MEMPHIS (Tenn.) – Hideki matsuyama hurdles through the TPC Southwind Clubhouse as the momentum from his final six golf holes propels him forward. Matsuyama was on the verge of elimination when he made three birdies and an Eagle in the final moments of his season.
Matsuyama is aware of this. Bob Turner, his manager, knows it too. He wraps his arm around Matsuyama as he finally makes up with him. Both players let out a loud cheer as they entered the locker room.
Matsuyama won the tournament in his own unique way. He hadn’t missed a TOUR Championship yet in his career. This streak was continued by his closing stretch. The job was done.
Not 50 yards away stood Nick Hardy. He had a similar run as Matsuyama with three birdies on his last five golf holes. His demeanor changed dramatically.
Matsuyama had to par the last hole, which is a difficult one, in order to be eligible for Playoffs. He made it. Hardy needed a birdie. Hardy’s tee-shot found the water.
Hardy cried as he recalled the final-hole bogey which dropped him to the 52nd place in the FedExCup rankings.
Matsuyama continues its season. Hardy’s season is over. Hardy’s is over.
The FedExCup Playoffs are determined by these margins. 70 players were at TPC Southwind, but only 50 made it to the BMW Championship. This kept their season alive and qualified them for next year’s Signature Events. In the bowels, players found out their fate. The clubhouse was a mix of sweat-drenched towel-covered faces and ear-to ear smiles.
Matsuyama and Cam Davis were the only two players to earn their way into the top 60. Matsuyama, who was outside the top 60 rankings after bogeying 12th hole, birdied 13th and 15. After a brief weather delay, Matsuyama birdied the 17th and then eagled 16th. He stuck his approach shot to 9 feet at the par 5 that was reachable.
He said, “During the suspension of play, I saw what I had to do for the last three holes.” “I was 47th in the FedExCup rankings when I looked up at 18. That made my approach shot very difficult. “I’m just glad that I was able get it up and down.”
Matsuyama, who usually rates the difficulty of the chip at three out of 10, said that given the circumstances it felt like an eight out of 10.
It wasn’t just him who was staring at the leaderboards. Mackenzie Hughes tried not to look at the FedExCup forecasts as he stood on the 17th green, but his gaze was drawn there.
“Oh, (No.) Hughes thought, “49, that’s fantastic, there is a lot of room for wiggle.”
He missed the par-putting putt but made it on the 18th hole to finish with a score of 69. He was ranked No. 49 didn’t hold. He dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 by the end of the night. 51.
Hughes said, “I have been grinding my a** to the bone” in his efforts to regain early-season form which helped him win Sanderson Farms Championship. After the Masters, Hughes was 19th on the FedExCup but missed seven cuts in his next 11 events. He was 47th when he entered this week. “I told my golf caddie that I probably hate golf because you can work really hard and nothing will happen.”
Taylor Montgomery understands the feeling. He was on the 18th hole tee, in the top 50. It seemed he would hold that spot until the end of the season slump. He hit his tee right, which left him with a long second that landed short of the green. After a sub-par chip, he was just 20 feet away from par. His putt was a little to the right.
Montgomery stated, “There is a reason for the top 10 players to be who they are.” It’s because the top 10 guys are so good at every aspect of their game. We’re all working hard to achieve that goal, but it’d be nice to reach the next level.
It was a great feeling to be in the top fifty. Montgomery is still a rookie. An automatic qualification spot for the Signature Events could have kept him on TOUR in years to come.
Hardy’s win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier in the season has given him that confidence. He was hoping to make another step in the upper echelon of the sport. He’ll have to wait.
The hardest part for me is winning. I love to compete and I enjoy coming out better on the other end. “I came out the wrong side of this one,” said Hardy. He was determined to return triumphantly to his Chicago hometown for next week’s BMW Championship, which will be held at Olympia Fields Country Club.
Davis will instead be the one whose Playoffs began in Minnesota, at the 3M Open. He was able to sneak into the FedEx St. Jude Championship with two top-10 finishes. His T6 finish was also enough to extend his season for one more week. He is 45th when he enters the BMW Championship.
The road doesn’t get any easier. Davis is 45th in the BMW Championship and ready to experience all the emotions he’s felt over the past month.
