WATCH: Angry golfer throws head cover at caddie who cost him thousands

Just five players — Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Marc Leishman and Jon Rahm — control their own fate entering the TOUR Championship, the final event of the FedExCup Playoffs that will decide the 2016-17 FedExCup champion. Should any one of those five players in the FedExCup standings win at East Lake, he will be guaranteed the FedExCup title. Players inside the top five could still win the FedExCup but would need certain scenarios to fall into place. Based on recent history, the TOUR Championship winner will also be the FedExCup champ, which has been the case every year since 2010. Here’s a quick look at each player inside the top five going into Thursday’s first round at East Lake. 1. JORDAN SPIETH THE SET-UP: Spieth won the FedExCup title two years ago from the No. 2 spot. Now he’s seeking to become the first No. 1 seed since Tiger Woods in 2007 to win the TOUR Championship. Tiger also won the 2009 FedExCup title from the No. 1 spot but didn’t win at East Lake. If Spieth wins, he’ll join Tiger as the only two-time FedExCup champs. PATH TO EAST LAKE: Lost in a playoff to Dustin Johnson at THE NORTHERN TRUST … Finished solo second by three strokes to Justin Thomas at the Dell Technologies Championship … Tied for seventh at the BMW Championship. TAKING SIMILAR PATH AS … 2009 winner Tiger Woods. No FedExCup champ has ever finished top 10 in all four events of his winning year, but Woods came the closest with a T2, a T11 and a win before claiming the FedExCup title with a second-place finish to Phil Mickelson at East Lake. Of course, Spieth hasn’t won a Playoffs event yet, but his consistency has kept him atop the standings. Spieth has the best chance to finish second and still win the FedExCup — provided none of the other top-5 players win. If he does so, he would become the first FedExCup champ to win the title without winning a Playoffs event. HISTORY AT EAST LAKE 2016 … Tie for 17th. Shot 68-72-72-68 to finish at even-par 280. 2015 … Won. Shot 68-66-68-69 to finish at 9-under 271 2014 … Tied for 27th. Shot 71-70-80-71 to finish at 12-over 292. 2013 … Tied for 2nd. Shot 68-67-71-64 to finish at 10-under 270. IF HE DOESN’T WIN AT EAST LAKE … Spieth has a reasonable chance of winning the FedExCup title with a top-5 finish and can still finish as low as 29th and have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES 2016 … 9th 2015 … 1st 2014 … 15th 2013 … 7th 2. JUSTIN THOMAS THE SET-UP: No player has won more this season than Thomas, who has five vctories, including his first major at the PGA Championship, and then the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston. Now he’s seeking to put his name on the same FedExCup trophy as good friend and rival Jordan Spieth. PATH TO EAST LAKE: Tied for sixth at THE NORTHERN TRUST … Won by three strokes at the Dell Technologies Championship … Tied for 47th at the BMW Championship. TAKING SIMILAR PATH AS … 2012 winner Brandt Snedeker. Snedeker posted a solo second and a solo sixth in the first two Playoffs events, then was a non-contender at the BMW Championship. Thomas has two impressive showings (including the win at TPC Boston) but was a non-factor at Conway Farms. Snedeker regained the momentum at East Lake; Thomas hopes to do the same. HISTORY AT EAST LAKE 2016 … Tie for 6th. Shot 68-71-69-67 to finish at 5-under 275. IF HE DOESN’T WIN AT EAST LAKE … Thomas has a reasonable chance of winning the FedExCup title with a top-3 finish and can finish as low as a two-way tie for sixth and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES 2016 … 12th 2015 … 32nd 3. DUSTIN JOHNSON THE SET-UP: He came so close to winning the FedExCup title last year. Had Ryan Moore or Kevin Chappell won the sudden-death playoff against Rory McIlroy, DJ would’ve claimed the FedExCup. It was a cruel lesson on the importance of taking care of your own business — a lesson Johnson hopes to implement this week. PATH TO EAST LAKE: Won a sudden-death playoff against Jordan Spieth at THE NORTHERN TRUST … Tied for 18th at the Dell Technologies Championship … Tied for 33rd at the BMW Championship. TAKING SIMILAR PATH AS … 2016 winner Rory McIlroy. A year ago, McIlroy sandwiched a win at TPC Boston between a couple of so-so results, but he found the winning path again at East Lake. Johnson looked ready to streak through the Playoffs after his Glen Oaks win but surprisingly hasn’t been late Sunday contender since then. HISTORY AT EAST LAKE 2016 … Tie for 6th. Shot 66-67-69-73 to finish at 5-under 275. 2015 … Tie for 5th. Shot 69-72-71-64 to finish at 4-under 276. 2013 … 5th. Shot 68-68-67-69 to finish at 8-under 272. 2012 … Tie for 10th. Shot 69-67-73-70 to finish at 1-under 279. 2011 … Tie for 23rd. Shot 70-73-70-70 to finish at 3-over 283. 2010 … Tie for 22nd. Shot 73-71-73-66 to finish at 3-over 283. 2009 … 27th. Shot 69-74-73-73 to finish at 9-over 289. Note: Johnson also qualified for the 2014 TOUR Championship but did not play. IF HE DOESN’T WIN AT EAST LAKE … Johnson has a reasonable chance of winning the FedExCup with a second-place finish and can finish as low as a tie for fourth and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES 2016 … 2nd 2015 … 7th 2014 … 30th 2013 … 13th 2012 … 8th 2011 … 4th 2010 … 5th 2009 … 14th 2008 … 134th 4. MARC LEISHMAN THE SET-UP: Besides Leishman, his family and friends, and all of Australia, you know who else is very happy right now? It’s International Captain Nick Price, who no doubt will lean heavily on the red-hot Australian at next week’s Presidents Cup. But until then, Leishman is position to produce his biggest individual achievement — and no one has played better in the last two Playoffs events. Can he keep it going in his first appearance at East Lake since 2009? PATH TO EAST LAKE: Missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST … Tied for third at the Dell Technologies Championship … Went wire-to-wire to win the BMW Championship. TAKING SIMILAR PATH AS … 2014 winner Billy Horschel. Horschel missed the cut in his first Playoffs start, nearly won at TPC Boston, did win the BMW and kept it going at East Lake. Leishman was the 54-hole co-leader at TPC Boston before a disappointing final round, but focused on the positives and won at Conway Farms. If he continues to follow Horschel’s path, he’ll be hoisting two more trophies on Sunday. HISTORY AT EAST LAKE 2009 … Tie for 28th. Shot 70-74-70-78 to finish at 12-over 292. IF HE DOESN’T WIN AT EAST LAKE … Leishman has a reasonable chance of winning the FedExCup title with a second-place finish and can finish as low as tied for third and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES 2016 … 68th 2015 … 72nd 2014 … 58th 2013 … 59th 2012 … 46th 2011 … 65th 2010 … 44th 2009 … 20th 2015 … 32nd 5. JON RAHM THE SET-UP: Making his first FedExCup Playoffs appearance, Rahm has been impressively consistent, with top-5 finishes in each of his three starts. Still, he had to sweat out a potential birdie bid by Rickie Fowler on the 72nd hole at Conway Farms that would have knocked Rahm out of the top five (Fowler ultimately settled for par). No one will be surprised if he emerges as the FedExCup champ. PATH TO EAST LAKE: Tied for third at THE NORTHERN TRUST … Tied for fourth at the Dell Technologies Championship … Tied for fifth at the BMW Championship. TAKING SIMILAR PATH AS … 2009 winner Tiger Woods. Like Spieth above, Rahm has played well in every start without a win. In his 12 rounds in the Playoffs, Rahm is a collective 36 under, with 11 of those rounds in the 60s. His scenarios to win the FedExCup without winning at East Lake are not as favorable as Spieth’s, so Rahm will likely need to post his second win of the season to secure the FedExCup. HISTORY AT EAST LAKE First appearance IF HE DOESN’T WIN AT EAST LAKE … Rahm can finish as low as a two-way tie for second and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES None

