Well, the first playoff event of the 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs is wrapped up, and unfortunately, my least favorite golfer on Tour won the Northern Trust – Patrick Reed. Man, I can’t stand that guy. Before we get to the BMW Championship, I’m going to vent here for a second. The way that the FedEx Cup Playoffs is set up drives me nuts. I get it, this is the “playoffs” and the events are weighted heavier now, but the way the points for a “season long” event shake out are absurd. Why, you say? Let’s take Rory for example. Rory was in second heading into the Northern Trust. After the event, he now sits in third, with Reed jumping him to take the second spot.
Why does that make me mad? Let’s look at the season stats:
Rory McIlroy: 2 wins and 13 top 10s
Patrick Reed: 1 win (this week) and 4 top 10s
But hey, Reed is ahead, right? Jumped from 50th to 2nd with the win. Annoying.
Anyways, I digress. On to the updates.
Tommy’s FedEx Cup Pick Updates
Last week, I gave my picks for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, so let’s see how I did. Let’s start with the front runners. I made the blatantly obvious and easy pick of Brooks Koepka. He’s still in first so we are sitting pretty there. He finished T-30 and is fine heading to Medinah (Chicago represent!). I also picked Jon Rahm. What a pick that appeared to be after the front 9 on Sunday. Unfortunately, Rahm’s wheels fell off of the wagon the last five holes and he finished T-3. Still in prime position to win the whole shebang.
My middle of the pack picks were mediocre. Golf Jesus Tommy Fleetwood had a T-43 finish and dropped five spots to 24th. Not a huge issue. Hideki Matsuyama had a T-30 finish at Liberty National. He dropped from 30th to 33rd and is outside the Tour Championship line for now. One week to catch up.
I had one big hit and one big miss for the “Needs Some Help” group. Jordan Spieth had a solid T-6 to jump him from 69th to 44th. He’s still outside the top 30 so he will need to have a good week in Chicago. Matthew Wolff on the other hand, finished T-71, which isn’t going to cut it. He dropped from 70th to 74th, and his playoffs are over.
Heading to Medinah
The BMW Championship is this week. With the new format, there’s only two playoff events before East Lake, so this is the last chance for players to make a move into the finale’s top 30. I like where my picks are at, and I’m not changing anything. But with that, in terms of making a move up the standings, I’d keep an eye on Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Putnam (go Waves), and Troy Merrit to improve their positions with good showings at Medinah.
Thanks for tuning in and we will be back with an update next week!
