Stricker, O’Hair team to win QBE Shootout

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The words on the back of his wedges remind Kamaiu Johnson that while nothing in golf has ever come easily, he is determined not to let that get in the way of his dreams. “Enjoy the process” is stamped on one of them. “Never give up” is engraved on the other. He had reason to break both wedges over his knee two weeks ago. Johnson, a 27-year-old Black man with a most serendipitous entry into the white world of golf, had done well enough on the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour that he was awarded a sponsor exemption into the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, his first taste of the PGA TOUR. And then he tested positive for the coronavirus and had to withdraw. “I was talking to him that Tuesday and he was barely coherent,” said Ken Bentley, the CEO and co-founder of the APGA, which aims to develop minorities for careers in golf. “I talked to him the next day and he was all fired up.” The Honda Classic reacted quickly by offering him a sponsor exemption. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was right behind, along with a Korn Ferry Tour event, the Emeral Coast Classic at Sandestin. Johnson makes his PGA TOUR debut Thursday. The first step. The ultimate goal is be a regular out here. “I can do it,” Johnson said. “For sure. I just have to keep grinding. I’ve come way too far to give up now. I’m in too deep. The biggest thing in life is to surround myself with good people.” Bentley is one of those people. He started the APGA in 2010 with Adrian Stills, who briefly played the TOUR. The hope was that it would not only groom Black players for tournament golf but open eyes and doors to opportunities in the industry. The PGA TOUR has invested enough in the APGA to make available some of its TPC network. Instead of going to public courses in hardscrabble conditions, the schedule this year takes the 60-man fields to Valhalla and the TPC Sugarloaf, TPC Louisiana and TPC Scottsdale, all of them with a history of hosting the world’s best. “We can play a tournament on a municipal course and it’s not going to prepare us for this,” Johnson said. “Just the PGA TOUR allowing that is going to go a long way. I guarantee you’re going to see more guys who look like me out here.” And now there is a chance for some real momentum. Willie Mack filled in for Johnson at Torrey Pines and already received the Charlie Sifford exemption for the Genesis Invitational next week at Riviera. Johnson is at Pebble and the Honda Classic. Pebble’s tournament director, Steve John, gave another spot this week to Kevin Hall, a former Big 10 champion from Ohio State who is Black and has been deaf since birth. Hall played the tournament 15 years ago. He was most recently was featured on CBS when it began coverage of the Masters as someone who knows what it’s like not to hear the roars. That’s four PGA TOUR stops over two months with APGA members in the field. “It is a chance for people to see how much talent there is on the APGA Tour,” Hall said in an email interview. “All those players need is a fair shake in being able to have access to everything they need to be able to get to the next level, and the APGA Tour is part of the maturing process of being a professional golfer. “The tour is only going to get bigger and better in the coming years.” For Johnson, it always has been about access and relationships. Only one of those has come easily. Johnson dropped out of school in the eighth grade, beaten down by being stuck in a class of slow learners. He was living with his grandmother in a cramped, two-bedroom apartment adjacent to a public golf course. One day, he was outside swinging a stick when Jan Auger approached. “She could have come up and said, `Hey, you’re trespassing,’ or `Get back in the house before you get hit by a golf ball.’ Instead, she gave me a 9-iron and a bucket of balls,” Johnson said. “When she did that, I found purpose in my life.” Unbeknownst to her supervisors, she charged him $1 a day to play all he wanted. Johnson helped out around the course that became a second home. By 18, he qualified for the Florida Open. He moved to New York with a friend to caddie and earned enough to qualify for tournaments in one of the strongest golf sections in America. He has won a dozen times on mini-tours, and his big one came last year at the APGA Tour Championship, which led to an exemption to a PGA TOUR event — not the one he thought, but Pebble Beach works just fine. “I wouldn’t be here without the APGA,” Johnson said. He told stories of Bentley covering his entry fees when he was low on money, all in the name of access and opportunity. He has ambassador roles with Farmers Insurance. Titleist provides equipment, which included the first time Johnson was ever fitted for golf clubs. “An eye-opener,” said Johnson, who for years bought clubs off the rack at discount prices. Bentley said along with access, members of the APGA are still lacking when it comes to equipment and top coaching. “We surveyed the players and were shocked to learn some had never been fitted for clubs, they were using wedges that were three or four years old,” he said. “We’re starting to give guys tools to level the playing field.”

