Golf
A Number of Major Champions Need a Good Week at the Wyndham Championship to Get Into the FedEx Cup Playoffs
Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting. Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes. In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke's work has appeared on The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.
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With just one week to go in the PGA Tour season before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, numerous big-name golfers are on the bubble of the top 125 and have only this week’s Wyndham Championship to get themselves into the Northern Trust in Boston.
Some players already in for the Northern Trust are also teeing it up this week in Greensboro with the hope of getting closer to the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings as those players will be eligible for the BMW Championship the following week just outside Chicago.
For example, four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who’s coming off a disappointing final round at the PGA Championship and was in danger of not even getting into the playoffs just a couple of weeks ago, is currently sitting at No. 92 in the standings, well inside the top 125. But he’s choosing to play for the sixth consecutive week with the hope of getting closer to that top 70. Doing a similar thing is Jordan Spieth, who sits just two back at No. 94. Justin Rose (No. 103) is in the field as well and will tee it up alongside Koepka and Spieth over the first two days at Sedgefield Country Club.
As mentioned, there are a number of big-name players just trying to get into the playoffs, including a trio of major championship winners that are all within 10 spots of the top 125.
Charl Schwartzel (No. 125)
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2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel is right on the bubble sitting in the No. 125 spots in the FedEx Cup standings. Now ranked 181st in the world, the South African didn’t do himself any favors by missing four of five cuts upon the restart of the PGA Tour season. He bounced back with a tie for third at the 3M Open and tied for 58th at Harding Park over the weekend. He has a lot of players eyeing his spot right now.
Zach Johnson (No. 129)
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Two-time major champion Zach Johnson looked well on his way to a great finish at the PGA Championship this past weekend following a first-round 66, which was just one off the lead heading into Friday. Unfortunately for Johnson, he struggled in the second round, shooting a 6-over round of 76, which caused him to miss the cut at Harding Park by a single stroke. That single stroke obviously cost him a chance to play all four rounds and collect FedEx Cup points, which he certainly needs. Johnson is sitting in the No. 129 spot heading into the Wyndham Championship.
Shane Lowry (No. 131)
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Shane Lowry, golf’s most recent major champion until this past weekend, also needs a good week heading into the Wyndham Championship. The thing that hurt the reigning Open champion this season as it pertains to FedEx Cup points was the fact that he split his time between the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He finds himself playing in this tournament for the fourth time in five years and certainly can’t afford to miss the cut, as he did in his most recent appearance here in 2018. Lowry comes into the week at No. 131.
Sergio Garcia (No. 134)
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Like Zach Johnson, 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia missed the cut this past week at the PGA Championship and needs a good showing at the Wyndham Championship this week to get into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Garcia shot a pair of 73s at Harding Park to miss the cut by five strokes and has only finished higher than 32nd one time in six starts since the PGA Tour resumed in June, including another missed cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Sergio finished tied for fifth at the RBC Heritage and has to hope that North Carolina is as good to him as South Carolina was. He enters the week at No. 134 in the FedEx Cup standings.
Past major champions Danny Willett (No. 143), Jason Dufner (No. 172), Jimmy Walker (No. 175), Jim Furyk (No. 179), and Davis Love III (No. 244) are also in the field.
