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SILVIS, Ill. – All week, players were melting in the heat. And all week, South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli wore his long compression sleeves, which he said cooled him off. What kept him so cool under pressure was another matter.    Maintaining his composure from start to finish in the biggest round of his life, first-year PGA TOUR member Frittelli shot a final-round 64 to win the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run, dramatically altering his summer plans, and beyond. FedExCup No. 153 at the start of the week, he shot up to 48th in the FedExCup and secured his job on TOUR through the 2020-21 season. He also gate-crashed The Open Championship, and also earned invitations to next year’s Masters Tournament and THE PLAYERS Championship, among other select events. Related: Leaderboard | Winner’s bag | Unusual ruling helped Frittelli contend “It was mentality clarity,â€� Frittelli said, when asked to explain the difference at the Deere. With his attention divided and his career flagging, the 29-year-old with the prescription glasses found himself feeling stressed as this season wore on. His European Tour membership was running out, and he found himself in danger of losing his PGA TOUR card, too. That would mean going back to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where nothing is guaranteed except for the fact that it would preclude his playing in some big overseas events. The clock was ticking, and Frittelli had to find a way to tune it out. Enter sports psychologist Jay Brunza, who helped Frittelli finally accept that he couldn’t affect outcomes, at least not positively, by obsessing over them. When he three-putted the 14th hole after driving the green Sunday, he not only forced himself to slow down and not overreact, he smiled. “I think I was the only one on the course who smiled after a three-putt,â€� he said. He was focused on the positives: He was in the hunt to win, the sun on his back, people cheering. He made a clutch birdie at the par-5 17th, where he played his third shot well past the pin only to watch as it rolled off the backboard and toward the pin, just as he’d anticipated. He made the ensuing 11-footer for birdie and a two-shot lead as he played the tricky 18th hole. He hit what he called his best drive of the week on the finisher, and made a routine, two-putt par. “His attitude,â€� said his caddie, John Curtis, when asked what he first noticed about Frittelli when they joined forces two and a half years ago. “He’s so level-headed. He hardly ever gets punchy.â€� Well, yes and no. Frittelli admitted it hasn’t always been easy, blinking back tears when talking about his caddie. “He’s been probably the rock in my career, coming from Europe,â€� Frittelli said. “He’s a great guy, wonderful man, very tough guy. He puts up with a lot of stuff from me.â€� That they make a good team is somewhat surprising, given that Frittelli can’t see without his glasses – he also has a slight astigmatism in one eye – and Curtis is also sight-challenged. “He’s pretty blind and I’m like half-blind,â€� Frittelli said with a laugh. “So we’re watching the ball going, ‘Where is it? Where is it? I can’t see it. Can you see it?’ We don’t know where it is.â€� In addition to the other perks of winning, Frittelli put himself in the running to make Ernie Els’ International Presidents Cup team that will play the Americans at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15. “That’s huge,â€� he said. “And I’ve done well in Australia before. I lost in a playoff at the Aussie PGA.â€� How cool was Frittelli? After his third-round 65 at TPC Deere Run, he went to the range to work on his wedges under a broiling sun. He was the only player there, and stayed for two hours. “But it was all worth it, huh?â€� said Curtis. He gave the winner his final marching orders Sunday. “On the practice range I said, ‘It’s just a practice round today. Let’s go out and have fun.’â€� If Frittelli’s newfound chill helped, so, too, did the fact that he’s no stranger to winning. He has done it at every level, and played alongside Jordan Spieth on the 2012 University of Texas team that won the NCAA Championship. Prior to that, he considered turning pro in cricket and field hockey. He was good at everything, so much so that it drove Spieth crazy. “We used to play Ping-Pong in the locker room,â€� Frittelli said, “and I would beat him four games in a row. … He wouldn’t let me leave until he beat me. He has had a burning desire. I don’t really have that. I’m more methodical and I’m more thoughtful in what I do.â€� Professional success came quickly for only one of them, though, and it wasn’t Frittelli. He won on the European Challenge Tour in 2013 and 2016, but suffered through a slump in 2014-15. He bounced back with two European Tour victories in 2017, boosting his world ranking enough to start to get into the majors and World Golf Championship events. His career stalled, though, on the PGA TOUR. He made six cuts in 11 starts last season and played in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, finishing 18th on the money list to secure his TOUR status for this season. He had made 13 of 19 cuts in 2018-19, but a best of T18 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship wasn’t much to write home about. Nevertheless, Frittelli kept it light at the Deere, as life-changing as it might be. He said of his 5 o’clock shadow after the third round that he’d seen pictures of Spieth looking similarly scruffy winning his first TOUR title at the 2013 Deere, and figured he would try the same thing. And then, for the final round, Frittelli shaved. When it was all over, and he’d won and was about to go on TV for his media obligations, he asked Curtis, “Do I look pretty?â€� They were about to board a chartered flight to The Open Championship with 13 other players and their caddies, and the FedExCup Playoffs awaited after that. Very pretty, indeed.

