Bad blood brings good theatre to U.S. Open

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The top 125 players in points will advance to the FedExCup Playoffs. For everyone else, their 2016-17 PGA TOUR season will end. No surprise that players hovering around that 125 cutline make up the bulk of this week’s field at Sedgefield. Every player ranked between 112 to 125 is playing. Meanwhile, 40 of the 42 players immediately outside the bubble also are in the field. The only exceptions are Michael Thompson (144) and Jim Furyk (156). While it’s likely that some players will move inside the 125 this week, there’s no guarantee. In 2013, no players were able to bust the bubble, and in 2014, only one did so. But five players burst the 125 bubble in 2015, with three of those (Camilo Villegas, Wyndham winner Davis Love III and Jason Gore) advancing to the second FedExCup Playoffs event. A year ago, Kyle Stanley and Shawn Stefani moved inside the Top 125 at Wyndham. CLOSE CALLS How close has the points separation been between the 125th and 126th players after Wyndham? Certainly close enough some years to reinforce the every-shot-matters mantra. Take 2015. Jeff Overton finished Wyndham at No. 125 points. The player immediately behind him was Will MacKenzie. Overton had 458 points; MacKenzie had 457.563. Thus, MacKenzie missed the FedExCup Playoffs by less than a half-point. The year before, in 2014, Robert Allenby was No. 125 after Wyndham with 438 points. Nicholas Thompson missed the Playoffs by less than a point. In 2012, Jason Bohn beat Jhonattan Vegas by two points to make the Playoffs. WILL KISNER CATCH FOWLER? The top four spots entering the Playoffs are set going into this week’s regular season finale. But the No. 5 spot remains undecided. Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas (fresh off his PGA Championship win), Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson will be Nos. 1 through 4, respectively, when the Playoffs begin Aug. 24 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. The current No. 5 is Rickie Fowler, who moved up one spot ahead of Jon Rahm after the year’s final major at Quail Hollow. Fowler has 1,832 points. The highest-ranked FedExCup player in the Wyndham field is Kevin Kisner, the 54-hole leader at the PGA who eventually finished T7. Kisner has 1,600 FedExCup points this season. If he wins (500 points) or finishes solo second (300 points), he would climb past Fowler and into fifth. Players inside the top five in points entering the TOUR Championship control their own FedExCup fate. Although a top-five spot starting the Playoffs does not offer the same guarantee, it can prove beneficial to maintaining a spot. Last year, Jason Day was No. 1 entering the Playoffs. He played well in the first two Playoffs events and WD in the third due to injury, but was still No. 4 in points entering East Lake (where he was forced to WD again to injury). TOPS IN THE FIELD The five highest-ranked FedExCup players in the Wyndham field this week: Kevin Kisner (9), Kyle Stanley (17), Charles Howell III (20), Jason Dufner (22) and Billy Horschel (23). CUP NOTES Two weeks ago, Chris Stroud was outside the FedExCup Playoffs bubble at 144. But after his first career win (Barracuda) and his first top-10 finish in a major (T-9 at the PGA), he’s now 69th in points. Stroud is playing Wyndham this week for the 11th time in his career. … Henrik Stenson, who is making his Wyndham debut, is ranked 75th in points. If he doesn’t move up this week, that would be his highest position entering the Playoffs since 2012. Stenson won the FedExCup in 2013. … Adam Scott is ranked 62nd in points after the PGA. That’s likely not enough breathing room to keep him inside the top 70 as he sits out the first two Playoffs events to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. … In the 10-year history of the FedExCup, no player has made the TOUR Championship starting the Wyndham Championship outside the Playoffs cut line. … A reminder: All is not lost if players fail to get inside the Top 125 after this week. Players ranked Nos. 126-200 on the points list will be eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals.

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NAPA, Calif. — Rickie Fowler began his 15th professional season Thursday. From clubs to coach to caddie, just about everything is new for the five-time PGA TOUR winner. Fowler, whose last victory was the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open, enjoyed immediate success. He shot a 5-under 67 and was among nine players who finished their rounds four shots behind leader Justin Lower at the Fortinet Championship. Lower, beginning his second PGA TOUR season, concluded his career-low, 9-under 63 in the early evening at Silverado Resort and Spa. He held a two-shot cushion over defending champion Max Homa and a three-shot lead over Byeong Hun An, S.H. Kim and J.J. Spaun at the fog-delayed PGA TOUR season opener. Lower, whose career-best finish in 28 PGA TOUR starts dating to 2013 was a tie for eighth in July at the Barbasol Championship, had a bogey-free round. “I’ll take it. I birdied half the holes, so that’s always a good start, I guess,” Lower said. “I’m honestly just happy to be in the position I am having I guess, full status.” Homa, finishing just before play was called because of darkness, birdied two of the last three holes for his 65. Fowler, who had a bogey-free round, has only four top-10 finishes in the past three seasons. He recently began using a new putter and this week is also using a new set of irons. Once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world, Fowler is now 176th. With his new clubs, Fowler hopes to rekindle his career with the assistance of a new caddie and new coach. On the bag is friend and veteran PGA TOUR caddie Ricky Romano. Butch Harmon, who has worked with Fowler in the past, replaced John Tillery, who was Fowler’s swing coach for the past three years. “Yeah, I always like it when there’s a bogey-free round in there,” Fowler said. “For the most part, there wasn’t an issue today other than having to make a 15-footer when I hit it into the bunker. Other than that, it was a fairly simple day.” An, a three-time PGA TOUR runner-up who regained his card via the Korn Ferry Tour, had seven birdies and one bogey en route to his 66. Kim, a PGA TOUR rookie, had eight birdies and two bogeys in the opening round of the PGA TOUR’s new season — its final time using a wraparound schedule. Two groups were on the course Thursday morning when play was suspended for 90 minutes because of fog. There were 35 players left on the course when darkness halted play at 7:20 p.m. PDT. Among those, Robby Shelton had the best round going at 5 under through 13 holes. The first round was to resume Friday morning. Fowler missed the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in his career in 2021. He got into the first playoff event this past season, the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August, but did not advance. “I’ve had some good weeks in the past few years, but it shouldn’t just be a few weeks in those years, there needs to be more,” Fowler said. “I’m just trying to get to be more consistent.” Greyson Sigg, Nick Taylor, Sahith Theegala, Scott Harrington, Matti Schmid, Emiliano Grillo, Sung Kang and Brice Garnett all matched Fowler’s 67. Grillo won the event in 2015 and had two runner-up finishes last season. Fowler hadn’t played in the event since 2010 when it was played at CordeValle. “Well, not going to the playoffs and not being on a Presidents Cup team, that’s been really the only reason I haven’t been to Napa yet,” Fowler said. “I’ve always heard good things about the event, so not to say thanks to bad play or anything, but that’s kind of the reason we’re able to be here this week.” Fowler was pleased with his overall play, particularly off the tee. “I set the round up by driving it fairly nicely, especially the second half of the day,” Fowler said. “And I was just able to keep moving forward. There weren’t many times where I had to play too defensively.” Matt Kuchar, whose 2019 win at the Sony Open was the last of his nine PGA TOUR titles, was among several players at 4 under.

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