Sep. 15, 2009
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What are our writers thinking about after the third event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup? Brandt Snedeker's Playoffs-finale-spot-losing meltdown, the difficulty of the renovated Cog Hill and Jim Furyk's chances to finally win again.
PLAYOFFS FEVER: On a weekend with enough sporting events going on to melt a remote control, Brandt Snedeker had a meltdown of his own (more on that below), four-putting from inside 13 feet to play himself right out of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, not to mention all that goes with finishing in the top 30 to reach THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
The story of the week in golf was two-fold: Tiger Woods capturing his fifth BMW Championship victory -- 71st career -- and, of course, Snedeker.
First, Woods might have been majorless this year, but his play in his six wins proved that was just a matter of coincidence more than circumstance. Just ask yourself this: Who played better than Woods this year? Exactly.
As for Snedeker, his collapse speaks to the volatility of the Playoffs. I have to admit, I thought the current system was too extreme when a guy like Heath Slocum could essentially turn one week into a season. But what happened down the stretch Sunday, at a tournament where the outcome had been decided Saturday night with Woods holding a seven-shot lead, was pure drama. It was like watching the final stage of q-school, except with a lot more on the line. -- Brian Wacker
SNEDEKER'S MELTDOWN: He put on a brave face, but you could tell what happened Sunday on the 18th hole at Cog Hill was going to eat at Brandt Snedeker for a while.
The affable young man from Tennessee admitted he started thinking about what could be, rather than focusing on the task at hand. And Snedeker proceeded to four-putt from 13 feet -- the second of which he called an "all-out yip" -- and cost himself a spot in the field at East Lake.
Afterwards, Snedeker couldn't have been more gracious, answering questions from reporters who were only slightly less startled by the turn of events than he was. He was the first to point out the Playoffs had created excitement -- even if he was the unwitting cause of some of it.
"You wanted more parity," he said. "You wanted more guys having putts, 3-footers, that mean something, and I just showed you why 3-footers that mean something are a lot longer than they look."
Snedeker had played 13 of the last 14 weeks and posted four top-five finishes. So don't be surprised to see him come back strong at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. -- Helen Ross
TOUGH TRACK: Two years ago, Tiger Woods finished at 22 under in winning at Cog Hill, prompting course owner Frank Jemsek immediately to set out to toughen the track that his father, Joe, opened in 1964.
So does the fact that Woods finished at 19 under to win the BMW Championship this year mean the course renovation failed in its goal? Not necessarily.
Consider that in 2007, Woods won by just two shots, with 55 of 65 players finishing at par or better. This time, 28 of 68 players finished at par or better. Just because Tiger blitzed the course doesn't mean it was as easy for everybody else. In fact, that might be the best evidence that it was tougher.
"You're not going to win by big margins on some of the easier venues because everybody is going low," Woods said, explaining his 10th win by eight shots or more. "... You need to have a golf course that's difficult, and you need to get hot on a tough track." -- Mike McAllister
FURYK CAN STILL TAKE THE CUP: Jim Furyk hears the talk every week. It has been almost 800 days since he last won on the PGA TOUR. Here's the irony: A win at East Lake -- on a golf course he loves, on a track where he tied for sixth in 2008 -- would give him the FedExCup.
Talk about redemption. Taking the FedExCup at the last minute from Tiger Woods would be akin to securing a major party nomination for president after getting shut out in the primaries.
In this case, though, a Furyk victory would carry no asterisk. Furyk's game is back to its peak -- he hit every green in the opening round at TPC Boston last week, then followed it up by finishing near the top of the field in nearly every category at Cog Hill, where his 9 under on the weekend blew away everyone except Woods.
It might be time for this veteran to give his acceptance speech. In any event, he's still on the ballot. -- Ryan Smithson
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| Road to THE TOUR Championship |
The shot of the week, as far as I'm concerned, came during the round of the week when Tiger Woods lasered a 3-wood from over 275 yards to inside 10 feet on the par-5 ninth on his way to an eagle and a course-record 62 on Saturday.
