The FedEx Cup Playoffs are finally here as the top 125 players in the PGA standings meet at TPC Boston for the Northern Trust. Before getting into this specific tournament, let’s get a feel for how the FedEx Cup playoffs work.
Playoff Structure
Throughout the golf season players earn FedEx Cup points based on how they finish in individual tournaments. The top 125 players in the standings after the Wyndham Championship qualify for the first playoff event, which is the Northern Trust. The players continue to earn points at each playoff event, however the amount of points at stake are almost four times the amount for a normal event. After the Northern Trust the top 70 players in points then qualify for the second playoff event, which is the BMW championship. Finally, the top 30 players in the standings meet at the final event of the year which is the Tour Championship. The winner of the Tour Championship takes home 15 million dollars.
Course
TPC Boston is one of New England’s finest private courses and it is designed by Gil Hanse. A par 73, the total length hovers between 7,200 to 7,300 yards. This is the first year the Northern Trust will be held at TPC Boston.
Current FedEx Cup Leaders
Justin Thomas enters the FedEx Cup playoffs in first with 2,458 points. PGA Champion winner Collin Morikawa is behind him at 1,901. Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Sungjae Im round out the top 5. Considering the winner of the Northern Trust earns 1,500 points no one is truly out of the FedEx Cup race yet.
Bubble Watch
Since only 70 will advance to play in the BMW Championship, there are many notable players right on the current bubble and need a strong performance to continue their chase for the 15-million-dollar prize.
The two lefties Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson are in 66th and 67th respectively. They certainly do not need to have a strong top 10 performance, but a missed cut this week or a T55 or worse could end their season early.
A few high-profile names that are currently outside the top 70 are Rickie Fowler 88th, Brooks Koepka 97th, and Jordan Spieth 100th.
Plagued by a knee issue all year, Koepka had a fantastic showing at the St. Jude’s Classic, but a disappointing final round at the PGA Championship led to a T29 finish, and he missed the cut last week at the Wyndham. He may be able to give it a run this week, but I highly doubt the 4-time major champion will be able to put together three great weeks in a row to give himself a shot at the FedEx Cup.
Spieth has barely made the cut the past two weeks, and I think that trend continues this week and doubt we see him in the BMW. Fowler has been very inconsistent lately he missed the cut at the PGA but had a great St. Jude’s and was in 3rd heading into Sunday before shooting a 73 to take himself out of the top 10.
*Editors Note: This article was written before Brooks Koepka withdrew from the Northern Trust thus ending his season.
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