Rory McIlroy scores well and shares lead at Wells Fargo Championship

The 15th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs to conclude the PGA TOUR season has arrived. There will be math and there will be a test, three of them in fact, but it’s all to determine who is crowned the 2021 FedExCup champion. The format is exactly how it was introduced in 2019 but the last four years have taught a lot in terms of projecting who advances to the TOUR Championship. This annual Power Rankings for the FedExCup Playoffs examines the structure, the recent history and this year’s set of host courses. A projected ranking of 30 to reach the finale gets you started. POWER RANKINGS: FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS It always seems that just when we’re settling into the latest format of the FedExCup Playoffs, it changes. Sometimes it’s because of the reduction to three tournaments. That’s what happened in 2019. Other times, unfortunately, a pandemic influences the points distribution. Of course, that was last year’s experience when points were merely tripled due to playing time lost midseason. However, a recommitment has been made to quadruple FedExCup points for the first two tournaments of 2021. Last year’s adjustment didn’t alter the course of history, however; that is, in time, it won’t appear as an anomaly. Since the current points structure was implemented in 2017, all top-19 opening seeds advanced two tournaments. In 2017 and 2018, and when points were quadrupled, that meant to the third leg of what was a four-event series. Since 2019, it’s meant a trip to the TOUR Championship. This is why all of this year’s top-19 opening seeds are found in the ranking of 30 above. Baked into that is an acceptance that every FedExCup ranking is different no matter the seeds because points totaled in the Regular Season carry forward into the first two events of the Playoffs. Only THE NORTHERN TRUST that opens the Playoffs will have a 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties. There is no cut in the last two tournaments. And because the opening field of 125 (actually 124 because 8-seed Louis Oosthuizen is resting a sore neck) will be whittled to 70 for the BMW Championship, the series opener is the most volatile. When this slice of 55 debuted in 2019, four seeds outside the opening top 70 advanced. The worst finish among them was recorded by 74-seed Joaquin Niemann, who finished T30 at THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National, also the cite of this year’s edition of the same tournament. Last year, six from outside the top 70 survived, but it took no worse than a T13 (by three golfers) to do it. In fact, 111-seed Charley Hoffman also placed T13, but he rose to just 77th, thus submitting the best finish in the series opener that didn’t propel him forward. Monday’s Power Rankings for THE NORTHERN TRUST presents the usual breakdown of the host course among other information, and there will be stand-alone Power Rankings for the last two tournaments, but no matter who advances to the BMW, he will be competing as a professional for the first time at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, so there is no recent history on which to rely. It’ll truly be a neutral field. Caves Valley has hosted a number of marquee events, including the 2002 U.S. Senior Open, the 2005 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship, the 2007 Palmer Cup and the 2017 Bridgestone Senior PLAYERS Championship. The Tom Fazio design will be set up for the BMW as a stock par 72 capable of stretching to 7,542 yards. Like it’s relatively near partner in these Playoffs, Liberty National, Caves Valley also boasts bentgrass greens. The top 30 in the FedExCup standings at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will advance to the TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. It will challenge familiarly as a par 70 at 7,346 yards with bermuda greens. In 2019, seven golfers who opened the Playoffs outside the top 30 advanced to East Lake. Last year, only two converted. The lowest seed in either edition to survive was Abraham Ancer. As the 67-seed in 2019, he was the runner-up at Liberty National and climbed to eighth for the BMW. By merely reaching the Playoffs finale, the golfers are set with traditional exemptions into the 2022 editions of the Masters, the U.S. Open and The Open Championship among many other invitations if not already equipped. Seeding upon arrival will determine all Starting Strokes, which doubles as the leaderboard position at the beginning of play. The top seed opens at 10-under, the 2-seed at 8-under, and so on. To be clear, the winner of the TOUR Championship will possess the lowest score in relation to par combined with his Starting Strokes. For example, if the top seed, who opens at 10-under, scores 10-under 270 for 72 holes, his total score will be 20-under. Meanwhile, if the 5-seed, who opens at 5-under, scores 14-under 266 for 72 holes, his total score will be 19-under. Last year, although Dustin Johnson opened as the top seed at 10-under, his 72-hole score of 11-under 269 was good for just T3 overall in aggregate scoring, but he prevailed by three strokes in combined scoring because of the opening advantage. The FedExCup champion is credited with official victory, but neither FedExCup points nor official earnings apply to the TOUR Championship. Only the leaderboard with the influence of Starting Strokes and bonus prize money will be applied. The winner at East Lake