Monday Finish: Jim Herman’s historic weekend

There's an old saying in sports that simply says, “Go hard or go home.” It is an apt line for the Wyndham Championship because if you find yourself in the field at Sedgefield Country Club and you're outside the top 125 in the FedExCup standings, it is the only option you have. Go hard or go home. With FedExCup Playoffs spots on the line a few players did just that. None more so than Jim Herman, who opened the week with a spot inside the top 200 at risk but ended it in dramatic fashion as the winner in Greensboro. Welcome to the Monday Finish where Herman and two others produced enough to extend their season and the final Playoffs field was set. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. When opportunity knocks, Herman knows you better be ready to take it. Herman has just 10 top-10s on the PGA TOUR from his 195 starts between 2010 and now. But the now 42-year-old can boast that three of those are wins. Herman might not be a regular contender on the PGA TOUR - in fact he came into Wyndham ranked a distant 192nd in the FedExCup standings, leaving him with a win or runner-up scenario to continue his season. But what he has been over the last five seasons is a pretty regular winner. He may have missed 27 cuts in his last 40 starts but there are plenty of players on TOUR who would switch places right now. 2. A record weekend. With four holes to go on Friday, Herman could have been forgiven for starting to crunch numbers in his head regarding staying inside the top 200 of the FedExCup and receiving a safety net for the 2020-21 season via a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. He was outside the cut line at 192nd in the FedExCup and was already planning what to do with his family over the next three weeks. But three straight birdies allowed him the opportunity to play the weekend and Sedgefield, and perhaps gain some momentum before the time off. That momentum came quickly with a 9-under 61 on Saturday, with a 29 on the back side, that rocketed Herman to the periphery of contention. While starting Sunday four back might seem a little far, perhaps he could snag the runner-up finish he needed to continue his FedExCup claims. Forget that. A Sunday 63 meant a weekend total of 134 - which equaled the lowest weekend total for a winner in TOUR history (Stuart Appleby, 2010 Greenbrier). Herman played his last 32 holes with 15 birdies, an eagle and just one bogey. Incredible. 3. A hot putter. Herman turned up at Sedgefield struggling with his putting and decided to change to a cross-handed grip at Wyndham. It was a masterstroke. He ended the week making 444-feet of putts with a 59-foot eagle on the par-5 fifth on Sunday the shot that catapulted him into serious contention. All in all, Herman gained +6.234 shots on the greens, ranking him third in Strokes Gained: Putting. But his tee-to-green game was equally impressive. Herman was fifth in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and fourth in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. "I got here, and these greens are so perfect, you’ve got to be able to start the ball where you’re looking with the correct speed, and cross-handed just gets the ball rolling a little bit better for me at the moment and just went with it," Herman said. Read more on his putting switch and everything to do with his win here. OBSERVATIONS Jobs may not have been on the line thanks to the COVID-19 reduced schedule but FedExCup Playoffs spots still were and that still brings pressure. While Herman was one man to blitz his way into the Playoffs, two others with impressive pedigree did the same. Major champions Zach Johnson and Shane Lowry were the other two players who did enough to move from the outside of the 125 into the field at THE NORTHERN TRUST this week. Johnson came in ranked 129th and finished No. 104 after a tie for seventh at Sedgefield. He had missed the Playoffs a year ago but would not be denied again. "I don’t like missing cuts, I don’t like missing the FedExCup, I don’t like not being a part of it," Johnson said. "When there’s events that you’re not qualified for, which has kind of been new to me in the last year or two, it’s frustrating. I say that, it’s also motivating." Lowry came in No. 131 and finished 122nd with his T23 at Wyndham. "You look at what I’ve achieved in the last year or two, stuff like that shouldn’t really be as stressful as it was, but it was," said the reigning Open champion. "It’s a big deal. We all know if we can make it to Boston that a good week there, you know, can do big things." Those to fall out of the top 125 were Charl Schwartzel, Fabian Gomez and Russell Knox. Check out a full rundown here. Webb Simpson and Sedgefield are a pretty decent match. No wonder Simpson named one of his children Wyndham given he now has eight top 10s at Sedgefield, including the win in 2011, from 12 starts. Simpson has now finished in the top 3, albeit without winning a second title on the course, in the last four seasons after a T3 this week. In his last 16 rounds at Sedgefield, Simpson has shot 68 or better, averaging out at 65.3125. He has won over $3.5 million at the venue. He also secured $1.2 million this week for finishing third in the Wyndham Rewards regular season race and as such is in great shape for a tilt at the FedExCup. Cinderella doesn't always get to the ball. Rob Oppenheim, a 40-year-old grinder who has spent his career bouncing between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR in the FedExCup era but who has yet to make the Playoffs, had a golden opportunity on Sunday. Playing in the final group, Oppenheim needed to stay high on the leaderboard to have a chance of breaking the drought but unfortunately slipped to a tie for 15th thanks to some critical late bogeys. In the end he was four shots adrift of his goal. QUOTEBOARD "I hit it the way I wanted, I felt like I started on my line and about halfway to the hole I thought I made it and it just snapped off. It was disappointing because I had two good looks the last couple holes and just wasn’t able to convert," – runner-up Billy Horschel on a chance to force a playoff on 18. "You get old pretty quick out here with the young guys. They make you feel inadequate off the tee and especially long irons. it’s mentally frustrating. To overcome it all and get here for a third time is pretty amazing." – Jim Herman "It’s an ‘almost’ week. Almost good, almost a low one every day. Today was an almost." Webb Simpson after a fourth top 3 in four years at the Wyndham without winning. "I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m in the same place next week and I wouldn’t be surprised having a chance to win," Jordan Spieth remains upbeat despite continued struggles. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is a season-long competition that offers a $10 million bonus for the 10 golfers who end the regular season at the Wyndham Championship inside the top 10 in FedExCup points. The player atop the standings will earn $2 million, with varying payoffs for the others through $500,000 for the 10th place finisher. Justin Thomas officially is the Wyndham Rewards champion after there was no movement in the final week of the regular season. Thomas takes top spot with three wins on the season thus far and Collin Morikawa was able to hold off Webb Simpson for second to get $1.5 million. Jon Rahm kept the 10th and last slot, 37 points ahead of Xander Schauffele. The top 10 combined for 15 wins in the 2019-20 Regular Season. SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

Click here to read the full article…