PLAYOFFS?? (Jim Mora voice). What a season it’s been. We’ve seen a dominant run from Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele burst onto the major scene, but now it’s time to crown the FedEx Cup Champion. The game’s top 70 players based on points will be playing TPC Southwind this week. It’s a challenging par 70, and can be stretched to just shy of 7,300 yards. Both the par 5’s are reachable with good tee shots; however, there is water on over half the holes, so I will be placing an emphasis on ball striking this week. The defending champion, Lucas Glover will not be back in the field this year, but all the game’s best are here, as they battle it out to make the top 50 next week! Look for an exciting weekend, as all the stars are here, and ready to make a splash in the playoffs!
I’m looking at none other than Peter Malnati. He comes in at 62nd on the FedEx Cup list, so unless he does something special this weekend, he will be headed home after Sunday, and I anticipate just that. He’s been consistently losing strokes on the greens, and I can see that trend continuing this week. Look for Peter Malnati at the bottom of the leaderboard this weekend.
I’m not sure Sahith Theegala can be considered a dark horse these days, but I’m doing it. He’s not a major household name, but he does have 7 top 10’s on the season and sits at 7th in the FedEx Cup Standings. What I love about Theegala’s game is that he has gained strokes off the tee over his last 3 events, and if he gets a hot putter like he did at the 3M Open, where he finished T-6, you can expect him in contention. He’s yet to win this year, but he’s been close many, many times.
Will there be a hangover coming off his silver medal in Paris? I don’t think so. I always have faith in one of the best ball strikers on tour, but can Tommy Fleetwood make enough putts on the weekend? I have a sneaky feeling he will find himself in the mix on the back 9 on Sunday. Tommy continued to gain strokes on approach and off the tee at the Olympics, but the reason he finished second was because he gained over 1.60 strokes putting for the week, according to Data Golf. If that trend continues this week, then he may FINALLY get that first win on the PGA Tour.
I’m just not sure how I can pick against him at this rate. It’s starting to become Scottie Scheffler or the field. He’s the number one player in the world, gold medalist, has FIFTEEN top 10s, and 7 wins, and you want me to pick against him? No thanks! He gained over 4 strokes on the field total at the Olympics, and you want to know the scary thing? He LOST, yes, lost strokes putting to the field, and still won! I’ve mentioned before he’s not Tiger, but the run he is currently on is the closest thing we have ever seen. Give me Scottie to get the playoffs started with a bang, and win number 8 on the season!
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