Inside the Field: THE PLAYERS Championship

MEDINAH, Ill. – In case this comes up on your next Trivia Night: Name the first player to post top-10 finishes in each event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Raise your hand if you answered Rory Sabbatini. It happened in the inaugural FedExCup year of 2007. Sabbatini had finishes of solo third, T-6th, T-10th and T-9th in the four Playoffs events, leaving him fourth overall in the final standings. Since then, just seven other players have managed top-10 finishes in each Playoffs event in a single year (none, interestingly enough, ever won the FedExCup that season). Of course, it might be a bit easier this year with the Playoffs now reduced to three events. So 2007 remains the high point of Sabbatini’s FedExCup career. In fact, it’s the only time he’s reached the TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era. He’d like to end that drought this week at the BMW Championship. He took a solid first step with a bogey-free 5-under 67 on Thursday at Medinah, leaving him inside the top 10 of the first-round leaderboard. At 45th in the FedExCup standings, Sabbatini likely needs to finish seventh or better at the BMW to climb inside the top 30. “It’s a challenge this week and I know there are some guys that are right on the cusp and they’re going to be stressing,� he said. “I’m kind of in that nice little slot where I can kind of be aggressive and try to make a move and let them stress over it a little bit more than I do. “It’s a good start but I’ve got three days of hard work to do.� Thursday’s round is reflective of the renaissance season Sabbatini is having. He has six top-10s – his most since that 2007 season when he had 10 – and is finally seeing the results of a rebuilt putting style. He’s 61st in Strokes Gained: Putting this season after ranking 98th last year and 169th, 184th, 13th and 148th the four years before that. On Thursday, Sabbatini rolled in his first two birdie attempts from 11 feet and 21-/2 feet and also made two more birdie putts outside 10 feet just before the turn. “It always seemed to be a lacking spot in my game,� he said. “When I’ve putted well, it’s gone well. When I haven’t putted well, I’ve struggled. I’ve definitely made that more consistent, and that’s taken the pressure off the rest of my game.� It also helps that he’s healthier now than the previous three seasons, having been able to solve some crippling back issues. Add it up, and he says this is “probably the first time in many years I’ve actually played to my potential.� He’d like to turn that potential into his first visit to East Lake in a dozen years. Huge week. Kind of go big or go home.

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How the field qualified for the John Deere Classic as of 7/2/2021. Check here for updates. Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Si Woo Kim Winner – The Open Championship Zach Johnson Winners of the Arnold Palmer, Memorial, Genesis (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Ryan Armour Daniel Berger Cameron Champ Austin Cook Tyler Duncan Dylan Frittelli Brice Garnett Jim Herman J.B. Holmes Charles Howell III Sungjae Im Sung Kang Michael Kim Patton Kizzire Satoshi Kodaira Martin Laird Andrew Landry Adam Long Troy Merritt Keith Mitchell Sebastián Muñoz Kevin Na C.T. Pan Pat Perez Scott Piercy J.T. Poston Ted Potter, Jr. Andrew Putnam Chez Reavie Brandt Snedeker Robert Streb Hudson Swafford Nick Taylor Michael Thompson Martin Trainer Kevin Tway Richy Werenski Aaron Wise Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Hunter Mahan Steve Stricker Bo Van Pelt Sponsor Exemptions: 2018-19 FEC / 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Category Luke Kluver Willie Mack III Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Jason Bohn Mark Wilson Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Michael Feagles Tripp Kinney David Perkins Alex Schaake PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Chad Proehl Past Champion of Respective Event Ryan Moore Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Kevin Streelman Byeong Hun An Brian Harman Mark Hubbard Danny Lee Alex Noren Harry Higgs Russell Henley Robby Shelton Maverick McNealy Doc Redman Denny McCarthy Henrik Norlander Sepp Straka Harold Varner III Cam Davis Vaughn Taylor Patrick Rodgers Brian Stuard Scott Harrington Matthew NeSmith Sam Ryder Adam Schenk Scott Brown Beau Hossler Lucas Glover Luke List Scott Stallings Rory Sabbatini Tom Lewis Bo Hoag Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Will Gordon Erik van Rooyen Major Medical Extension Kevin Stadler Sean O’Hair Jonas Blixt Harrison Frazar 2018-19 Top 125 FEC/2019 Top Finishers Korn Ferry Tour (reordered) Peter Malnati Doug Ghim Tyler McCumber Brandon Hagy Kyle Stanley Jhonattan Vegas Chase Seiffert Anirban Lahiri Vincent Whaley Cameron Percy Michael Gligic Kramer Hickok Rafael Campos Hank Lebioda Bronson Burgoon Joseph Bramlett Roger Sloan Kris Ventura Chesson Hadley David Hearn Rob Oppenheim J.J. Spaun Rafa Cabrera Bello Grayson Murray D.J. Trahan Ryan Brehm Sebastian Cappelen Nelson Ledesma Fabián Gómez Mark Anderson Rhein Gibson Nick Watney Ben Taylor Aaron Baddeley Chris Baker John Senden Michael Gellerman Matt Every Korn Ferry Tour Three-Victory Promotion Mito Pereira 126 – 150 Prior Season’s FEC Points List (Reordered) Camilo Villegas Ben Martin Seamus Power Josh Teater Wes Roach Bill Haas Johnson Wagner Zack Sucher Ryan Blaum Dominic Bozzelli Shawn Stefani Reorder Category – Cat. 34 thru 38 John Huh Ricky Barnes Jonathan Byrd

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Not once in his five Masters appearances had missing the cut crossed Jordan Spieth’s mind. Not until he finished his first hole Friday. A bogey dropped Spieth to 4 over par, matching the most over par he had ever been at Augusta National. Through all of Spieth’s struggles this year, there was always optimism that Augusta’s magic would be enough to snap him out of his slump. Missing the cut would have marked rock bottom in a season where he has yet to finish in the top 25 of a stroke-play event. The 2015 FedExCup champion is 170th in this season’s standings. He’s been chasing green jackets, not the cut line, in his brief Masters career. On Friday, he had to ask his caddie to clarify the Masters cut rule. “I’ve never been anywhere near it,â€� Spieth said. He didn’t have to worry for long. He quickly turned things around, starting with a birdie at No. 2. Then he birdied 9 and 10 and added two more at 13 and 14. He was bogey-free over his final 17 holes. He hit 13 greens and 10 fairways Friday, three more than the previous day. “My pars were more stress‑free and I was able to have a lot more looks at birdie,â€� he said. “Overall my putting performance still hasn’t been quite as good as it’s been in previous weeks, but I know how it can. The hole can look kind of big out here sometimes and hoping for that on the weekend.â€� Spieth is six shots off the lead, the largest deficit he’s ever faced halfway through the Masters. “I feel really good about today’s round,â€� Spieth said. “I’m six back, if I can somehow cut it to three by Sunday, then I feel like I have a legitimate chance.â€�

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