Open and shut: What-ifs will haunt Spieth

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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Tim Herron shot a 9-under 63 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic.

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Phil Mickelson shot a 6-under 66 on Friday for a share of the first-round lead with Matt Gogel in the PGA Tour Champions’ Constellation Furyk & Friends Invitational.

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