Which did you think was the best shot of the week? Cast your vote here and check in each week on the Road to the TOUR Championship. -- Brian Wacker |
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| Stock up |
Padraig Harrington: The last three starts for Harrington: Tie for second (The Barclays), tie for fourth (Deutsche Bank Champ.), tie for sixth (BMW Champ.). And that's with having made a double-bogey (or worse) in each tournament -- each of his last 13, actually. Suffice to say, Harrington knew what he was doing when he tinkered with his swing.
FedExCup rank: 6 (7 last week) |
Marc Leishman: Prior to August, the rookie had three top-25s. In the last month, he has had twice as many, including a tie for second at the BMW that got him into the field for East Lake. He's not some flash in the pan, either. Leishman is long off the tee, a very good ballstriker and solid on the green, which would explain why he ranks 21st in the all-around category this year.
FedExCup rank: 16 (67 last week) |
Kevin Na: We forget this kid is just that -- a kid who will turn 26 on Tuesday. That's because he has been out here forever, having turned pro as a teenager in 2001. Na had nine top-10s this year, which is one shy of the number of top-10s earned in his entire career prior to this season. He got another one in Chicago, a week after tying for 11th at TPC Boston.
FedExCup rank: 18 (23 last week) |
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| Stock down |
Anthony Kim: Since finishing third at both the AT&T National and the RBC Canadian Open, Kim has been a non-factor. He was a combined 8 over and didn't finish in the top 20 in any of his last five tournaments. He also played himself out of the race for the FedExCup in what was a fatiguing and less-than-stellar 2009 season.
FedExCup rank: 35 (34 last week) |
Sergio Garcia: It was a long year that got longer with six consecutive tournaments to close out Garcia's season on TOUR. Even though he finished in a tie for sixth at the BMW, he admitted to being exhausted, and it showed in his play at times. In the end, a slow start to '09 was too much too overcome for Garcia.
FedExCup rank: 38 (55 last week) |
Kenny Perry: We have to remember Perry is nearly 50 and that, away from the course, it has been a difficult year. That said, this has been a forgettable couple of months for the Masters runner-up. Since his win in Hartford, Perry has just one finish in the top 40. He'll be at East Lake but probably won't raise any eyebrows.
FedExCup rank: 9 (6 last week) |
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| A Quick 18 |
| Front Nine | Back Nine |
| Michael Jordan, who is tight with Tiger Woods and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame Friday night had a message for his buddy: Kill or be killed. Woods must have been listening. The next day he went out and shot a course-record 62. | On that third-round 62, NBC's Johnny Miller said it was Woods' A-plus game, and Dan Hicks added when he plays that way, no one else has a chance. No, they don't. We haven't always seen Woods' A-plus game this year, but he's now won 23 of his last 44 TOUR events, dating back to the 2006 British Open. |
| How cavernous is the gap between Woods and, say, Jim Furyk? In the 51 starts since Furyk last won on TOUR, Woods has won 23 times. And it's not as though Furyk has been on the side of a milk carton during that time -- he is third on TOUR through week 36 in top-10s this year with nine. | It has been said before, and I'll say it again, Tiger is the greatest front-runner in the history of golf. Of course, this was not the week for that argument given his seven-shot cushion after three rounds, but he's now 48 for 52 when leading after 54 holes, and 33 for 40 after 36 holes. |
| Not to keep beating the Woods drum, but with his win Sunday, he pulled to within two of Jack Nicklaus on the all-time list. Woods has now won 71 times before turning 34. Nicklaus was a little over 42 years old when he got his 73rd career victory. | When Tiger Woods eagled No. 9 at Cog Hill on Saturday, it marked just the 24th eagle at that hole since 1991. On the flip side, the 15th hole, which was the easiest on the course all week, didn't cause a single bogey the entire third round. |
| Speaking of those 71 wins for Woods, Sunday's victory at the BMW Championship was the fifth for Woods in the event. It also marked the fifth time that Woods has won a tournament at least five times. That's 25 wins from five tournaments.
| FedExCup Movers of the Week: Ian Poulter (No. 32) and Charley Hoffman (No. 37) played their way out of the top 30 in the standings. Poulter did so, ultimately, by finding the water on the 18th hole Sunday. Luke Donald (No. 28), meanwhile, played his way in with a top-10.