It’s much better than going back home. He is jubilant. Heartbreaks can wait.
Notables
Patrick Cantlay finished as runner-up after hitting the water on his first playoff hole. He set himself up well for the remainder of the Playoffs. With this week’s results, he moved up from 13th place to fifth. Cantlay won three out of the six FedExCup Playoffs. Fleetwood missed a birdie on the 72nd to make the playoff. He still has two chances to win his first PGA TOUR event this season. Adam Schenk is likely to join Fleetwood in the TOUR Championship with his TOUR Championship slot. He went from 26th place this week to 10th. He jumped from 24th to the 20th spot with a final-round score of 66. The BMW Championship next week could be a great opportunity to improve your standings with a 20-foot par putt on the 18th hole. Jordan Spieth, however, did the opposite. The bogey he made on the final hole of the tournament cost him nine positions in the standings. If he had made par, he was expected to finish in the 18th position. Sungjae Im will instead enter next week as 27th… Sungjae Im has moved into the top 30 after his T6 performance at TPC Southwind. He had 16 pars and two birdies on Sunday. This ruined his chances of winning but earned him valuable FedExCup Points. Max Homa, Schenk Spieth, and Im all had T6 finishes. This actually hurt Homa’s standings. He went from fourth to six as Cantlay, Lucas Glover and Eric Cole all jumped him. Eric Cole is also the only rookie who advanced to the BMW Championship. He is 42nd overall and finished in T31.
Moving in
Hideki Matsuyama (No. Hideki Matsuyama (No. Matsuyama has not been in the top 50 since the Regular Season’s opener at the Fortinet Championship. He waited to the very last minute. He jumped up 15 places in the rankings with his back-nine birdies. He is already looking forward to the next week. He said, “I have to play better to get to East Lake next week.” “I will give it my all.”
Cam Davis (No. Cam Davis (No. After a solid week, the Australian is on track to win his third BMW Championship in a row. Davis, with his back to the wall, shot 66-67 69-67. He is getting used to the feeling. He finished 76th at the Open Championship, and played his own way into the Playoffs. Next week, the same will be true.
Moving out
Mackenzie Hughes (No. Mackenzie Hughes (No. 47, now No. 51): A third-round 75 will haunt the Canadian. The Canadian will always be haunted by his third round 75. On Saturday, he made four bogeys and three triples. He finished four shots shy of making the top 50.
Nick Hardy (No. Nick Hardy (No. Hardy will be in Chicago for the BMW Championship, but not to visit his family. Hardy will visit his family in Chicago to start his offseason.
He thought they would be there to cheer him on instead. The Nos. The 27-year old was unable to defeat the 7-11 team on Saturday.
Bubble Boy
Patrick Rodgers, No. Patrick Rodgers (No. Rodgers held on to the final Playoffs spot, surpassing Hughes by 29 point. The 31-year old did just enough for his first BMW Championship, finishing T52 with a final round 70. The 66 he shot on Saturday was the only round he had this week that was below par. To advance to the TOUR Championship, he will need to put in a stellar performance.
Big Movers
Lucas Glover (No. Lucas Glover (No. Glover, 43, moved 45 places up the FedExCup rankings with his second consecutive TOUR victory. Glover was already 49th, up 63 places from his Wyndham Championship win last week. Glover only needed to finish among the top seven in order to reach the FedExCup top 30, which is the crucial threshold for qualifying for the TOUR Championship, in two weeks. The North Carolina native said of his mentality Sunday: “It was to keep fighting, to stay close and stay close. I was lucky enough that we got into a playoff.” I predicted yesterday that the guns would come, and they did. “I was the last man standing in this week.”
Taylor Moore (No. Taylor Moore (No. Moore, 30, started the final round one stroke behind Glover. However, a 1-over-71 on Sunday derailed Moore’s attempt to win a second TOUR title in his career. He had four bogeys on the front and only one birdie, but birdied two of his last three holes to finish alone fifth, three strokes back. Moore said he will draw on his experience from the Korn Ferry Tour in order to handle the Playoffs’ pressure.
“It’s all in your head. You’ll feel pressure if you focus on all the positives that come with being in the top 50 of the TOUR, which is a huge accomplishment. It’s about tricking yourself and controlling your mind, something I can do sometimes and not always.