Click here to read the full article…

Editor’s note: Editor’s Note: Raymond Jin is a First Tee of Greater Trenton participant. He wrote an essay for the Wells Fargo Succeeding Together contest. Raymond found out he was the winner for 2020 from 2019 Wells Fargo Championship winner Max Homa. On Wednesday of the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship, Raymond had the opportunity to play in the pro-am with the PGA TOUR player of his choosing, Rory McIlroy. I would first like to give my utmost thanks to Wells Fargo, First Tee, and the PGA TOUR for the opportunity to play in Wednesday’s Pro-Am with Rory McIlroy and Zhang Xinjun. The event and the Wells Fargo Championship in general are very well-run. I recognize that this event is possible only because of all the people behind the scenes working to make my experience amazing, and for that, I’m very grateful. Words cannot even begin to describe the joy I had while playing. By applying the First Tee’s Nine Core Values — honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgement — I was able to have an excellent round. For example, on a 60-yard approach shot, I was going uphill and into the wind. I exhibited good judgment and quickly pulled out my 59-degree while the wind was still fairly calm. With these conditions, I hit a high shot that landed 6 feet from the hole and rolled very little, positioning myself for a nice easy putt for par. Overall, my experience was unforgettable because I learned so much from playing with two great pros. Rory and I read putts together on one hole, and he gave me great pointers on how to line up the shot. Afterwards, I made birdie, and he joked that we should always read putts together. Rory also gave me a great piece of advice: “you don’t have to try to make friends; rather, you naturally resonate with certain people and communities; find your people, and you’ll feel right at home no matter where you go.” As I’m heading to Yale in the fall, I’ll definitely take that advice with me in order to find my niche on campus while continuing to make an impact in the community around me. Zhang was also a wonderful guy to play and interact with. While waiting on the tee box, Zhang remarked how my Mandarin was very good for somebody who grew up in the United States. He also asked about what it was like growing up in New Jersey and about my future studies at Yale. It was also really interesting to get to know his life growing up in China and his introduction to the game of golf. In the end, I came away from this experience with what I had come for: a deeper perspective and understanding of playing professional golf. Waking up at 5:30 for a 7:10 AM tee time, getting mic’d up, hitting my shot off the first tee with an entire gallery watching, and playing 18 holes at Quail Hollow under the North Carolina heat made me really appreciate the dedication, grit, and tenacity of professional golfers. Now, I can fully comprehend their ability to perform under pressure and incredible amounts of stress, where a shot could mean the difference between over a million dollars or a couple hundred thousand. I feel incredibly lucky being able to get this up-close exposure at a young age. I’ll take the lessons I learned from the Pro-Am, both golf and life-related, and apply them to my everyday life, on and off the golf course.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…