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Promise. That’s the essence of the FedExCup Playoffs in a single word, but it stands for more than one thing. Qualifying means fully exempt status for the 2018-19 season, the guarantee for finishing inside the top 125 of the FedExCup standings entering the four-event series. It’s the definitive in advance of the opportunity presented during the Playoffs itself. While an individual sport challenges the definition of the PGA TOUR’s Playoffs, what’s not different about this system is that anything can happen. My annual Power Rankings takes into account the usual variables that project success and inject trends that have emerged during the Playoffs. Scroll beneath the 30 golfers ranked for more insight and intel. POWER RANKINGS: FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS RANK PLAYER COMMENT Seeded second and in possession of an it-factor unto his own. Unflappable and fearless, he’s in the strongest position of any defending FedExCup champion. Also defending at TPC Boston. The 4-seed has gone 14-for-14 with two wins among eight top 10s in 2017-18. Finished ninth in last year’s FedExCup after going T10-T10-T2-T10 in the Playoffs. Won at Aronimink (BMW) in 2010. Beware the PGA TOUR’s best putter. Two wins and a T2 among 11 top 20s in just 16 starts this season. Two top fives at both Ridgewood (2010, 2014) and TPC Boston (2010, 2011). The 6-seed. First FedExCup appearance in five years. While he opens 20th, it’d be an upset if he’s not among the top five entering the TOUR Championship and a member of the Ryder Cup team. If you ever wondered how difficult it is to win the FedExCup, he debuted last year as the 6-seed and went T3-T4-T5-T7 to finish “only” fifth. Opens this edition 13th despite a curtailed schedule. Top seed also is No. 1 in too many stats to list, but short-term inconsistency suggests a lack of focus and over-reliance on natural ability. Defending THE NORTHERN TRUST on a different course. Poised to spoil as the 43-seed. Hadn’t opened worse than eighth (twice) in his first five appearances. Won the 2015 FedExCup. Solo second at TPC Boston last year. Putting is improving. It hasn’t mattered where or when, he’s shown up and delivered. With so many notable performances in the biggest events, he feels low seeded 23rd. Fifth on TOUR in adjusted scoring. The 10-seed is on the Ryder Cup team and headed to East Lake for the fifth straight year, so he’s chasing Player of the Year honors. Finished T4-T5-T6 in last three appearances at TPC Boston. THE PLAYERS champ seeded seventh is evidence of a guy in his prime. The transformation with his putter has been remarkable. TPC Boston winner in 2011. Two top fives at East Lake. Talk about the shot of adrenaline at Sedgefield what with the opening 59 and wire-to-wire victory. Four top 10s in last eight starts and 30th in points. The 2012 FedExCup champion. From 2015-2017, he finished 13th, fifth and 11th, respectively, in the FedExCup. In the last nine Playoffs events, he’s posted two seconds, two fourth- and three fifth-place finishes. Opens 16th. This should be fun. At 12th in FedExCup points, he’s the only non-winner inside the top 16. Two runner-up finishes among eight top 10s in 2017-18. Already his fourth Playoffs appearance. It’s fair to wonder how the 3-seed will, well, fare in these non-majors, no? He’s managed only two top 30s in a combined nine starts in the first three Playoffs events from 2015-2017. To no one’s surprise, he thrived in his Playoffs debut last year with top 20s in all four events. At 78th, he was the lowest seed to reach East Lake. This time, he’s 14th and licking his chops. Erased all doubt over his commitment to excellence on the PGA TOUR in the last two months. His ability to sustain top-shelf form means he’s a target as the opening 8-seed. The 28-seed is seeking to become the first to successfully defend a title at the TOUR Championship. Since then, he’s recorded a trio of T2s, including at TPC Sawgrass and Carnoustie. Perhaps he’ll remember he finished a respective second, third and first in the FedExCup in last three Ryder Cup years. Opens 21st but dissatisfied with his season. Two-time champ at TPC Boston. Heating up again and, oh, how timely. T22-T17-T6 in last three starts. Seeded 33rd and fifth on TOUR in both total driving and GIR. Advanced to East Lake in five out of six attempts. A virtual lock to advance to East Lake for the second straight year, the 18-seed recorded two runner-up finishes and a pair of T5s this season. Inside the top 10 in both total driving and GIR. Chasing fourth appearance at East Lake but opens as the 40-seed. Was a respective 17th, 11th and ninth in the last three Playoffs. Still has ax to grind. Ninth in strokes gained: putting. Uncharacteristic stumble at Travelers (MC) is ancient history. He’s 4-for-4 since with a pair of top 15s. Seeded 22nd, he’ll be defending the BMW (different course). Third at TPC Boston in 2017. Started the season near the bottom of the graduate reshuffle category, yet debuts at 42nd in points. Modified his late schedule to be ready. Ranks seventh in strokes gained: putting. Opens 11th in points, so he’s a lock for the TOUR Championship, but with a Ryder Cup berth presumably on the line, he’ll need to improve on lackluster form over his last six starts. Enigmatic, mercurial, confusing. No matter how you define him, he’s compelling. Still cutting his teeth in the Playoffs, but he’ll appear in all four events starting ninth in points. Three-time winner in 2017-18 is seeded fifth, but he limps in without a top 30 in last four starts. Only one top 25 at TPC Boston in 11 tries (T16, 2011), but top 10s in last two starts at East Lake. Although he won at Greenbrier in early July, the 19-seed is a mild sleeper to contend for the FedExCup given