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SAN DIEGO – Dustin Johnson is often lauded for his stoicism, but he was so frustrated at the end of last year that he needed to take an extended hiatus from the TOUR. Johnson re-emerged at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open and, as you would expect from a player so preternaturally talented, didn’t look like he’d missed a beat. He shot a 4-under 68 on Torrey Pines’ South Course that was nearly five shots better than the field average and just two shots off the low round of the day on the tougher of the two courses in use this week. Jon Rahm, who has won both the Farmers Insurance Open and U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, shot 66 on the South Course in Wednesday’s opening round. This is just Johnson’s second start since he went 5-0-0 in the United States’ record-setting Ryder Cup victory in September. His only other event this season was THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, where he finished T45. “I just needed a reset with mind, body, everything,” Johnson said in his pre-tournament press conference at Torrey Pines. “I was really frustrated with how I played last year.” Johnson’s results were especially tough to swallow in light of his fruitful 2020, which included his first FedExCup and second major victory, at the Masters in November. He was seemingly invincible in the latter half of that year, but he has not won since the green jacket was slipped on his shoulders. When Johnson was asked Tuesday how he spent his offseason, he replied, “I probably have not played as much as you think I have, that’s for sure.” He spent the time with family, fishing and doing “pretty much anything but golf.” He didn’t start practicing in earnest until last week. The club that’s been so key to his successful career was the one that caused him the most frustration last year. “One thing that I was really frustrated with was with my driver,” he said. “We got a new driver this year, the new Stealth driver, and I really like it. So that was one reason why I wasn’t playing or took a break, until I could get the new driver and start practicing with it. That was one of the main reasons why.” He still ranked 21st in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last season, but that was low by his high standards. It was his worst ranking in that statistic since 2013. He finished in the top five of that stat every year from 2014 to 2019 and was 11th in 2020. Johnson led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in Wednesday’s opening round and shot 68. He was fourth in driving distance while hitting a respectable 8 of 14 fairways on the South Course, which annually has some of the hardest fairways to hit each season. He was second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, as well, after hitting 15 greens.

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The FedExCup Playoffs present a unique tradeoff as compared to all other events; that is, a participant can go winless and still be crowned champion. The odds are stacked against that scenario, and it would still require a dynamite season leading up to the Playoffs to make it possible, but points leader Jordan Spieth is halfway there with a pair of runner-up finishes. If it happens, you wouldn’t say that any of the winners of the four tournaments in the Playoffs were more or less confident throughout, but it might be tough for Spieth to associate the value of the crown in the absence of a trophy during the series. Whatever happens, it’s compelling theater with bonus drama for the permutations geeks, myself included. Jason Day recorded a wire-to-wire victory at the 2015 BMW Championship at Conway Farms. Like Spieth this week, the Aussie strutted in as the No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. Day then put on a clinic as his splits illustrate below. Two years prior, Zach Johnson overcame Jim Furyk (and a 59) with the kind of laser show on approach with which he’s been synonymous throughout his career. Not dissimilar