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PGA Tour Rolls Into BMW Championship

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Preview – The BMW Championship

COURSE: Caves Valley Golf Club – (Owings Mills, MD)

ARCHITECT: Tom Fazio

YARDS/PAR: 7,542 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $9,500,000/$1,710,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jon Rahm (2020)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points / Winner: 2,000

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @BMWChamps

OFFICIAL SITE: (BMW Championship)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, August 26 and Friday, August 27: Coverage from 3:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.

On Saturday, August 28, Round 3 coverage 12:00pm Noon to 3:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. NBC Sports takes over from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, August 29: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 12:00pm to 2:00pm (EDT) and NBC wraps it up from 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 10:00am to 7:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live. Twitter coverage from 10:00am-11:45am (EDT) on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 8:00am to 6:00pm (EDT). Twitter will stream 8:00am-9:15am (EDT) on Saturday and Sunday.

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the The BMW Championship with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins at 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) or conclusion on Sunday. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92)

How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)

The BMW Championship/FedExCup Playoffs

OWINGS MILLS – The Top 70 PGA Tour pros in the current FedExCup standings are eligible for the BMW Championship, and after this weekend, the Top 30 will advance to the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned. Since the points structure changed in 2009, an average of 2.83 players per year enter the BMW Championship outside the Top 30 and go on to qualify for the TOUR Championship, including two in 2020 (Joaquin Niemann, Mackenzie Hughes).

With his win at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Tony Finau moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings for the first time in his PGA Tour career. Since the points structure changed prior to the 2009 season, two players occupying the No. 1 position in the standings entering the BMW Championship have gone on to win the FedExCup: Henrik Stenson (2014) and Dustin Johnson (2020).

Jon Rahm will attempt to defend his 2020 BMW Championship title at a new venue, just outside Baltimore, Maryland instead of its usual Chicago destination. Rahm enters the week at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and No. 2 in the FedExCup standings. Rahm defeated Dustin Johnson in a playoff in 2020 to win the BMW Championship and finished third at last week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST after holding at least a share of the lead through 18, 36 and 54 holes.

Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland is the ninth different venue to host the BMW Championship since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007.

The Basics:

With the limited field of 70, Tournament Tee Times begin a bit later than usual, starting Thursday at 9:40am and going to 2:05pm (EDT).

Weather: Morning thunderstorms are on the radar with a 40% chance of rain throughout the day. Temps 81-degrees+ with humidity 73% and winds at 6 mph. (link)

PGA Tour: Finau Takes Northern Trust

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JERSEY CITY – The first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs concluded Monday after a day-long delay due to tropical storm Henri drenching the New York-New Jersey region and dumping some six-plus inches of rain on Liberty National.

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The NORTHERN TRUST became the third consecutive tournament – and third straight week on the PGA Tour schedule – with a playoff, marking the first time with three straight playoffs since 2019 The RSM Classic, 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii. Overall, it was the 13th playoff of the PGA Tour season.

Tony Finau defeated Cameron Smith in the playoff, earning his second PGA Tour title in his 143rd start since his first victory on Tour back at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. In the 142 starts between victories, Finau recorded eight runner-up finishes and 39 top-10s. With the 2,000 FedEx Cup points for winning the NORTHERN TRUST, Finau moves to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings for the first time in his career.

World No. 1 Jon Rahm, who held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, played the final four holes in 2-over and finishes solo-third.

Keith Mitchell birdied each of the final three holes to move into the Top 70 in the FedExCup standings and he qualified for this week’s BMW Championship.

Six players moving into the Top 70 in the FedExCup standings and qualifying for the BMW Championship were: Alex Noren (T-4), Erik van Rooyen (7th), Tom Hoge (T-4), Harold Varner III (T-11), Mitchell (T-8), and Harry Higgs(T-16).

The six players moving out of the Top 70 were: Matthew Wolff, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston who all MTC.

