FedExCup Playoffs Event No. 2
Delaware makes its maiden voyage hosting a PGATOUR event at the South Course at Wilmington Country Club.
The remaining 68 players will have a chance to book their place at The TOUR Championship next week at East Lake if they are in top 30 in points after this weekend.
BMW Championship
FedExCup Playoffs Event No. 2
Wilmington Country Club
South Course
Wilmington, Delaware
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Wilmington Country Club – South Course
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,534 |
| Par: | 71 (35-36) |
| Greens: | 8,100 square feet; Tyee Bentgrass. |
| Stimpmeter: | 12.5 feet. |
| Rough: | Tall Fescue & Bluegrass at 4 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards | 91/4 (in play on 4 holes). |
| Architects: | Robert Trent Jones (1959); Andrew Green (2021). |
| Course Record (last): | First PGA TOUR event hosted. |
| Course Tournament Scoring Record (last): | |
| Fact of the Week: | Last week Will Zalatoris joined Camilo Villegas (2008) as the only two people to win for the first time in the FedExCup Playoffs |
| Purse: | $15 million; $2.7 million and 2,000 FedExCup points to the winner. |
Notes:
- Field is now 68 (Cameron Smith – WD (hip); Tommy Fleetwood – WD (personal).
- No WD will be replaced; the field is simply reduced.
- Fleetwood will not qualify for East Lake.
- 72 hole stroke play, no cut.
- Top 30 players advance to The TOUR Championship next week at East Lake outside Atlanta.
Recent Winners
Italics – not entered this week
| Year | Winner | Course |
| 2021 | Patrick Cantlay (-27) | Defeated Bryson DeChambeau (not entered) in a playoff at Caves Valley. Gained 14 strokes on the greens, a record on TOUR. |
| 2020 | Jon Rahm (-4) | Defeated Dustin Johnson (not entered) in a playoff; Brutal Olympia fields saw just five players break par. |
| 2019 | Justin Thomas (-25) | Cruised to a three shot win over Cantlay at Medinah No. 3. |
| 2018 | Keegan Bradley (-20) | Defeated Justin Rose (not entered) in a playoff at Aronimink outside Philadelphia |
| 2017 | Marc Leishman (-22) | Won by a whopping FIVE shots at Conway Farms in the Chicago suburbs. |
It’s long and strong. Reminds me a bit of Firestone South with the meat off the tee and massive greens. Like you, I’ll be interested to see what level of difficulty they are going to set it up at.
Last year 109380283 guys were 20-under or better at Caves Valley. Nobody cared because of the shootout/playoff down the stretch between Cantlay and DeChambeau.
TPC Southwind has teeth and so does East Lake so I’m wondering if this is the “break” in the schedule.
I hope not.
But I feel I’m going to be wrong. The last seven BMW Championships have crowned winners at 20-under or better. The lone exception was the excellent Olympia Fields.
Not many guys play themselves in this week because the field is stout and cracking that code takes a big finish. Keep an eye on class outside the top 30 for longer shots or skill sets you think match well here. Those winners above suggest no funny business this week.
The good news for some is it’s back to beautiful Bentgrass one last time before grainy, shiny Bermuda awaits at East Lake.
OAD
Spotter’s Game 2022
| 2022 Events | Golfer | Place | Total $$ |
| Sentry Tournament of Champions | Marc Leishman | T10 | 188,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Keith Mitchell | T7 | 227,812 |
| The American Express | Seamus Power | T14 | 119,700 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Jon Rahm | T3 | 445,200 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Maverick McNealy | T33 | 43,548 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Hideki Matsuyama | T8 | 248,050 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Patrick Cantlay | T33 | 64,000 |
| The Honda Classic | Sungjae Im | MC | 0 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Rory McIlroy | T13 | 228,000 |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Daniel Berger | T13 | 327,222 |
| Valspar Championship | Keegan Bradley | MC | 0 |
| WGC – Dell Match Play | Paul Casey | T60 | 41,000 |
| Corales Puntacana | Emiliano Grillo | MC | 0 |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners | T35 | 41,925 |
| Masters Tournament | Jordan Spieth | MC | 0 |
| RBC Heritage | Matt Fitzpatrick | MC | 0 |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Ian Poulter | 13th | 69,803 |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Davis Riley | 5th | 299,300 |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Tony Finau | T41 | 33,750 |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | Will Zalatoris | MC | 0 |
| PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler | MC | 0 |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Max Homa | T23 | 77,700 |
| Memorial Tournament | Collin Morikawa | MC | 0 |
| RBC Canadian Open | Jhonattan Vegas | T53 | 20,387 |
| US Open | Xander Schauffele | T14 | 241,302 |
| Travelers Championship | Denny McCarthy | MC | 0 |
| John Deere Classic | Nick Hardy | T30 | 39,082 |
| Barbasol Championship | Chesson Hadley | T68 | 7,548 |
| Scottish Open | Tommy Fleetwood | T4 | 362,000 |
| The Open Championship | Shane Lowry | T21 | 120,286 |
| 3M Open | Cameron Tringale | MC | 0 |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cameron Young | T2 | 635,600 |
| Wyndham Championship | Webb Simpson | MC | 0 |
| FedEx St Jude Championship | Justin Thomas | T13 | 260,892 |
| Total Events: 34 | Top 10: 7 | MC: 11 | $4,142,107 |
This Week – BMW Championship
It’s over.
