Koepka claims first major title

PARAMUS, N.J. – The question was a simple one, and it was put to contestants at THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood Country Club, the first stop of the highly anticipated FedExCup Playoffs: Is the PGA TOUR Player of the Year race already over? FedExCup No. 3 Brooks Koepka has two majors (U.S. Open, PGA Championship) and two runner-up finishes. Clearly, he’s in pole position. “You win two majors, you’ve got it,â€� 11-time PGA TOUR Player of the Year Tiger Woods said in his press conference at Ridgewood on Tuesday. “It’s not real complicated.â€� Well, yes and no. Since the 1990 inception of the PGA TOUR Player of the Year Award, Nick Price (1994), Mark O’Meara (1998), Woods (four times), Padraig Harrington (2008), Rory McIlroy (2014) and Jordan Spieth (2015) have had multiple-major-winning seasons and won POY. The only player to win two majors and not win it was Nick Faldo in 1990. Although he easily could’ve cited himself as Exhibit A, B, C and D, Woods went back to the example of Mark O’Meara, who won the Masters and Open Championship in 1998. “It was very similar to what DD (David Duval) went through in ’98,â€� Woods said, “with Marco (Mark O’Meara) winning two major championships. I think that trumps — what, DD won four times that year? (He did.) I think two majors trumps it.â€� The big difference, though, is that was before the FedExCup Playoffs were born in 2007. And that’s why most of the players interviewed at Ridgewood refused to call the POY race early. What if a guy gets hot like Billy Horschel did in 2014, or Camilo Villegas in 2008? Three-time winners Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson could make it interesting if they add to their totals at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Dell Technologies Championship, BMW Championship and TOUR Championship, the four corners of TOUR’s post-season. Then there’s Francesco Molinari (Open Championship, Quicken Loans National), with whom Woods went head-to-head at The Open at Carnoustie, and Masters champ Patrick Reed. Spieth, the 2015 PGA TOUR POY, agreed with Woods that Koepka has already wrapped it up, no matter what the Playoffs have in store for chasers like his friend Thomas. “I think he would tell you the same thing,â€� Spieth said. (Actually, no, but more on that later.) Keegan Bradley admitted that Koepka probably has it wrapped up, but added a caveat: The right player, someone immediately behind Koepka, could get red-hot in the Playoffs. “They’d have to win a couple,â€� Bradley said. “Two, I think.â€� Tommy Fleetwood and Jamie Lovemark seconded that. “Two majors out-weighs three wins,â€� Fleetwood said, “but one of them could win the next four.â€� “Maybe Patrick Reed wins the next three,â€� Lovemark said with a laugh. Even realistically, some maintained the POY race remains undecided. “It’s not over,â€� James Hahn said. “Three tournament wins versus two majors? I’ll take the two majors. But four or five tournaments plus the FedExCup? I’ll take that guy.â€� Others echoed that sentiment. “I would go with five wins and a FedExCup,â€� said Jason Kokrak, “because that’s technically six trophies and a lot more money. I don’t think it’s over.â€� Marc Leishman agreed. “I don’t think it’s over,â€� he said. “There’s a lot of golf left, and big tournaments, too.â€� Talk to enough players and you’ll hear all sorts of different opinions, which was how it came out that a small minority wouldn’t give the POY Award to Koepka even if the season ended today. “Right now I’d go with Dustin Johnson, because he’s averaging $430,000 a start, so throw that in your mix,â€� Ryan Palmer said. “Somebody did the math and told me.â€� Palmer’s source corrected him: It’s $460,000 a start after Johnson’s recent win at the RBC Canadian Open. Three total wins. Two seconds. Two thirds. FedExCup No. 1. And $7.3 million. So it’s Dustin, then. Or is it Justin? Anirban Lahiri said he would give the nod to Thomas, who is a scant 83 points behind Johnson in his bid to become the first repeat FedExCup winner since its inception in 2007. Lahiri’s reasoning: Thomas’ ability as a front-runner, plus his excellence on different types of courses, from Firestone South to PGA National to Nine Bridges. “I’m not saying Brooks is a one-dimensional player,â€� Lahiri said. “He’s not. But I can’t give a guy Player of the Year based only on his performances at 7,600-yard courses.â€� (Koepka finished second at the Charles Schwab Challenge at smallish Colonial Country Club.) Ryan Armour was succinct in explaining how Koepka could be caught. “One of the multiple-tournament winners has to go on and win the FedExCup to have any sort of legitimate argument,â€� Armour said. “It would be a toss-up at that point, but I think if Francesco got hot and won the Cup, it would maybe lean his way.â€� Finally, the question was put to defending FedExCup champion Thomas as he made his way from the practice putting green to the short-game area at Ridgewood. Is the Player of the Year race already over? Thomas stopped, furrowed his brow. “It’s not over, no,â€� he said. “Why would it be over?â€�

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Dustin Johnson is trying to find his game. Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy want to elevate theirs in 2022. How will each fare as a busy part of the year begins?

