A lot can happen before the scheduled first round back at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Some of how this will work is clear, but there’s just as much that still has to be figured out.
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NORTON, Mass. – Stewart Cink has learned his lesson. He promises to look at his projected FedExCup position down the stretch in Monday’s final round of the Dell Technologies Championship. Two years ago, he didn’t look at the projections. Playing the final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, Cink arrived at the par-4 18th hole at Plainfield Country Club in great shape to take the next step in the FedExCup Playoffs. Cink, who had started the week ranked 116th, was projected inside the top 100. His caddie asked if he wanted to know where he stood. Cink was emphatic. “No!� The 18th was playing at 307 yards that day. Cink figured an aggressive approach on a drivable par-4 offered favorable odds. He took out driver … and hit a poor shot left into “the weeds,� Cink recalled. His second shot found the other side of the green. He pitched to 14 feet and missed the par putt. The bogey dropped him nine spots on the leaderboard – and dropped out of the top 100. He finished at 102nd in the FedExCup standings, two points behind Jason Kokrak, the No. 100 player who had missed the cut that week. Had Cink made par, he would’ve finished in the mid-90s in points and moved on to TPC Boston. When Cink told his wife Lisa about not wanting to know where he stood, she was just as emphatic in her reaction – only with a different spin. “You always want to know!� she said. Cink entered this week ranked 81st in points, leaving him outside the bubble for the top 70 advancing to the BMW Championship. After rallying from a poor start in Friday’s first round – he was 4 over through his first eight holes before getting back on track with an eagle – Cink is now in position after his second consecutive 68. He’s tied for 14th at 6 under – and projected to 61st in FedExCup points. Cink has not reached the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs since 2010, the year after his win at The Open Championship. He hasn’t played in the TOUR Championship since 2009. It would be a tremendous story if he gets that far. After all, not only is he a member at East Lake, but he’ll be honored that week as the Payne Stewart Award winner. Is it difficult to keep East Lake out of his mind? No, Stewart said. “I’m having a lot more difficult time not thinking about Chicago,� he added. “East Lake’s not even in my mind to put out. That’s not a problem.� Cink was planning to huddle with his caddie prior to Monday’s final round to discuss their game plan. If the scenario boils down to the final few holes and Cink remains in contention to advance, there will be no question. He will want to know where he stands. “I’ve seen the other side,� Cink said, “and it cost me.� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside and outside the top 70 that will advance to the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, the BMW Championship. QUOTE OF THE DAY I would look at winning the FedExCup like winning a major. I think it’s become that big. I think a lot of players, because it’s a season-long race, I feel like it’s got a lot of meaning. TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current top 5 fared Saturday at the Dell Technologies Championship. 1. Dustin Johnson (66). Bogey-free round ended with a flourish – four birdies in his final five holes. Tied for seventh at 9 under. Projected to second. 2. Jordan Spieth (66). Suffered his first bogey on TPC Boston’s front side this week; otherwise a productive day. Tied for fourth at 10 under. Projected to third. 3. Justin Thomas (63). Posted his second consecutive bogey-free round; in fact, he has played 40 holes since his last bogey. Co-leader at 12 under. Projected to first. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (70). Produced his lowest score of the week but still giving up ground to the leaders. Tied for 36th at even par. Projected to fifth. 5. Jon Rahm (67). Entered the third round with the lead but three bogeys on the back nine dropped him off the pace. Tied for seventh at 9 under. Projected to sixth. Projected into the top 5 – Co-leader Marc Leishman, who started the week 20th in points, is projected to fourth. FEDEXCUP NOTES Paul Casey is again in position to win at TPC Boston, just like he was last year. In fact, he has finished inside the top five in four consecutive FedExCup Playoffs events, and has seven top-10s in 15 starts. Asked why the Playoffs seem to bring out the best of him, Casey said: “The end of the season is near. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know. I like the fact there’s a conclusion, I really do. I do like the volatility. I like the fact you can move up and there’s genuinely something to play for.� … The three players currently projected to move from inside to outside the cutline have few strokes to make up. Anirban Lahiri only needs to make up one stroke; Russell Knox two strokes, and Kevin Tway three strokes to keep their positions inside the top 70. … Five rookies are currently projected inside the top 70 in points – Wesley Bryan, Xander Schauffele, Mackenzie Hughes, Ollie Schniederjans, Grayson Murray and Patrick Cantlay. Schauffele and Schniederjans missed the cut on Saturday, but the other four will pick up points. Murray (T4) and Cantlay (T9) will begin the final round inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. “I’m going to have to go out there and play my ‘A’ game,� said Murray, noting the big names packed at the top of the leaderboard.