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| And to that point, Woods' career average margin of victory at the BMW is 4.2 strokes. Do you have any idea how big that is? Sure, it was boosted by his eight-shot win Sunday, but if that's not enough convincing for you, he's also a combined 140-under par in the event. | By how much did Poulter and Brandt Snedeker miss advancing in the Playoffs? John Senden finished 30th in the standings with 1,532.41 points. Poulter had 1,531.95 points, while Snedeker, who you have to think wouldn't have missed either of his two putts following the bogey miss had it mattered, finished with 1,435 points. |
| Padraig Harrington's swing changes might have finally taken hold, but it's his putting that has been the difference in the Playoffs. He didn't have a single three-putt at the BMW and has had only one three-putt in the entire Playoffs.
| Ten players earned a trip to THE TOUR Championship for the first time: Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, John Senden, Nick Watney, Brian Gay, Y.E. Yang, Angel Cabrera, Kevin Na, Marc Leishman and Steve Marino.
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| Marc Leishman became the only rookie to advance to THE TOUR Championship this season with his runner-up finish. Andres Romero was the only rookie to advance to East Lake in 2008, and Brandt Snedeker the only rookie to advance in 2007. Snedeker and Romero both won Rookie of the Year in those respective seasons, and it's hard to imagine Leishman won't. | All four 2009 major championship winners also earned a trip to THE TOUR Championship. The FedExCup standings after the BMW Championship for the major winners: Cabrera (Masters/No. 24), Lucas Glover (U.S. Open/No. 20), Stewart Cink (British Open/No. 26) and Y.E. Yang (PGA/No. 21). |
| In each of the last two years, the winner of the BMW Championship has gone on to win THE TOUR Championship (Tiger Woods in 2007 and Camilo Villegas in 2008). Is there any doubt to who the favorite will be next week? Woods has two career wins and three runner-up finishes in the event.
| Heath Slocum began the Playoffs in 124th place. That's the furthest back in the standings of anyone to reach Atlanta since the inception of the Playoffs three years ago. Villegas (52) was the lowest seeded player to qualify for THE TOUR Championship in 2007, and Dudley Hart (67) the lowest in 2008. |
| It might take a win at East Lake for Woods to win the FedExCup, too. The top five players in the standings (Woods, Steve Stricker, Furyk, Zach Johnson and Slocum) control their own destiny -- if one of them wins, he will win the FedExCup. |
Tweet of the Week: "Which college best represented at Cog Hill? Oklahoma State with 4, followed by Ga Tech with 3." -- Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405). On a college football Saturday, that seemed appropriate. Players weren't wearing team-logoed apparel this week, though, like they were at TPC Boston.
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| The Forward Spin |
| The PGA TOUR will have a bye week this week, with the top 30 in the FedExCup standings moving on to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake next week. And when they do, they will do so without 2008 FedExCup champion Vijay Singh, who was eliminated from the Playoffs at TPC Boston. Really, any of the top five players in the standings could win the FedExCup, especially given how all of them have played at various points this year, and everyone else in the field will at least have a mathematical chance to win it all. But is anyone going to bet against Tiger Woods at this point? I've received plenty of e-mails saying he won't win and explaining why. Well, we'll find out in two weeks. |
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PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker wrote Stock Up, Stock Down, the Quick 18 and Forward Spin.
Tiger Woods
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