also secures a five-year TOUR membership exemption (through 2025-26). In the history of the FedExCup, six golfers have won a Playoffs event as the top seed entering the tournament they won. Dustin Johnson was the most recent when he prevailed at the 2020 TOUR Championship. The Playoffs also have been a haven for momentum and piling up victories. On 10 occasions, including twice in 2008, a golfer has won exactly two Playoffs events, including consecutively six times. Rory McIlroy has done it twice (2012, 2016), but he’s one (2012) of four who didn’t win the FedExCup in the series in which he recorded multiple victories. His second of two FedExCup titles occurred in 2019 when Starting Strokes was introduced. Of course, there also are the tough-luck experiences. In 2019, Kevin Tway opened as the 41-seed and posted respective results of T24 and T11, yet finished 31st in the FedExCup. Last year, Brian Harman (69-seed) went T11-T12 to place 37th, Jason Kokrak (90th) went T13-T6 to finish 42nd, and Russell Henley (101st) went T8-T25 to settle at 56th. However, just making it to the Playoffs means that a PGA TOUR member has had a successful season. It also means that his job is secure for the next. 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 (THE NORTHERN TRUST) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (FedExCup Playoffs); Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, 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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ERIN, Wis. – Xander Schauffele’s name may be featured prominently on the large white leaderboards at Erin Hills, but that doesn’t mean everyone on the property recognizes the PGA TOUR rookie who’s contending at the U.S. Open. “I’ll sign some autographs and kids will be like, ‘Dad, who is that?’â€� Schauffele said. “That’s just how it is. … Schauffele is a pretty weird name to remember.â€� More people are becoming familiar with the German surname that translate to “tiny shovel,â€� a testament to his family’s centuries-long lineage in the construction business. Schauffele held the lead for parts of Friday morning before finishing at 5-under 139 (66-73). Erin Hills’ wide, fescue-lined fairways and bent-grass greens remind the 23-year-old of one of his home courses in college, Barona Creek, where he won a tournament during his senior year. And the same strong ballstriking and mental fortitude that has helped him make a quick progression through pro golf’s meritocracy is paying off in this notoriously tough tournament. “That’s been engraved in him forever, to be tough,â€� said his caddie and former college teammate, Austin Kaiser. “His attitude is huge. … He doesn’t want it to be sugar-coated.â€� His father, Stefan, has tried to imbue such fortitude in his son from a young age. Stefan, whose German roots give him a strong preference for honesty over flattery, is his son’s only swing coach. Now he’s watching the fruits of their labor in this major championship that always concludes on Father’s Day. Stefan started his son in the game at age 9, when he was strong enough to carry his junior bag for 18 holes. Xander wasn’t allowed to use tees in those early junior tournaments on par-3 courses, knowing that the temporary disadvantage would pay off later. It has this week, at the tournament that puts such a heavy emphasis on accurate ballstriking. We may have seen a record number of sub-par scores in the first round, but this U.S. Open is not a warm and cuddly championship. The struggles of several of the game’s stars show that Erin Hills is no pushover for those who are errant off the tee. Schauffele has averaged 314.8 yards off the tee this week, while hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in each of the first two rounds. He’s learned how to handle pressure from his father, who passed along the breathing and concentration techniques he learned from his own athletic days. Stefan played semipro soccer in Germany and was en route to a training session for Germany’s national decathlon team when he was hit head-on by a drunk driver. He was in and out of the hospital for two years because of multiple surgeries on his left eye, which he lost sight in. The accident convinced him to take a risk and move to the United States when he was 23. He landed in San Diego and lived next to a golf course. With his physical activity limited because of the accident, he decided to take up the game. His first instructor, A.J. Bonar, related the golf swing to the sports like discus that Stefan was familiar with. He was scratch within two years. Xander has had a rapid rise in pro golf. He aced the grueling examinations that young pros face, Q-School and the Web.com Tour Finals, on his first try. After turning pro in 2015, the San Diego State alum needed just one season on the Web.com Tour to earn his card. Now Schauffele, who ranks 135th in the FedExCup, is playing well in his first major championship. “He just keeps improving every year,â€� said Ryan Ressa, who recruited him to Long Beach State, where Schauffele played his freshman season before transferring to San Diego State. “He always seemed to have a knack for (playing well) when he needed to.â€� For proof, Ressa refers to a 2-under round during a windy final day at the 2015 Web.com Tour Q-School that allowed Schauffele to earn his card on the number. Then he finished T9 in the final tournament of last year’s Web.com Tour season to earn his TOUR card for this season. And now he’s excelling in his first U.S. Open.

