Inside the Field: QBE Shootout

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND - The International Golf Federation Board convened a virtual meeting yesterday focused on long-term strategic planning and progress toward next summer's Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Originally scheduled for the Olympic House in Lausanne but moved online due to the continued impact of COVID-19, the Board was addressed by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on the status of the Olympic movement and then followed by IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell, who provided updates and answered questions regarding preparations for Tokyo. The overarching message was one of determination and confidence that the Olympic competition will proceed as scheduled with particular focus on health, safety and the simplification and reduction of the complexity of the Games. The Board expressed support and a shared commitment to deliver the golf competition with safety for the athletes and all involved a top priority. During his presentation at the beginning of the meeting, Bach recognized and thanked outgoing IGF President Peter Dawson for his 10 years of leadership and service. Dawson notified the Board that he would not seek reappointment when his current two-year term expires at the end of the year. In light of Dawson's decision, the IGF Board has elected Annika Sorenstam as the IGF President, effective Jan. 1, 2021. "It has been a great pleasure and privilege to serve as IGF President," Dawson said. "Golf’s reinstatement to the Olympic programme was a landmark for our sport and it was a true thrill to witness our return at Rio 2016. Our Olympic status has been a strong catalyst for increasing cooperation and coordination between the major organisations in golf and has significantly strengthened the bonds between the IGF and our National Federations. "My thanks go to so many people in golf and in the Olympic family for their support over the past 10 years," he added. "Their help and goodwill have been invaluable. I wish my successor, Annika Sorenstam, every success. The IGF could not be in better hands." IGF Board Chairman Jay Monahan commended Dawson for his decade of service with the IGF. "On behalf of the IGF Board, I want to extend our sincere gratitude to Peter for the outstanding job he has done over the past decade on behalf of the IGF, including helping to assure golf's highly successful return to the Olympic Games," said Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR. "Peter has had a distinguished career dedicated to the growth of golf and the IGF has been fortunate to have him as such a strong advocate. "With Peter's impending departure, we are thrilled to have someone as accomplished and universally respected as Annika Sorenstam to move into the role as IGF President. As a generational talent in women's golf, Annika played a prominent role in golf's successful Olympic bid by serving as a Global Ambassador with Jack Nicklaus and since retiring from competition, has been dedicated to promoting women's golf at all levels through her foundation. She is the ideal person to succeed Peter in this role." "Peter did a great job the last 10 years as IGF President and I am humbled and honored to have been asked to succeed him," Sorenstam said. "As an international player, having golf back in the Olympics means so much to me and to our sport. I very much look forward to working with the Board, the IOC and the governing bodies of golf in their efforts to continue to grow the game globally." In addition to naming Sorenstam as the new IGF President, the Board appointed PGA TOUR executive Ty Votaw to another term as IGF Vice President. In other business: · The Board approved the IGF's Strategic Business Plan for 2021-28 and a budget for 2021. The Business Plan reflects the culmination of a 12-month process of consultation, input and guidance from the IGF Board and the IGF Administration. The plan lists the IGF's key strategic priorities and outlines the activities it will deliver going forward and the finances required to do this. · Beyond receiving an update on planning and preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Board received an update on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. · The Board also approved the revised version of its Policies and Charters, following the IGF Administration's recent, thorough review of its governance and Policies and Charters to ensure they comply with statutory requirements, the IGF's commitments with the Olympic Charter and in response to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations' third review of the IGF's governance.

