The first week of the FedEx Playoffs is now in the books and just fifty players remain. Those fifty players have now moved onto Colorado for the BMW Classic and the race is on to ensure that they secure their place in the final thirty and assure their place at the season ending Tour Championship.
This is the PGA Tour’s most dramatic time of the season, as the very best prepare to battle it out for prestige and prize money. With plenty on the line this week, here are five things to watch out for.
The race to be number one looks set to go down to the wire
Just a thousand points separate Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele at the top of the FedEx standings and this looks set to be a battle that will continue all the way to the final few holes of the Tour Championship.
Without doubt the best two players in the world, once again Schauffele saved his best for last at last week’s St Jude Championship and was able to produce a stunning final round which saw him finish higher than Scheffler and reduce the world number one’s lead at the top of the standings.
Scheffler has to be feeling the effects of trying to preserve his lead and that was hugely evident at the St Jude. Showing rare signs of frustration, Scheffler deserves to end the season as the FedEx champion but the huge points on offer over the next two weeks means he is there to be shot at.
With the way that the Tour Championship is played, both men will want to finish this week on top. With $15 million on the line, the battle to finish first is only set to intensify further this week.
Last chance for many
With just 4,000 FedEx points to play for, time is running out for many to try and overthrow Scottie Scheffler’s lead at the top.
Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg and Collin Morikawa all need to win this week and hope that Scheffler starts to feel the pressure.
A good week for the world number one will ensure that realistically only he and Schauffele can win this year’s title, but if he struggles he could just open the door for others to get back into the hunt.
Now is when those chasing the leading duo need to play their best golf, failure to do so will mean any slim hopes they hold of winning the FedEx will be over for another year.
All eyes will be on McIlroy
A three time winner of the FedEx, nobody would have been able to predict Rory McIlroy’s huge drop off last week as he finished right near the bottom of the leaderboard at last week’s St Jude Championship.
This season has been a rough one for the world number one three. Still unable to win that elusive fifth major, his inability to close out the U.S Open still has the ability to haunt him and off the course things haven’t been easier with his much publicised divorce saga and the delay of the inaugural TGL.
At the St Jude, McIlroy looked tired. Still only 35, he still has plenty of time on his side to not only complete the career Grand Slam but also win more majors, but having exhausted almost every avenue to try and reclaim his status as the sport’s top dog, those efforts seem to have had a damaging effect.
Probably wanting this season to end so that he can have a rest, it will be interesting to see how the Northern Irishman responds this week. Almost out of the running to lift the FedEx trophy, he won’t want a repeat of last week’s horror show and with the pressure likely to be off, he could be one to watch with real interest this week.
Big names prepare for battle as they try and reach the Tour Championship
As is often the way with how the FedEx Playoffs work, there are many big names who currently sit outside the top 30 in the overall rankings and are in real jeopardy of missing out on a place at the Tour Championship.
After a disastrous week at the St Jude where he finished last, Max Homa is arguably the biggest name that could miss out. Dropping to 43rd in the overall standings, the popular Californian knows that he will need to play his best golf this week. Not since the Masters have we seen Homa feature on the leaderboard and his many fans will hope that this is the week where it all finally comes back together.
Another man in danger of missing out is Tommy Fleetwood. Sitting just outside the bubble in 31st place, it looks like it could be another year where the Englishman fails to win a PGA title.
Blessed with all of the talent in the world it is often in the mind where Fleetwood seems to lose it. As seen when nerves clearly got the better of him at the Olympics when in the hunt for gold, there have been many occasions where Fleetwood has been unable to seal the deal and has ended up surrendering leads or undoing all of his good work.
A hugely popular figure all over the world, it would be a shame for the tournament if he were to miss out on the Tour Championship.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Cam Young and Will Zalatoris are three other notable names that currently sit outside the top 30 and have it all to do to muscle their way into contention.
Emerging stars will hope to sign off year in style
It’s been a strange year on the PGA Tour, many of the tour's leading lights have struggled which has paved the way for new names to take center stage.
One of those players has been Rob MacIntyre. A winner of the Scottish Open as well as the Canadian Open, MacIntyre currently lies in twelfth place in the FedEx standings and will want to use this week as an opportunity to climb into the top ten, if not higher.
Tucked in right behind MacIntyre is Akshay Bhatia. The winner of the Houston Open, Bhatia is one of the youngest names in the final 50 and like MacIntyre he will harbour serious hopes of another big week which will propel him into the top ten of the rankings.
Aaron Rai is one of the form men on Tour. The winner of the Wyndham Championship, Rai had another positive week last week to move himself into 22nd place on the rankings.
The man who wears two gloves and has covers for all of his irons has a little more work to do to ensure his place in the Tour Championship but with the way that he is swinging the club at the moment, few would bet against him having another great week.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