Cameron Champ continued his quest to bring people together through his profile in golf, sporting one black and one white shoe during his opening round at The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. He also paid homage to his late grandfather Mack with a new Nike polo patch dedicated to preserving Mack’s legacy. Champ is repeating his footwear move from last season during Black History Month, following the lead of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as a way to continue awareness, spark conversation and promote diversity and equality. “With my interracial background, my dad’s side being African-American, my mom’s side being Caucasian, it’s something that means a lot to me and something I wanted to support,â€� Champ said at the time. But his new polo patch is a very personal touch. Champ’s grandfather Mack was his driving force in golf. It was Mack who spent countless hours with a young Champ honing his skills in the sport. When he was a college player at Texas A&M, Mack decided his grandson was ready for the stories of his past that included being unable to play golf at courses where he had caddied and being refused service at restaurants because of the color of his skin. It wasn’t about anger for Mack. It was about showing Champ how to move forward with a sense of responsibility and to use his privilege for good. Champ is taking his grandfather’s words of “It’s not where you come from, it’s where you’re going,â€� very seriously. The often used message from Mack is written on Champ’s mixed shoes. Last September, just days after finding out Mack was moved to hospice care with terminal cancer, Champ played in the Safeway Open at his grandfather’s insistence. Driving back and forth each day from Sacramento to the tournament in Napa, he was able to claim an emotional second PGA TOUR win. Champ called Mack on the 18th green and said, “This one’s for you, Pops.â€� And afterwards remarked, “No matter what… even if I never win another tournament again or I win however many, this will definitely be the greatest moment of my golfing career.â€� Sadly, Mack lost his battle in October. The unique patch on his shirt has a dual black and white background to speak to his mixed heritage and sports grandpa Mack’s silhouette swinging a driver. The shoes on the silhouette are also mixed black and white. A limited run of shirts with the unique patch is now on sale at Nike.com.
After an adjustment to the PGA TOUR schedule, the Houston Open returns after an 18-month break with a new spot during the season. The longtime lead-in to the Masters is now part of the fall stretch of tournaments in 2019-20, and will return to the Golf Club of Houston’s Tournament course for this year for the final time before shifting to a new course in 2020. A former FedExCup winner, past Houston champions and multiple major winners headline the field in Humble, Texas. FIELD NOTES: Sanderson Farms Championship winner and current FedExCup leader Sebastián Muñoz will play his fourth tournament in a row to start 2019-20. Muñoz has Lone Star state connections, as he went to the University of North Texas. … 2013 FedExCup champion Henrik Stenson returns to the Houston Open after finishing T6 in the last edition. He was also runner-up in 2016. … Cole Hammer, the No. 2-ranked amateur in the world and current Texas Longhorn, has received a sponsor exemption and will make his first non-major PGA TOUR start (he played the 2015 U.S. Open as a 15-year-old). … Safeway Open winner Cameron Champ will be making his third start of the season next week. … Past Houston Open winners Jim Herman, Russell Henley, D.A. Points, Johnson Wagner, Hunter Mahan and Matt Jones are teeing it up. … Jimmy Walker, who is one of six golfers who hold the course record at the Golf Club of Houston (63) is one of trio of major champions in the field (the others being Stenson and Jason Dufner). … After making his first PGA TOUR start in more than two years at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, Graham DeLaet is set to play again in Houston. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points COURSE: Golf Club of Houston (Tournament), 7,441 yards, par 72. The course plays host to the PGA TOUR for the 13th time. STORYLINES: The 2019 edition of the Houston Open is the first of a five-year agreement between the PGA TOUR and the Houston Astros Foundation. The tournament will move to Memorial Park Golf Course next October after the course finishes at $13.5-million renovation. … The Houston Open was long known as the pre-Masters tune up, but this year it moves to the fall for the first time. It remains to be seen if the course will be set-up as it has been in the past (as comparable as possible to Augusta National). … After 2018’s edition, there has now been a playoff 24 out of 73 times at the Houston Open. Only the U.S. Open has had more playoffs on the PGA TOUR. …There are a ton of Texas connections in the field at the Houston Open including university alums and locals with Texas ties. Multi-time TOUR winner Jhonattan Vegas, Beau Hossler and Kramer Hickok went to the University of Texas and Scottie Scheffler (the Korn Ferry Tour’s top golfer for 2019) is a Dallas resident. 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, Curtis Strange and Lee Trevino (1980 at Woodlands CC), Vijay Singh (2002 at TPC Woodlands). Golf Club of Houston record: 268, Phil Mickelson (2011), Russell Henley (2017). 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Ron Streck (3rd round, 1981 at Woodlands CC), Fred Funk (3rd round, 1992 at TPC Woodlands). Golf Club of Houston record: 63, Johnson Wagner (1st round, 2008), Adam Scott (1st round, 2008), Jimmy Walker (1st round, 2011), Phil Mickelson (3rd round, 2011), Scott Piercy (1st round, 2015), Sung Kang (2nd round, 2017). LAST TIME: The last time the Houston Open was played in April 2018 it delivered a big-time result. Ian Poulter drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Beau Hossler. The Englishman made a slippery par putt on the first playoff hole to top Hossler (who made a triple-bogey 7) and earn a spot in the Masters the following week. Poulter closed with a 5-under 67 and his Houston Open title was his third on the PGA TOUR. Jordan Spieth shot a final-round 66 to finish T3 alongside Emiliano Grillo. Sam Ryder rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.- 7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).