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MEDINAH, Ill. – By Sunday night, two-thirds of this year’s Presidents Cup participants will be identified. The top eight spots on the U.S. and International teams after this week’s BMW Championship will be locked in for Royal Melbourne in December. The four Captain’s Picks from Tiger Woods and Ernie Els will be announced after the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in early November. Although some players on both teams have guaranteed a trip to Australia, there is still uncertainty with the final few automatic spots. Here’s a look at the possibilities for each team heading into Thursday’s first round at Medinah. UNITED STATES CURRENT TOP 8: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay A win this week at the BMW Championship is worth 1,100 Presidents Cup points. The formula for arriving at that number? Presidents Cup points in the FedExCup Playoffs events are weighted the same in points as World Golf Championships events, with the points doubled for this year’s Playoffs. Cantlay currently has 5,268 points, so that means anybody behind him with 4,168 points or better can catch him with a victory. Thus, No. 9 Gary Woodland (4,912), No. 10 Tony Finau (4,872), No. 11 Rickie Fowler (4,547) and No. 12 Patrick Reed (4,413) remain alive going into Medinah. Oh, and No. 13th on that list? U.S. Captain Tiger Woods, who cannot move inside the top eight with a win. Of course, he could enhance his argument for being a playing captain as a pick. But that’s for a later time. Reed – fresh off his victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST — or Fowler each have to win for any hope of a top-8 spot. A solo second doesn’t give either one enough points to catch Cantlay. Finau or Woodland each need a third-place or better finish. So who’s vulnerable among the American players inside the top 8? According to our projections, Koepka, Johnson and Thomas can rest easy. Even if they are pushed down the standings, there are no scenarios in which they fall out of the top eight. For Kuchar and Simpson, the odds are in their favor, but it remains mathematically possible for each one to finish outside the top eight. Simpson, DeChambeau and Cantlay are in the danger zone. Enough scenarios are in play this week to prevent them from feeling comfortable. It would behoove each one to have a solid performance at Medinah while keeping one eye on the leaderboard in case something spectacular is required. INTERNATIONAL CURRENT TOP 8: Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Abraham Ancer, Haotong Li, Cameron Smith, C.T. Pan Outlining exactly what needs to be done in order to secure a spot for Els’ team is a bit tricky, given that it’s based on Official Golf World Ranking points and involves tournaments (including their strengths of field) on three different tours. So please take the following information as our best-guess information (our Aussie staff writer Ben Everill is pretty spot-on about these things) but realize nothing is definitive. Leishman, Oosthuizen, Scott, Matsuyama and Ancer, the top five in the standings, have separated themselves from the pack and can be considered locks. Ancer made the big leap from 10th to fifth with his runner-up finish Sunday at THE NORTHERN TRUST and will become the first player to represent Mexico at the Presidents Cup. “That’s huge,â€� Ancer said Sunday. “I get a little bit of goosebumps right now just talking about it.â€� Li, Smith and Pan – each seeking his first Presidents Cup appearance — are all within six points of each other in the final three spots. Li and Smith are not in action this week; Li is not a TOUR member and Smith is not inside the top 70 players in FedExCup points who advanced to Medinah. So they will be unable to improve on their ranking totals. Pan is on the bubble and in the BMW Championship field this week, so he controls his own fate. He knows it’s a big opportunity to guarantee his spot for Royal Melbourne. In his threesome for the first two rounds this week is Tiger Woods. It’ll be the first time he’s played with Woods. I know it’s going to be crazy playing with Tiger,â€� said Pan, who at 37th in FedExCup points and needs a big week also to move inside the top 30 for East Lake. “… It will be wild.  So I’m just looking forward to enjoying it and making the best out of it.â€� And as for the pressure of playing for a Presidents Cup spot? “All you can do is let good golf take care of everything,â€� Pan said. “I’ve been trying very hard out there and trying to finish strong every single round, last week or last two months, and definitely put me in a really good spot here, and I’m just very grateful and thankful for the opportunity. At least I have a shot.â€� It’s the next three players closest to the bubble who make things really intriguing, since each one is playing a different event. Jason Day, having fallen from seventh to ninth in International points at Liberty National, is in the BMW Championship field. While the Aussie seems almost certain to be a captain’s pick if he doesn’t earn a spot on merit, Day would obviously prefer moving back into the top 8. It likely requires him to finish 19th or better this week. Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, 10th in points, is the highest-ranked OWGR player (56th) in this week’s field at the Sarawak Championship on the Asian Tour. A win there would net him 14 ranking points, good enough to surpass the current totals of Smith and Pan. South Africa’s Justin Harding, 11th in points, is the highest-ranked OWGR player (53rd) in this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. A win there is worth 16 points; that would barely be good enough to surpass Pan’s current total. Pan will earn points this week if he finishes inside the top 60 in the 70-man field, so Harding faces the toughest task. Still, it’s not inconceivable that if Day, Janewattananond and Harding each win their respective events this week, all three could move inside the top eight. Meanwhile, there are a few wildcards still in play. South Korean Sungjae Im could be a factor with a top-3 finish in Chicago. Countrymen Sung Kang, Si Woo Kim and Ben An likely need a win or solo second. Canadians Corey Conners and Adam Hadwin, along with Argentina’s Emilio Grillo and South Africa’s Dylan Fritelli, could also make an impact by winning at Medinah. After all, Ancer showed last week that a big result in the Playoffs can have huge Presidents Cup implications. Chile’s Joaquin Niemann is 70th in FedExCup points and thus the last player in the field at Medinah; he could conceivable move into the top 8 with a win.

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Sungjae Im turned a shootout into a one-man show Sunday in Las Vegas, running the tables with seven birdies in eight holes around the turn for a 9-under 62 and a four-shot victory in the Shriners Children’s Open.

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