Johnson in 4-way tie after day of survival at U.S. Open

Seriously. How good have the FedExCup Playoffs been so far! The cream is certainly rising to the top as the battle heats up for the coveted FedExCup to be won in Atlanta in a few weeks’ time. You only need to look at the fact that the top five players in the FedExCup race are the same five names who occupy the top five places in the Official World Golf Rankings to know how tough it’s going to be to claim the $10 million. If you want to be in the hunt at East Lake, you better bring your absolute best, because you need to beat the best. So let’s have a look at who is likely to be in the mix for the big prize, and while we are at it, check in on our preseason bold predictions to see just how close, or how far off the mark we were in 2016-17. In week one of the Playoffs at THE NORTHERN TRUST we had Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth in a haymaker throwing epic that went an extra hole before Johnson prevailed. Spieth, Justin Thomas and Marc Leishman then turned up at the Dell Technologies Championship to throw some final-round birdie barrages into the entertainment, with Thomas coming out on top. Spieth now has the lead in the race to the FedExCup, effectively securing the all-important spot in the top 5 for Atlanta. Those in the top 5 at East Lake control their own destiny. Win the TOUR Championship and they win the FedExCup. A place in Atlanta is certainly its own big reward. Those who earn their way into the playoff finale of course all have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. And they will have locked up spots in the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, three World Golf Championship events, THE PLAYERS Championship and the invitational events on TOUR for 2017-18. This year Thomas is now second, Johnson third. They look pretty good to also keep a spot in the top 5 by Atlanta. Hideki Matsuyama, the regular season leader is now fourth with Jon Rahm pushing into fifth spot. These two will be looking to play well at the BMW Championship in Chicago to claim the last two coveted spots. For five seasons running the winner of the FedExCup arrived at the TOUR Championship inside the top 6 on the standings. You could say it is trending. But there are plenty or worthy challengers for the season long title lining up behind the big guns. Given that the most players to ever play their way in from outside the top 30 in the penultimate tournament is four, we can comfortably say the next 15 players would be very unlucky not to be part of the field in Atlanta. Rickie Fowler, Marc Leishman, Paul Casey, Brooks Koepka, Pat Perez, Daniel Berger, Charley Hoffman, Jhonattan Vegas, Kevin Kisner, Brian Harman, Adam Hadwin, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, Kyle Stanley and Kevin Chappell must be feeling pretty good headed to Chicago. They won’t be subject to the pressure of extending their seasons and as such can chase down a spot in the top five. Those ranked 21st to 30th certainly can’t rest on their laurels. Just ask Fowler, who was 22nd heading into the BMW Championship last year, finished 59th, and dropped to 31st, missing East Lake by .57 of a point. Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed, Russell Henley, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Dufner, Henrik Stenson, Brendan Steele, Jason Day, Gary Woodland and bubble boy Bill Haas occupy those spots. Stenson and Haas have of course won the FedExCup before, with Haas winning it from all the way down in 25th place in 2011. That leaves us with those on the outside looking in. History says that at best four of them can play their way in, although it is mathematically possible for many more of them to do it. Who would the best candidates be? Clearly 31-40 has the advantage of being close to the cut off. Winners this year in Mackenzie Hughes, Xander Schauffele, Hudson Swafford and Sergio Garcia lead that list. Phil Mickelson is 36th. He’s won at East Lake before. Billy Horschel, another former FedExCup champion, is 38th. PLAYERS champion Si Woo Kim is 45th. Defending FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy is 51st. The winner at Conway Farms in 2013, Zach Johnson, is 54th. If the first two FedExCup Playoff events were our guide, we are in for two more epic battles to find the answers. And now for some fun. Before a ball was hit in anger last October we made our 18 bold (and not so bold) predictions. Let’s see how we have gone. 18. A defending champion will retain his title. Verdict: CORRECT It didn’t take long. Justin Thomas defended at the CIMB Classic in just the second week of the season. Hideki Matsuyama also defended at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Daniel Berger repeated at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. And the Jhonattan Vegas reclaimed the RBC Canadian Open. 17. Dustin Johnson will win again. Verdict: CORRECT For the 10th year in a row since coming out on TOUR, Dustin Johnson claimed at least one win. He’s already got four this year. He claimed the World Golf Championships slam by claiming the Dell Technologies Match Play and then provided one of the drives of the year to win THE NORTHERN TRUST in a playoff.  