his apt to get crazy-hot. T9 at Ridgewood in 2014 and T6 at TPC Boston in 2017. At 56th, he’s the lowest opening seed featured here. The terrific fit with Ridgewood is the key for the ball-striker. T18 last year at TPC Boston. Top 20s in his last three starts. The clubhouse leader for the Rookie of the Year award splashes as the 31-seed. Went 21-for-26 with a win among eight top 25s thanks to a reliable blend of accuracy off the tee and putting. The sharpshooter hung on to open 24th, but he’s managed only one top-35 finish in his last eight starts. Has experience at both Ridgewood and TPC Boston with a T9 at the latter in 2014. Championships in professional sports require a blend of success both during the regular season and in the postseason. This is no different on the PGA TOUR, but there’s many routes to the same destination. All three iterations of the Playoffs points system (2007-2008; 2009-2014; 2015-present) yielded FedExCup champions who opened the Playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Tiger Woods opened at the top en route to both of his FedExCup titles (2007, 2009). Jordan Spieth joined him in 2015. Dustin Johnson begins the 12th edition at No. 1, but the door is open for all comers. In the most impressive display of fulfilling promise, Billy Horschel opened 69th in 2014 and missed the cut in the first event to fall to 82nd. He then went T2-Win-Win to take the FedExCup. Two years later, Rory McIlroy won two Playoffs events, including the TOUR Championship in a playoff, to prevail after opening as the 36-seed and slipping two spots with a T31 to start the series. THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood Country Club is reserved for all 125 Playoffs qualifiers. The course in Paramus, New Jersey, hosted the opener in 2008, 2010 and 2014. Full-season points are carried into the tournament. FedExCup points earned in the Playoffs are quadrupled, thus making possible the surprises often experienced in any playoffs. After the conclusion of THE NORTHERN TRUST, the top 100 in the updated FedExCup standings will advance to the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, the only site the tournament has ever known. Only the first two events in the Playoffs will include 36-hole cuts, but if more than 78 golfers survive either cut, there will not be a secondary cut of low 70 and ties. At the Playoffs midpoint, the top 70 will qualify for the BMW Championship, this year contested at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. It underwent full-scale modifications since it last hosted the Quicken Loans National in 2011. The top 30 in FedExCup points at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will comprise the field for the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. It’s hosted every edition of the event since 2004 and thrice prior. (Just as Monday’s Power Rankings for THE NORTHERN TRUST focused on only that tournament and Ridgewood as host, each of the tournaments will receive individualized Power Rankings.) No matter the scoring system, all of the top-13 seeds entering the Playoffs have always advanced to the TOUR Championship. Since 2015, 17 golfers who started the Playoffs outside the top 30 worked their way into the season finale. The worst opening seeds in each edition to turn the trick were Daniel Berger (46th in 2015), Sean O’Hair (108th in 2016) and Patrick Cantlay (78th in 2017). Also since 2015, a top-33 finish in THE NORTHERN TRUST has been enough to survive and advance to the Dell Technologies Championship. From there, all top 20s at TPC Boston spawned berths into the BMW. In each of the last three Playoffs, exactly four golfers who started the BMW outside the top 30 in points qualified for the exclusive field at East Lake. All but three of the 12 recorded a top-10 finish in the BMW: Harris English (32-seed in 2015; T19 at BMW), Xander Schauffele (32-seed in 2017; T20 at BMW) and Sergio Garcia (34-seed in 2017; T12 at BMW). Once in the TOUR Championship, if any of the top-five seeds wins the tournament, he will win the FedExCup, a five-year TOUR exemption and a spot in the Sentry Tournament of Champions (if not already eligible). In addition to that chance for all 30 in the field, carte-blanche scheduling for 2018-19 is already guaranteed. Exemptions into the first three majors, the WGC-HSBC Champions and the WGC-Mexico Championship will be extended. For those finishing inside the top 60 in points, spots in the CIMB Classic and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES this fall are made available. The top 70 will receive coveted tee times for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, both of which reward their champions three-year TOUR exemptions. The top 80 in the final FedExCup standings will be exempt into the Charles Schwab Challenge (at Colonial Country Club), while all 125 can book trips to the CareerBuilder Challenge, THE PLAYERS Championship and the RBC Heritage. All of the tournaments cited here are invitationals. So, for first-time Playoffs qualifiers in particular, they represent the next level of regular competition on the circuit. TOUR status and schedule guarantees aside, there’s also the not-so-small matter of the FedExCup bonus money up for grabs. The FedExCup champ will pocket $10 million of the $35-million prize fund. That trickles all the way down past the Playoffs participants. Even the top 25 who didn’t qualify (those ranking 126-150 in the overall standings) receive $32,000 apiece. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton reviews and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings (THE NORTHERN TRUST) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (FedExCup Playoffs), Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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