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BLAINE, Minn. – Cameron Champ isn’t scared of the bright lights of final-round contention on the PGA TOUR. The Texas A&M alum has won three times on TOUR, most recently at the 2021 3M Open, a title he’s set to defend this week at TPC Twin Cities. Champ, 27, has other matters at hand as he readies to compete in Minnesota. He stands No. 157 on the FedExCup standings with three events remaining in the regular season, currently on the outside looking in regarding a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. The top-125 upon the conclusion of the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship will earn Playoffs berths. Champ suffered a wrist injury last fall and has struggled to find contention upon returning to competition in January. He recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes this spring at the Masters Tournament and Mexico Open at Vidanta, but he commences his 3M Open title defense on a string of five consecutive missed cuts. The California native, well regarded as one of the game’s longest hitters, leads the TOUR this season in driving distance and is No. 9 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. He ranks No. 181 for the season in Strokes Gained: Putting, as well as No. 115 in greens in regulation, but he believes he is turning a corner, while admitting he would understand those who meet this belief with skepticism. “If you want to look at my stats and how I’ve been playing, you would think I’m crazy,” Champ said. “I’ve had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life mixed in with me breaking my wrist in the fall. That was a whole unknown for quite a while, if it was going to be serious or if it was not serious. Luckily, it wasn’t too serious.” Champ spoke of the challenges of finding the proper work-life balance, investing adequate time in both his relationships and his craft. Feeling good about his personal life allows him to find the proper head space, he said, which in turn allows him to excel on the course. “When things are going good back home, it just calms you down, it makes you not have to stress about things,” Champ said. “You can just enjoy yourself, and out here it just gives me that extra drive and force to just want to continue to get better. The last 10 months were pretty rough for me personally, honestly. I had to get over a lot of things and get through some things, but like I said, now we’re on the up and up and we’re just going to get after it.” He’ll aim to channel that perspective into a late-season push for the Playoffs. Here’s a look at five players outside the top-125 on the FedExCup standings with three events remaining in the Regular Season – after the 3M Open, the TOUR proceeds to next week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit before the Wyndham Championship. Stephan Jaeger currently holds the all-important No. 125 spot with 318 points. Rickie Fowler (No. 129) Starts: 18 Cuts made: 11 Top-25 finishes: 3 Best finish: T3, THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT FedExCup points: 309 Fowler currently trails the No. 125 position by nine points, the equivalent of a solo 49th place-finish or better. Regardless of whether he qualifies for the Playoffs, the five-time TOUR winner is fully exempt through 2023 via the tournament winner category. He’ll aim to make amends, though, for a streak of 11 consecutive FedExCup Playoffs appearances, which ended last season after finishing No. 134 on the season-long standings. The Oklahoma State alum enters the 3M Open having made five cuts in his last six starts, including a T23 at the PGA Championship. Fowler was seen in a jovial mood early-week, chatting with Wesley Bryan as he practiced bunker shots on a windy Tuesday, and he’ll aim to carry those vibes into competition days at TPC Twin Cities. Martin Trainer (No. 139) Starts: 28 Cuts made: 10 Top-25 finishes: 3 Best finish: T5, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open FedExCup points: 267 Trainer currently trails the No. 125 position by 51 points, the equivalent of a solo 17th-place finish or better. His three top-25 finishes this season are all T11 or better, demonstrating a propensity for taking advantage of his hot weeks, and he’ll aim to produce that type of week down the final stretch of the regular season. The University of South California alum won the 2019 Puerto Rico Open as a rookie to earn a two-year TOUR exemption, which was extended a year due to COVID-19. Finishing outside the top-125 would require a return to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals (he would maintain some TOUR status regardless as a past champion), and he admitted at the Mexico Open at Vidanta (T11) that the top-125 bubble was very much on his mind as the season progressed. “It’s always on my mind, unfortunately,” Trainer said at the time. “It’s pretty unhealthy, actually. You think about it, but ultimately you do your best and just see what happens.” Harry Higgs (No. 142) Starts: 27 Cuts made: 12 Top-25 finishes: 3 Best finish: T9, THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT FedExCup points: 257 Higgs trails the No. 125 position by 61 points, the equivalent of a two-way T12 or better. The affable Kansas City native is coming off a T11 finish at the Barracuda Championship, his best finish of the 2022 calendar year. He also finished T14 at the Masters. Higgs, 30, won the 2019 Price Cutter Charity Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour to cement his first TOUR card, and he found a quick knack for the TOUR level of competition, finishing top-70 on the FedExCup in each of his first two TOUR seasons. He doesn’t shy away from the knowledge that he’s fighting for his job over the closing stretch of the regular season, and he looks forward to putting his game to the test under the circumstances. “There comes a time when talk is cheap, and now you’re going to have to show it,” Higgs said at the Barracuda Championship. “More so to myself; I don’t really care to show it to anybody else. I feel like I’m way better than the position that I’m in, but that’s also the beauty of the game.” Cameron Champ (No. 157) Starts: 16 Cuts made: 6 Top-25 finishes: 2 Best finish: T6, Masters Tournament FedExCup points: 200 Champ trails the No. 125 position by 118 points, the equivalent of a two-way T4 or better. If he fails to gain Playoffs entry, though, he will remain fully exempt on the 2022-23 PGA TOUR due to his two-year tournament winner exemption. He’s confident he can make a push toward the Playoffs this week. “This is just one of those places where it doesn’t matter if I play good or bad, I’m just very comfortable with it,” Champ said of TPC Twin Cities. Scott Gutschewski (No. 179) Starts: 20 Cuts made: 7 Top-25 finishes: 2 Best finish: 5th, Barracuda Championship FedExCup points: 136 Gutschewski trails the No. 125 position by 182 points, the equivalent of a two-way T3 or better. The 45-year-old is trending upward, though, having jumped from No. 204 to No. 179 in the standings after a career-best, solo fifth place finish at last week’s Barracuda Championship. The Barracuda finish assured Gutschewski, a father of four, a top-200 position on the FedExCup, which ensures a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals at minimum (another opportunity to regain TOUR status). Across the next three weeks, he’ll set his sights higher, on either a top-125 spot – to gain a FedExCup Playoffs berth and fully exempt 2022-23 TOUR status – or a top-150 position to ensure conditional TOUR status next season.

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