16. Kevin Chappell finally breaks through. Verdict: CORRECT After 180 starts on the PGA TOUR Chappell indeed became a winner, taking out the Valero Texas Open with a clutch putt on the 72nd hole leaving him a shot clear of the eventual U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. He’d had four runner up results last season so it was a very popular win. Chappell took his form all the way to a Presidents Cup berth. 15. Steven Bowditch turns his game around. Verdict: INCORRECT In 27 starts this season Bowditch made just two cuts and he finished T58 and T64 in those efforts. The two-time TOUR winner did however welcome his first child during the season, so in our minds that’s a winning year! The Australian will attempt to resurrect things from the past champion category next season. For the record, I’m prepared to double down and say he will come good. 14. Expect an albatross at THE PLAYERS Championship. Verdict: CORRECT No one had ever made an albatross on the par-5 16th hole at TPC Sawgrass prior but Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello made history with a beautiful strike during the final round at THE PLAYERS. It was a phenomenal 8-iron that traveled 181 yards to pay dirt, kicking off a downslope short of the putting surface and finding its way to the bottom of the cup. It was just the third albatross in PLAYERS history behind Hunter Mahan’s sensational effort on the par-5 11th in round two of 2007 and Peter Lonard’s sublime shot on the par-5 second in the third round of the same year. “Obviously, it was pretty spectacular,� Cabrera Bello said. 13. Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau will live up to high expectations. Verdict: CORRECT. Rahm won the Farmers Insurance Open and was a finalist at the World Golf Championship – Dell Technologies Match Play and runner up at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. He’s had nine top 10s. Oh, and he won in Europe. As stated above, he’s moved into the top 5 players in the world. DeChambeau was T2 at the Puerto Rico Open but really found his way with a win at the John Deere Classic. His offbeat style is finding a home on TOUR. 12. Two players will challenge 58; one will shoot 59. Verdict: (Basically) CORRECT. Two players did challenge 58 this season but both shot 59. Justin Thomas and Adam Hadwin joined the exclusive club with incredible performances. We also had a couple of 60s at the Barbasol Championship. 11. Three of the four majors will be won by previous major winners. Verdict: INCORRECT. Well, we were way off here as the trend for first-time major winners continued for most the season. Sergio Garcia had his awesome Masters breakthrough. Brooks Koepka officially made us wrong at the U.S. Open. Jordan Spieth gave us a little respect at The Open Championship before Justin Thomas kept the new guys trend running at the PGA Championship. 10. Thomas Pieters will earn special temporary membership. Verdict: CORRECT Pieters did not need long. In his first four starts, he finished inside the top 14 in three of them including a T2 and T5. He was T4 on his Masters debut. And fourth at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. This guy is the real deal. 9. Phil Mickelson ends his drought. Verdict: He’s teasing us again, but running out of time. Five top 10s this season, including one just last week in Boston, prove the veteran still has what it takes to compete. But given he’s 36th in the FedExCup the BMW Championship might be his last chance. He’s won at East Lake before so if he can just get there … 8. Andrew “Beef� Johnston wins a trophy and fills it with Arby’s sandwiches. Verdict: INCORRECT We really wanted this one to come true but unfortunately it was more “Where’s the Beef� this season. Just one top 10 in 13 starts. 7. Seven of the 50 Web.com Tour grads will win tournaments. Verdict: CORRECT We smashed this one. Cody Gribble, MacKenzie Hughes, Rod Pampling, D.A. Points, Wesley Bryan, Grayson Murray, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Xander Schauffele made it nine wins on the season from graduates. It was an impressive year for the boys. 6. Team International finally wins The Presidents Cup. Verdict: Have to wait on this one. It is going to take an almighty effort from the International boys at Liberty National later this month as the U.S. team is looking very good with plenty of young blood eager to succeed. But the boys from the rest of the world are very keen to win for the first time since 1998. Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Scwartzel, Marc Leishman, Branden Grace, Jhonattan Vegas, Si Woo Kim and Adam Hadwin are the automatic qualifiers with the chance to make history. 5. Patrick Reed becomes a top-5 player. Verdict: INCORRECT Reed failed to fully kick on from his Ryder Cup heroics late last year but he has shown some promise of late. Although winless this season his last three starts are top 20s including a runner up at the PGA Championship and T6 in Boston. 4. Jason Day will win the FedExCup and Player of the Year. Verdict: INCORRECT Of course Day can still win the FedExCup, as he sits 28th at the moment, but even if he’s able to do that it is very doubtful he’d win Player of the Year. That award is being fought out by five-time winner Justin Thomas, four-time winner Dustin Johnson and possibly three-time winner Jordan Spieth. Day is winless this season and has dropped from No. 1 in the world to ninth. A cancer diagnosis for his mother took its toll early in the season but he’s shown signs of life in the later months. 