to how St. Andrews provided a level playing field for the diversified attacks of Johnson and Day in the 2015 Open Championship (when ZJ prevailed in a playoff and Day finished one stroke back), Conway Farms caters to all styles. However, the winner will have executed masterfully in multiple areas of his game. In other words, while the low aggregate projects to be double digits under par, don’t expect a putting contest to break out. With no cut and the probability of low rounds, we’re compelled to invest in scoring statistics. The 2015 field averaged 4.05 par breakers per 11.93 greens in regulation, a ratio that supports the angle. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 20 in each statistic in the FedExCup Playoffs are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in the BMW Championship. * – Finished inside the top 10 at the BMW Championship in 2013 and/or 2015. Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green Rank  Golfer 1  *Dustin Johnson 2  Jordan Spieth 3  Justin Thomas 4  Justin Rose 5  Patrick Cantlay 6  Paul Casey 7  Hudson Swafford 8  Stewart Cink 10  Patrick Reed 11  Marc Leishman 12  Kevin Chappell 13  *Kevin Na 14  *Jason Day 15  Jon Rahm 16  Emiliano Grillo 17  *Charl Schwartzel 18  *Hideki Matsuyama 20  Russell Henley Greens in Regulation Rank  Golfer 1  Patrick Cantlay 3  Marc Leishman 4  Jordan Spieth T5  *Dustin Johnson T5  Gary Woodland 8  Luke List 9  Keegan Bradley 10  Paul Casey T11  Stewart Cink T11  Sergio Garcia T11  *Hideki Matsuyama T11  *Henrik Stenson 16  Louis Oosthuizen 17  Hudson Swafford 18  Brendan Steele T19  *Jason Day T19  *Rickie Fowler T19  Emiliano Grillo T19  Justin Rose Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage Rank  Golfer 2  Jordan Spieth 3  Jon Rahm 4  Justin Thomas 5  Kyle Stanley 6  Paul Casey 7  Brooks Koepka 8  *Jason Day 9  Justin Rose T10  *Kevin Na 12  Grayson Murray 13  Sergio Garcia 14  Kevin Chappell 15  Jason Dufner 17  Marc Leishman 18  *Rickie Fowler 19  *Dustin Johnson 20  Robert Streb Scrambling Rank  Golfer 1  Justin Thomas 2  *Daniel Berger 3  Patrick Cantlay 4  Webb Simpson 5  Patrick Reed 7  *Dustin Johnson 9  Jon Rahm 10  Bill Haas 11  Adam Hadwin 12  Rafa Cabrera Bello 14  Phil Mickelson 16  Ian Poulter T17  Lucas Glover 19  Jhonattan Vegas 20  Pat Perez Forty-two golfers in this week’s field of 70 completed 72 holes at Conway Farms in at least one of the previous two editions. Of that subset, 23 are prepping for their third appearance. Not surprisingly, only two in my Power Rankings – Jon Rahm (No. 7) and Patrick Cantlay (No. 14) – are first-timers. That’s because both are making their debuts in the FedExCup Playoffs this season. Finishes of those in this week’s field at the 2013 BMW Championship Sorted by finish (players in bold appeared in both 2013 and 2015) Win: Zach Johnson T4: Jason Day T8: Charl Schwartzel T11: Ryan Moore T16: Keegan Bradley; Jordan Spieth T18: Sergio Garcia; Billy Horschel; Gary Woodland T24: Matt Kuchar; Webb Simpson T28: Bill Haas T33: Phil Mickelson; Justin Rose; Henrik Stenson T39: Rickie Fowler; Russell Henley; Charles Howell III; Marc Leishman T44: Ian Poulter T54: Jason Dufner T59: Rory McIlroy; Patrick Reed 61st: Brendan Steele T62: Kevin Chappell; Dustin Johnson 68th: Charley Hoffman Finishes of those in this week’s field at the 2015 BMW Championship Sorted by finish (players in bold appeared in both 2013 and 2015) Win: Jason Day 2nd: Daniel Berger T4: Rickie Fowler; Rory McIlroy T7: Dustin Johnson; Hideki Matsuyama T10: Kevin Na; Henrik Stenson T13: Zach Johnson; Justin Rose; Jordan Spieth; Brendan Steele; Justin Thomas T19: Bill Haas; Louis Oosthuizen T23: Paul Casey; Kevin Chappell; Robert Streb T28: Keegan Bradley; Ryan Moore; Patrick Reed T32: James Hahn; Billy Horschel; Phil Mickelson T39: Sergio Garcia T41: Kevin Kisner; Matt Kuchar; Pat Perez T47: Tony Finau; Danny Lee T49: Russell Henley; Brooks Koepka T53: Brian Harman; Charley Hoffman; Sean O’Hair; Ian Poulter T60: Gary Woodland T64: Webb Simpson

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