Scottie Scheffler builds five-shot lead at the Masters

If you’re ever in need of a reminder for when Jay Monahan assumed the role of commissioner of the PGA TOUR as he did at the start of 2017, this year’s FedExCup Playoffs served as a handy reference point. For the first time in the history of the series that launched in 2007, there are new title sponsors on board. The four-event climax of the 2016-17 season opens with the newly named THE NORTHERN TRUST and Dell Technologies Championship, the latter at which Monahan was the first tournament director when it debuted at TPC Boston in 2003. After the scheduled finish of the Dell on Labor Day and a planned week off, the Playoffs will conclude with the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship. More on all four events, their host sites, trends for golfers in the Playoffs and the targets they’re chasing beneath the ranking. The 3-seed. Unlikely to open MC-MC as he did en route to capturing 2015 FedExCup, but this year has paralleled that season. Has a win (2015) and a T2 (2013) at East Lake. The FedExCup points leader is a machine anywhere he competes lately. Two top fives among four top 15s in the majors. Runaway winner recently at Firestone. Showing zero reason why he can’t maintain his current brilliance. Six top 10s in his last eight starts. Won at TPC Boston in 2015, and then finished T4 at Conway Farms. It’s rather amazing that he opens as the 4-seed, and that’s with a T8-T17-T13 run-up. The lineup of this year’s host courses might benefit him the most, too. Trending too strongly to dismiss despite only one top 30 in seven Playoffs starts (T18, 2015 TOUR Championship). Massive year in majors includes U.S. Open breakthrough. The 2013 FedExCup champ rose to 23rd with his victory at Sedgefield, also his fourth straight top 20. T10 at Conway Farms in 2015, and then a T2 at East Lake. The 2016 FedExCup champ is the 44-seed, but that shouldn’t last long. With a concentrated series on which to focus, he’ll be a force as long as his body cooperates. He thrived in his first two spins in the Playoffs with top 15s in eight events. Runner-up at Conway Farms in 2015. The 8-seed has three top fives since title defense in Memphis. Since Player of the Year isn’t quite decided, he can eliminate the doubt. Seeded second to start, the four-time winner this season will have a month’s worth of opportunities. Never lacking for proper confidence, the 18-seed is most definitely short on victories despite phenomenal form. Closed out last year’s Playoffs in 2nd-2nd-4th. Hard to believe he’s only 15th in points but he really didn’t come on until mid-May. Eight top 20s in his last nine starts. Seven consecutive trips to East Lake. Winless since the 2016 NORTHERN TRUST at Bethpage Black. Crashes in at 38th in points on the T2 at the PGA Championship. Top fives in last two tries at TPC Boston. While still a non-winner on TOUR, the 34-year-old Italian is having a career season. After finishing 111th in points in the last two, he’s 31st to open this year’s Playoffs. Checks in at 30th. Already one of the sneakier talents on bigger stages, he’s threatened elsewhere and often. Lost in a playoff in his debut at East Lake last year. The latest evidence that life begins at 40. Perfect in his last 12 starts with top 10s in four of his last seven. The 11-seed won at TPC Boston in 2010 and placed third in 2015. Formerly a streaky sort, the Aussie surprisingly sustained his form since winning at Bay Hill. Six top 20s during his active 9-for-9 stretch. Seeded 14th. As the 20-seed, may need a strong start to fulfill this projection, but accomplished ball-strikers are slump-proof. Top 10s in his last two trips to East Lake (2013, 2016). The lefty acknowledged that his 30th birthday (in January) sparked new focus. It sure has! Ten top 20s in 2017, including a close call at the U.S. Open. Beware the 10-seed. Opens 49th in points and with a bit of steam from a T9 at the PGA Championship. Winner at Conway Farms in 2015. The Playoffs presents proper closure to a challenging 2017. Ultimate wild card. The first-year PGA TOUR member makes his Playoffs debut ranked sixth. Only quantifiable weakness is inexperience, but he’s grinding away at that, too. One of the busiest might surprise casual fans at 28th in points, but he’s recorded six top 10s in 2017. Nine consecutive cuts made upon arrival. Smart, patient and punishing. Slotted eighth in points, he’s yet to resonate in the Playoffs. No top 25s in his last six starts in the series, including both trips through the limited field at East Lake. The 42-seed was 103rd in early July. With his latest renewal of strong putting, he’s poised to finish the job. Won at Conway Farms in 2013 and placed T13 in 2015. Not riding a patented heater, but playing well enough to demand attention as the 19-seed. Would surprise no one if his putter blazes the trail. T2 at TPC Boston in 2014. At 16th in points, he’s terrific position to advance to East Lake for the first time. Ran out of gas late but chalked up eight top 20s in 2017. Zero weaknesses. Benefited by opening as the 17-seed, the sublime ball-striker needs to capitalize on that skill set at Glen Oaks where the greens are unfamiliar. Never played East Lake on TOUR. Relative quiet all summer, the 12-seed should check the box of reaching East Lake for the first time. It’d be cherry on top for the 41-year-old’s return to competition. Notice how he eliminated murmurs of injury this year all the while recording four top fives