3. Sergio Garcia finally wins a major. Verdict: CORRECT We are just going to show you exactly what we wrote last October: “It is time. One for the ages. After years of heartache and pain, the Spanish sensation will recapture some of his best and bring it out at a major. Of course there will be heart attack moments. Garcia will not make it easy on himself or the fans. But at a critical moment, when in the past it has all gone wrong, it will go right. And even those who have enjoyed the Spanish sorrows will tip a glass to the drought-breaker.� We are pretty proud of that prediction. 2. Sam Saunders wins a TOUR event, possibly as a sponsor invite. Verdict: INCORRECT Man, we were riding this one hard a few times. A T5 at Puerto Rico. T11 at RBC Heritage. An emotional tilt at the RBC Canadian Open. A good chance at the Barracuda Championship … Arnold Palmer’s grandson flirted with the win we all wanted to see but ultimately fell short. He missed the FedExCup Playoffs by four spots, at least securing conditional status next season. And he’s started well in the Web.com Tour finals as well. 1.Tiger Woods claims career win No. 80. Verdict: INCORRECT Well, he basically didn’t even play so we were always in deep trouble on this one. After missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, Woods underwent further back surgery and we haven’t seen him on course since. The good news is he was given the all clear to begin some short game work last week and maybe we will see him again soon. So we ended up batting at .500 with the chance to jag a few more in these last few weeks. Not outstanding but still reasonable. Look out for the teams new bold predictions in the lead up to the 2017-18 season.

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Was it Team Australia? Or Team Mullet? Either way the duo of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman ultimately prevailed in another super exciting Zurich Classic of New Orleans that once again proved professional golf can be both intense and fun at the same time. Team golf just has a way of bringing another layer of excitement and the Foursomes, sometimes referred to as alternate shot, brings in complexity and volatility on Sunday, ensuring it’s never over till their singing in the streets of New Orleans. The Aussie mates eventually closed things out over veteran South African’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel in a playoff as the two teams traded the lead throughout the final round. Smith jumped all the way to third in the FedExCup with Leishman moving to 29th. Here are five stories you may have missed from TPC Louisiana. 1. Leishman refused to yield to the captivity of negativity – chipping in after a penalty drop. Cameron Smith’s tee shot on the drivable par-4 16th had just taken a wicked bounce to the left and ended up in alligator territory. The Australian team had held a two-shot lead a few holes prior but were now one behind Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen and perhaps staring down the barrel of a missed opportunity. It was the type of situation many might have folded under, ruing the luck of the bounce, and letting oneself find the captivity of negativity as they took a penalty drop off the back of making bogeys on two of the previous three holes. Instead Marc Leishman said, “Why don’t we just chip this in.” And he went ahead and did just that for a critical birdie to tie things up again. The teams remained tied over the final two holes before the Australians would prevail in a playoff. The prediction from Leishman wasn’t one of arrogance – it was a continuation of the mindset and spirit the team had played with from day one. Smith knew he had the tools to make it happen and as such wasn’t dwelling on the position he’d put his partner in. The duo are very close mates and by nature have each other’s back. They’d rented a house together to stay in with their caddies Matty Kelly and Sam Pinfold such is the close bond of all four. But with Smith arguably providing the majority of big moments through the first three rounds, Leishman knew this was his moment. “Where it went in, I was dropping it on an up slope and I said, boys, why don’t we just make it,” Leishman recounted. “I didn’t think I was actually going to do it, but the power of positive thinking is a pretty good thing. If you’re thinking about making it, you probably have a better chance of making it rather than thinking about – don’t chunk it in the water. I’ve learned that over the years that positive thinking’s really helpful.” Now Leishman is a six-time PGA TOUR winner and Smith has three to his name – two at this event having won in 2017 with Jonas Blixt. And the pair have shown International Presidents Cup captain Trevor Immelman how incredible they can be as a team ahead of the 2022 Cup at Quail Hollow. Read more about the winning duo here. 2. Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel did not deserve to go down that way. No one saw it coming. Oosthuizen had been money off the tee all week at TPC Louisiana – and perhaps his entire life such is the beauty of the former Open Championship winners swing. So to see his tee shot from the 18th tee in the sudden death playoff rocket to the right and into a watery grave was shocking to say the least. It wasn’t the ending the veteran team deserved so it shouldn’t overshadow what was a great week for the South Africans. “Disappointed, but I felt we played well, gave ourselves loads of opportunities. Alternate shot’s always a tough format,” Oosthuizen said afterwards. They had begun the volatile Foursomes session with a one-shot lead and increased it to two shots on the fourth hole. Through no fault of their own they were tied up again at the turn before their first blemish came on the 10th and a hole later they were suddenly two shots down. Staring at a two-shot deficit with six to play may have been a little daunting but these old-stagers knew very well things could change on a dime. Three holes later they once again held the outright lead. They could almost feel the title belts around their waists only to lose their buffer thanks to a Leishman’s sensational chip in birdie on the 16th. Both teams had critical putts that could’ve been the difference on the 17th and 18th greens but failed to convert, sending them back out for more golf. That’s when Oosthuizen’s usually clockwork swing betrayed him. Schwartzel had to retee for the team and they’d make a double bogey, allowing the Australians to win with a conservative par. “We have a third here (2018). We have a second. I feel next time we’ll come back and get the first,” Oosthuizen said. 3. Cameron Smith’s mullet is here to stay. There was a rumor flying around New Orleans suggesting Cameron Smith was going to lop off that long flowing mullet hairstyle should he win the Zurich Classic for the second time. Turns out he’d told his girlfriend that’s what it would take for him to consider getting rid the flowing mane that has become a marketable figure on its own over the last few months as Smith contended multiple times including at both the November and April Masters. But with the weight of crowd support in his corner on Sunday Smith knew it was a promise he’d ultimately have to break. “He’s got a cult following now. You should hear the fans out there. They’re all over it. It’s awesome,” Leishman – who acted as Smith’s barber pre-tournament enthused. “It was like, it almost felt like a home crowd. Obviously they love Cam’s hair.” Leishman got further in on the Team Mullet act by buying a mullet wig of his own and wearing it on the first tee on Saturday as the team came out to “The Mullet Song” by Jay Powell. It all convinced Smith he must soldier on with the look first inspired by his rugby league heroes in Australia who used last year’s quarantine bubble to see who could grow the best one. “I have to apologize to my girlfriend; it’s not going away. I feel like it’s part of me now,” Smith said. “It’s really cool. It gives the fans something to get behind. Lots of people love it and it’s good fun as well. It makes people laugh. I love it.” 4. Peter Uihlein and Richy Werenski almost came from the clouds. The Massachusetts duo put up a tournament best 5-under 67 in the Foursomes format Sunday to post 19 under in the clubhouse well ahead of the final groups. One figured it wouldn’t be enough but in the end a bogey on the 17th would prove the difference between their third-place finish and a shot at the playoff. It’s been lean times on the TOUR for the once heavily touted Uihlein but a win last week on the Korn Ferry Tour provided the momentum into New Orleans. Werenski, a winner on TOUR at the Barracuda Championship last season, expects we’ll see more of his teammate in the future. “He says I played good, but he carried the team,” Werenski said. “He knows it. But we had a great time. I love coming to this one, Louisiana is fun, so we had a great week, and looking forward to next year.” 5. Cameron Champ and Tony Finau failed to fire on Sunday. For the opening two rounds the big-hitting power duo looked pretty impressive as they pushed to the lead and even when their best golf started to leave them in the third round both men found a way to get into the clubhouse just one shot off the pace. Finau has famously had trouble closing out a plethora of chances over the past few seasons but the feeling was that perhaps the addition of a partner might help pave the path to victory. Instead they were never a factor. After a run of five opening pars on Sunday “Team Send It” dropped four shots before the turn and their quest for the title was over. A 76 to finish dropped them all the way back to 17th place. But while they may have failed to find their groove in the final round, they certainly continue to lead the way by using their voices and profiles in the continued fight for racial equality in the U.S. In the midst of last week’s verdict in the Derek Chauvin case the duo added their voice as they have many times before. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup regular season. The competition will conclude prior to the FedExCup PLAYOFFS where the top 10 FedExCup points leaders will be recognized and awarded as the most elite in golf. Week after week, shot after shot, each event matters more than ever before. Who will finish in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10? Click here to follow the weekly action.