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One is an annual tournament in which the objective is to get a ball into a hole to survive and advance. The other is the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. College basketball doesn't have a monopoly on compelling competition in March. The best golfers in the world have descended on Austin Country Club for their own version of madness. The top 16 of this Power Rankings are who I've identified as the most likely to emerge from the three-day Group Stage launched on the only Wednesday start on the PGA TOUR. With Nos. 1-4 determined logically based on my winners of the championship and consolation matches, Nos. 5-8 are a subjective rank of the quarterfinalists. The golfers in positions 9-16 are my Group Stage survivors who are eliminated in the first round of the Knockout Stage. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field | Play the Bracket Challenge | Print out your bracket POWER RANKINGS: WGC-DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY POWER RANKINGS CONTINUED 17. Rory McIlroy 18. Ryan Palmer 19. Tony Finau 20. Louis Oosthuizen 21. Patrick Cantlay 22. Brendon Todd 23. Joaquin Niemann (first-timer) 24. Max Homa (first-timer) 25. Matt Fitzpatrick 26. Lee Westwood 27. Hideki Matsuyama 28. Tyrrell Hatton 29. Jason Day 30. Ian Poulter 31. Webb Simpson 32. Russell Henley 33. Viktor Hovland (first-timer) 34. Kevin Kisner 35. Lanto Griffin (first-timer) 36. Carlos Ortiz (first-timer) 37. Shane Lowry 38. Tommy Fleetwood 39. Corey Conners (first-timer) 40. Collin Morikawa (first-timer) 41. Scottie Scheffler (first-timer) 42. Erik van Rooyen (first-timer) 43. Kevin Streelman 44. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (first-timer) 45. Matt Wallace 46. Harris English 47. Marc Leishman 48. Adam Long (first-timer) 49. Kevin Na 50. Bubba Watson 51. Matt Kuchar 52. Mackenzie Hughes (first-timer) 53. Jason Kokrak (first-timer) 54. Victor Perez (first-timer) 55. Talor Gooch (first-timer) 56. Dylan Frittelli 57. J.T. Poston (first-timer) 58. Sebastián Muñoz (first-timer) 59. Matthew Wolff (first-timer) 60. Bernd Wiesberger 61. Robert MacIntyre (first-timer) 62. Si Woo Kim 63. Andy Sullivan 64. Antoine Rozner (first-timer) Just as devotees of college buckets rush to complete their brackets every year, arguably more than anything else in professional golf, the Match Play is the best way for fans to connect emotionally and still have success relative to others as seeds are merely fact more often than friction. In the first four spins of the Match Play at Austin CC, only 23 of a possible 64 top seeds in every pod survived the Group Stage format. Sixteen advanced from the grouping ranked 17-32 upon entry, 14 moved on from the golfers seeded 33-48, and 11 from the bottom 16 played on. Perhaps the best example of the competitive balance occurred in 2018 when Dustin Johnson went 0-3-0 as the defending champion and top seed of the tournament. You can play the Bracket Challenge for bragging rights and for a fantastic prize package. It's free to play. Consider the AUTOPICK feature and select from overall seed or odds. You also can copy my bracket as yours. If you select any, you can customize as usual from there. Since it's been two years from the last edition of the Match Play, there are 22 first-time participants in the field. Only the four-man pods headlined by Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Thomas don't include at least one debutant. Anytime that match play is the format, a unique Power Rankings could be constructed for every round. Matchups and momentum are the primary components that establish expectations, so a full-tournament Power Rankings must be consumed with a grain of salt. What doesn't change is the course, naturally. Austin CC is a par 71 with three par 5s. It tips at just 7,108 yards. The only relevant change is that the bunkers have new sand (as a result of a project to update drainage). TifEagle bermuda greens are overseeded and dialed to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. The only cut of rough framing overseeded bermuda fairways and other areas of the shortest grass is two inches, and it is not overseeded. The weather will be worse before it gets better. A delay due to inclement conditions on Wednesday cannot be ruled out. Showers will linger into Thursday morning before dry air takes over and hangs throughout the weekend. And of course, given its location, wind will be a through line for most of the week. Course knowledge and applied experience in it should have value as a result. After posing for pictures with the Walter Hager Cup, the champion will receive 550 FedExCup points and PGA TOUR membership through at least 2023-24. As usual, if a non-member prevails, his equivalent of FedExCup points collected in either of the WGCs completed this season will not contribute to his membership total if he accepts his card. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings (Match Play) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Corales); Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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