jason Day
- 2. Jordan Spieth
- 3. Rickie Fowler
- 4. Henrik Stenson
- 5. Bubba Watson
And at the other end of the spectrum, the bubble players—golfers hovering around that No. 30 cutoff:
- 25. Ben Martin
- 26. Daniel Summerhays
- 27. Bill Haas
- 28. Jason Bohn
- 29. Russell Knox
- 30. Louis Oosthuizen
- 31. David Lingmerth
- 32. Harris English
- 33. Matt Jones
- 34. Kevin Na
- 35. Justin Thomas
Will Jordan Spieth Bounce Back?
2 of 5
If you hadn't heard, Jordan Spieth isn't playing his best golf right now.
After finishing second at the PGA Championship, Jordan Spieth missed the cut at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship. Spieth, who has won four times this season, including two majors, looked out of gas at TPC Boston.
Here's what Spieth said about the performances:
"You're going to have two bad days in a row every now and then. It was rare to miss, to have those four rounds in a row [at the Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship]. I feel very confident about where I'm at right at this second. I rested a lot. I got a lot of work in this past week, took some time off.
"
Thus, the young Texan isn't worried about his play. Whether he should will be revealed this week. With the fatigue rationale for his poor play out the window, if he has another poor showing, something is rotten in Spiethland.
Peaking for the Presidents Cup
3 of 5
The Presidents Cup kicks off October 8.
Golfers from the U.S. squad still alive in the playoffs include Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Chris Kirk, Bill Haas and Phil Mickelson.
Golfers from the International side still alive include Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Danny Lee, Steven Bowditch and Sang-moon Bae.
Who's playing well as we close in on the biennial competition is something to keep an eye on.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Big-Time Players, Big-Time Play
4 of 5
Top-tier talent has been winning at an unusually high clip this season.
As the PGA Tour pointed out, through 45 tournaments this season, 23 tournament wins have come from golfers inside the Top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking. That's the highest number in six years...and there are still two tournaments left.
Will one of the Top 25 golfers in the world win this week? We'll find out.
Best Player in the World Debate
5 of 5
Rory McIlroy presently leads the Official World Golf Ranking at 11.98 (whatever that means). Jordan Spieth is second at 11.95, and Jason Day is third at 10.95.
In other words, it's a thin margin between the top three golfers in the world. While there are numerous scenarios for how the trio could be reshuffled after the BMW Championship, if one of the three wins, he'll be the top-ranked golfer in the world. (Again, for what that's worth.)
Regardless, we could have a new No. 1 after the BMW, and it's a storyline that you'll be hearing about this week.
Ben is on Twitter, for whatever that's worth.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