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KAPALUA, Maui – Every so often it all falls into place. So it’s gone for Collin Morikawa, the only player in the field without a bogey and the 54-hole leader by six after shooting a third-round 65 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. “Yeah, it’s been pretty simple today,” said Morikawa, who will be playing for his sixth PGA TOUR title (two of which came at majors) on Sunday. “Kind of over the past three days, is where I’ve been looking is kind of where the ball’s been going. I kind of know what is doing right and when I hit a bad shot, kind of what the mistake was. That’s the biggest thing.” Scottie Scheffler, who would go back to world No. 1 with a two-way tie for third or better, shot 69 to tie Matt Fitzpatrick (66) and J.J. Spaun (69) at 18 under, a half dozen shots behind. It will be hard to catch the leader, for reasons both obvious (a comfortable lead) and not. The obvious reason is Morikawa is not only crushing Kapalua from tee to green (he often does, no matter the course), but he’s also putting lights-out. His 15-foot birdie putt on 18 Saturday, his fourth birdie in the last five holes, was emblematic of his week. The key stat for the leader so far: Morikawa, who ranked 131st in Strokes Gained: Putting last season, is No. 1 for the week at the Sentry. He gives much of the credit to new putting coach Stephen Sweeney, an Irishman who is based in Florida. “He’s putting really good,” Spaun said of Morikawa. “He doesn’t miss a shot. It’s a hard combo to beat.” Morikawa has ranked inside the top 10 in SG: Putting in four tournaments, and won two of them. He’s also first in scrambling (6-for-6), which bodes well for his new relationship with short game specialist and TOUR winner Parker McLachlin. The other factor working in Morikawa’s favor is good Maui vibes. His paternal grandparents were born here and owned a restaurant in Lahaina. When the Maui News wrote about it, a reader found an old matchbook from that restaurant on eBay, bought it for $7.50, and sent it to Morikawa via an assist from NBC’s Mark Rolfing, the PGA TOUR, and Morikawa’s agent. It says: “Morikawa restaurant Delicious meals Beer-wine and sake M. Morikawa prop.” “It’s amazing,” said Morikawa, who is with his wife, brother, and parents this week. “I mean, to think what Front Street means to the island of Maui and to the city of Lahaina. Every time we walk by, my dad, I know he just kind of goes back to being a kid.” The abundance of positive mojo at Kapalua comes in the first week of a new year that couldn’t get here fast enough for Morikawa, who fought his game (his signature fade went missing); tried a new putter (changing to a mallet at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, where he missed the cut); did not win; and generally gnashed his teeth. For a dynamic young player who had become the first to win the PGA Championship and Open Championship in his first cracks at both, the season was an unhappy grind. “That middle of the season really from PLAYERS all the way through playoffs just felt like it never ended,” he said. “It was just like I play a tournament, you get back home, you play another tournament, play two more. You’re always searching.” He rediscovered his fade, and in November started working with Sweeney – the first putting coach of his career. Feeling more at ease on the greens, Morikawa finished T15 at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, his best result of the fall. It was 13 months ago that Morikawa took a five-shot lead into the final round of the unofficial Hero World Challenge – and lost. In retrospect, it seems to have been an omen for a forgettable 2022. But as he picks apart the Plantation Course, with his tee-to-green game in peak form and his putting better than ever, Morikawa is making all that a distant memory.

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