worldwide, including a T2 at the PGA Championship. Opens as the 35-seed. Seeded 78th, he’s the lowest among this group, but the debutant’s firepower is well-documented. Perfect in nine starts with two top threes since resuming his career. POWER RANKINGS: FedExCup Playoffs RANK PLAYER COMMENT NOTE: In all 10 editions of the Playoffs, the top 13 seeds have advanced to the finale. So, in acknowledgment of that fact, each of this year’s top 13 seeds automatically are included above. After what may have been a blip in 2015 (due to the best golfers performing the best during the Playoffs), the latest iteration of the points system, which curtailed distribution by 20 percent of the system used from 2009-2014, once again turned out the kind of churn that the previous structure yielded. Eight golfers from outside the opening top 30 in points advanced to East Lake. That included eventual FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, who started as the 36-seed, and Sean O’Hair, whose T2 in the opening event lifted him from 108th to 15th. He completed the Playoffs ranked 27th. O’Hair’s climb is what’s possible but not promised. For example, Jason Kokrak opened 65th in points last year, and then went T7-T8-T17 before settling at 33rd. While there’s lightning in a bottle out there, the long hitter is a reminder that the majority of those who advance to the TOUR Championship likely have enjoyed a fruitful season in advance of the volatility of the Playoffs. After 43 events that comprise the PGA TOUR season, the top 125 in FedExCup points qualified for THE NORTHERN TRUST. Five elected not to compete, including 64-seed Brandt Snedeker, who has already announced that he will not participate in the Playoffs due to discomfort in his sternum joint. Those who are pegging it are treated with the TOUR’s first visit to Glen Oaks Golf Club in Old Westbury, New York. The composite par 70 reads 7,346 yards on the scorecard and should be a joy to play. Plainfield Country Club, host of the 2015 edition, is the only other par 70 in the tournament’s history during the FedExCup era. All other stops were par 71s. At the conclusion of THE NORTHERN TRUST, the updated top 100 in FedExCup points will qualify for the Dell Technologies Championship. TPC Boston is the only site ever used for the tournament, which goes back to Monahan’s introduction. The course is 45 yards longer than it played last year and can now tip at 7,342 yards. The extension was due in large part to significant changes to the par-4 12th hole. The par-4 13th was also modified and reduced by four yards. More on this par 71 the week of the tournament. Only the first two events of the Playoffs will feature 36-hole cuts, but neither is subject to the 54-hole (MDF) cut. All golfers who survive the 36-hole cut are guaranteed 72 holes. The top 70 in points following the Dell Technologies Championship will travel to Conway Farms Golf Club north of Chicago for the BMW Championship. It first hosted in 2013 when Jim Furyk spun a 59 in the second round. The course returned to the rotation in 2015. The par 71 measures 7,208 yards. That reflects an increase of 10 yards, all at the par-5 finishing hole that can now play 585 yards. Short of victory at the BMW, the goal will be to wedge into the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. Those who do will punch a ticket to the TOUR Championship. East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta is the only host the tournament has had during the FedExCup era. If a golfer inside the top five in points upon arrival wins the tournament, he’s guaranteed the FedExCup as well. While primarily the same test in recent years, the most impactful change at East Lake occurred in 2016 when the nines were reversed. This year’s most notable news surrounds the hardware awarded the tournament champion. A replica Calamity Jane putter with which Bobby Jones won 13 majors, including the 1930 grand slam, is now the official trophy. It had been presented merely as a gift to the winner since 2005. Speaking of perks, all of the qualifiers for the FedExCup Playoffs are fully exempt for the 2017-18 season. They’ve also earned invitations into the CareerBuilder Challenge, the RBC Heritage, THE PLAYERS and the Quicken Loans National. The top 80 in points will be eligible for the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, while the top 70 will be exempt into the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. The Top 60 are automatically eligible to compete in this fall’s CIMB Classic and CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the inaugural tournament in South Korea. For those who finish inside the top 30, they can add starts in the first three majors of 2018 as well as the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. And because it’s mathematically possible that the FedExCup champion can go the entire year without winning a tournament, he will be exempt into the Sentry Tournament of Champions if not otherwise eligible. He’ll also leave East Lake with the silver trophy, a five-year PGA TOUR exemption and $10 million of the $35 million in bonus prize money reserved for the Playoffs. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings (THE NORTHERN TRUST) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (FedExCup Playoffs), Sleepers, The Confidence Factor, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – 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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