The end.
Thank goodness.
I’ll have to pan for gold to see who I have left but “saving” Cam Smith looks to be losing proposition and a fitting end to my season.
Believe it or not I’m a glutton and a glutton for punishment so I’ll continue to write this column, game or no game, starting again with the Fortinet Championship in September.
It helps me sort guys I want to bet and use in other formats as well so I enjoy the mental gymnastics.
Whatever.
THE CHOICE: Sam Burns
If a shootout breaks out, I’m going with a guy who doesn’t care how many birdies it will take because he’ll find a way to make one more.
I would just like to congratulate Tyrrell Hatton on his win since he was my backup plan. You guys know how this works.
Warm Blankets: The guys who should. Safe selections that will help maintain leads. Opinions on why or why not for this event or save for later.
Rory McIlroy (+1100): Hasn’t won one of these since Crooked Stick in 2014 but that’s hardly a deterrent. I’d expect a major challenge from him this week after MC in Memphis. The longer, the better and checks a ton of boxes with the exception of value.
Scottie Scheffler (+1400): Check my thoughts below from last week. Weird.
Jon Rahm (+1400): Nicely tuned last week (T5) and did so hitting T1 GIR on some of the smallest targets on TOUR. Next step this week.
Patrick Cantlay (+1600): Event defending champ and had no problems learning new greens this time last year. His 31 birdies and 1 eagle was quite something as well. Loves a bit of Bentgrass.
Justin Thomas (+1600): Plenty of “sames” in here this week so split hairs as you see fit. If your game goes to East Lake, you know that’s one of his favorite places as he’s never finished outside of T7 in six tries.
Tony Finau (+1600): Freight train. Up to you to ride the streak or end it. I can’t endorse the latter.
Matthew Fitzpatrick (+1600): Used to be worried about big ballparks but not so much anymore. Hitting it too well to be concerned about anything except top 5 or top 10.
Will Zalatoris (+1600): Run the table, I dare ya! Of course I was a day late and a dollar short as I expected his big break out to be in his college back yard at Greensboro. Questions have all been answered. Now do it again! I’ll let him celebrate.
Spicy: This might be a week for sending out an “unknown” and saving a start. You just might get lucky. Or MC. Players better than +2500.
Xander Schauffele (+2000): If you held out this long, you’re releasing the hounds NEXT WEEK.
Collin Morikawa (+2200): Massive favorite this week from the Golf Cognoscenti so that usually doesn’t bode well when win tickets are concerned. Better plop one down just in case though! T5 last week with nine bogeys and a double!
Cameron Young (+2500): Perfect ballpark for his power. Takes over for Zalatoris as the leading money winner this season minus a win.
Shane Lowry (+4000): Needs to jump into the top 30 and will get a chance to do so relying on hitting fairways and holing putts.
Hideki Matsuyama (+5000): He’s never this deep so the books know something we don’t? Caution.
Adam Scott (+5500): Ride the wave.
Cam Davis (+6500): Sets up perfect for him this week and he’s been at top 16 machine recently.
Taylor Pendrith (+8000): Same as last week and he didn’t make the cut. Won’t have to worry about that if you’re on it this time around!
JT Poston (+8000): Too much heat to ignore.
3 AM at the Blackjack Table: Caution is thrown to the wind. Maybe not the best for this format but what the hell, right? Might throw these in if you’re in need of a miracle.
Denny McCarthy (+12500)
KH Lee (+15000)
Lucas Herbert (+17500)
Funny Money Long Shots:
Check PGATOUR Pick ‘Em for deeper plays as well
Last Time – FedEx St Jude Championship
THE CHOICE: Justin Thomas – T13
One of just four players in the top 19 to post a round ABOVE par last week so pretty good all things considered. Zalatoris was one of those (only guy in the top 10) to do the same and he found a way to win the event. Birdies on two of his last three were nice but my premium selections this season were absolutely awfully timed.
Sad!
Warm Blankets: The guys who should. Safe selections that will help maintain leads. Opinions on why or why not for this event or save for later.
Rory McIlroy (+1000): Worst finishes this season are on Bermuda but I’m nit picking. Hasn’t played Bermuda since T33 at TPC Sawgrass. Gave you some clues here, MC.
Scottie Scheffler (+1400): In the fight until Sunday last year. A bit has changed since last August! Playing for the fifth time here so the code should be cracked. Not sure what the issue was but I’ve never seen him lose his cool on the greens like this before. Baby on the way? Injured? Hates Cam Smith? He never showed that much emotion even when winning the Masters. I’m watching. MC.
Patrick Cantlay (+1600): Top 10 machine is only missing the big trophy. Full bag, no questions to be asked. Get all you can. T57 as he didn’t equal or break par all weekend. Another who just doesn’t consistently do the business on Bermuda. No Bermuda this week!
Cameron Smith (+1800): I’m going to let the rumour mill explode or be confirmed before I hop on. Hopefully that’s next week but if not, got it. Golf is NOT played in a vacuum. Two stroke penalty on a bad drop cost him two shots and he still cashed T13, bad hip and all. WD for BMW.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+1800): Perfect set up for him. Tight, tough and demanding. Yes, please. T5, just like everyone else it seemed! Now has 10 top 10 finishes this season. Bravo.
Xander Schauffele (+1800): I can’t see him not in the top 20. If your game runs thru The TOUR Championship, he likes it there better. T57 like Cantlay but only one round (73) over par.
Jon Rahm (+2200): I’ll let my buddies sweat this one out. We know it’s in there but I’m not sure when it’s going to jump back out. Not his favorite place as he didn’t show last year for a WGC event. Pass. For those of you who saved him for this week, he led the field in GIR and cashed T5. Signs of life I’d say!
Tony Finau (+2200): Three in a row, no sweat, right? Right??? If he hits 66 of 72 GIR again it just might be. Perfect set up for him as putting isn’t the answer this week. Yeah, making it look too easy. Another top finish, T5 as he is just oozing with confidence and heat at the moment. Impossible to root against.
Will Zalatoris (+2500): The caddy split mid tournament last week was interesting to say the least. Chipping in and having fun on the weekend was a welcome sight. Is it all flushed? Too many question in a field too deep. And he began with 71! Got the breaks on Sunday as his ball KICKED FORWARD off a tree late in the back nine plus staying dry on the final playoff hole. All the stars aligned as he joined Villegas in a very exclusive club. WINNER.
Spicy: This might be a week for sending out an “unknown” and saving a start. You just might get lucky. Or MC. Players better than +2500
Sam Burns (+2800): Careful here. Closed with 64 at The Old Course last time we saw him but I’ll remind you that moved him to T42. Bit of water in play for No. 155 Fairways and not much to play for at No. 3 in the standings. Solid T20 as he made three of his eight bogeys on the same hole. Nothing spectacular in any department so I’m hoping it comes together this week!
Cameron Young (+3000): No value here for a non-winner but there shouldn’t be as he rolls in T2-2nd in his last two events worldwide, including The Open. I’d expect another quality finish. T31 included 66 on Sunday to make a leap. Made nothing on the greens.
Jordan Spieth (+3300): He’ll need to work it around tee to green and that’s been his strength this season. Beat five golfers. That’s it. MC.
Billy Horschel (+4000): Read HFC. Of course, MC.
Corey Conners (+5000): Lovely outsider. Superb Tee to Green and that’s the angle this week. T28 on the strength of T3 Fairways and T4 GIR. Only one guess on which club, again, didn’t fire!
Taylor Pendrith (+8000): Big test this week but his game has been flying as of late. 68th. He’s in the field this week and just might bomb it all over the shop.
Scott Stallings (+8000): Home game. Hotter than a match. Stalled out with MC. Did you see what I did there?
3 AM at the Blackjack Table: Caution is thrown to the wind. Maybe not the best for this format but what the hell, right? Might throw these in if you’re in need of a miracle.
Maverick McNealy (+12500) – T31 after the ol’ 75-65 close.
Alex Noren (+12500) – WD (neck).
Adam Long (+15000) – MC as he beat two players.
Alex Smalley (+15000) – MC and still snuck in at No. 69.
Funny Money Long Shots:
Check PGATOUR Pick ‘Em for deeper plays as well
Matthew NeSmith (+20000) – MC
Aaron Rai (+20000) – T51
Dylan Frittelli (+30000) – T20
Glass Houses 