Final Leaderboard from THE NORTHERN TRUST:

Tony Finau 67-64-68-65—264 (-20)*

Cameron Smith 69-68-60-67—264 (-20)

Jon Rahm 63-67-67-69—266 (-18)

Alex Noren 69-64-70-66—269 (-15)

Tom Hoge 69-64-67-69—269 (-15)

Justin Thomas 63-69-67-70—269 (-15)

* defeated Cameron Smith with a par-4 on the first playoff hole (No. 18)

Full Leaderboard (link)

PGA Tour’s Reed Hospitalized in Houston

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HOUSTON – USA Olympian Patrick Reed, the No. 22 ranked pro golfer in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points standings, was admitted Friday to Houston Methodist Hospital as his heath rapidly declined due to bilateral interstitial pneumonia, often referred to as “double pneumonia.”

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Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis and golfchannel.com writer Rex Hoggard first reported Reed’s condition, which is considered a “very serious infection that can inflame and scar lungs.”

“It got really bad very quickly,” Reed’s wife, Justine, told Lewis.

Reed played in The Open in the United Kingdom, the 3M in Minnesota, then was called upon by Team USA to fill Bryson DeChambeau’s spot on the US Olympic golf team in Tokyo and then returned to the United States and played at the WGC-FedEx-St. Jude tournament in Memphis.

After the WGC-FedEx-St. Jude, Reed did not play in the Wyndham Championship, withdrawing from a tournament only two days before it started. Reed won the Wyndham in 2013. A week later, again on short notice, Reed withdrew from the Northern Trust, the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. His withdrawal from the event placed his chances to participate for the USA in the Ryder Cup in serious doubt. Should his health improve, there would be a slight chance of being added to the USA team with a captain’s pick.

Today, via written statement, Reed confirmed he will not be able to play in the BMW Championship later this week, thus ending his season because of such a slight chance of playing in the PGA Tour’s Championship in Atlanta. It also severely limits his chances to make the USA Ryder Cup team. Reed had cited an “ankle injury” as the reason for withdrawing from the Northern Trust.

“I’m on the road to recovery,” Reed said in his statement. “Once I’m cleared from the doctors, I look forward to returning. I wish you all the best and I can’t wait to get back out there.”

In the statements and communications, the pneumonia case or complications of Reed’s condition as it might relate to COVID-19 and the disease was not mentioned in the statements, although a severe case of double pneumonia is frequently the end result of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and it can be quite dangerous. The optimistic words of improvement bode well for Reed’s overall health but such a severe condition will likely shut down his golf game for the few remaining weeks of the PGA Tour season.

Should the double pneumonia be the result of a COVID-19 infection, Reed would rank as the most acclaimed United States professional athlete from any sport to suffer such a severe case from the conditions effecting the human respiratory system.

 

PGA Tour: Monday Finish for NORTHERN TRUST

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JERSEY CITY – The final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST was delayed once again today and the final round began at 11:30 a.m. (EDT). That’s a four hour delay from the planned start this morning. Practice facilities are open.

Golf Channel began coverage at 12:30pm with the final group tee-off at 1:42pm.

Play will begin with a weather report showing cloudy skies, scattered showers with a 41% chance of rain by 1:00pm (EDT). Humidity is high (94% dropping to 70% by evening). Winds are at 10 mph.

Due to the heavy rain from tropical storm Henri and saturated onsite conditions at Liberty National Golf Club, the PGA Tour decided that the final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST will be played without spectators. The golf course saw six inches of rain fall on Sunday. The walkways and cart paths are impassable.

Players currently projected to move inside the Top 70 (5): Erik van Rooyen, Harold Varner III, Tom Hoge, Keith Mitchell, and Joel Dahmen.

Players currently projected to fall out of the Top 70 (5): Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston.

The Top 70 advance to this week’s BMW Championship.

Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Cameron Smith 69-68-60—197 (-16)

Jon Rahm 63-67-67—197 (-16)

Erik van Rooyen 69-67-62—198 (-15)

Justin Thomas 63-69-67—199 (-14)

Tony Finau 67-64-68—199 (-14)

Full Leaderboard (link)

PGA Tour: Final Round Postponed

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JERSEY CITY – A Tropical Storm warning was issued by the National Hurricane Center for the greater Metropolitan area, site of The NORTHERN TRUST. There will be no play on Sunday, August 22nd. Round 4 will be played on Monday, August 23rd. Tee times and groupings will be published on Sunday afternoon, with play on Monday slated to begin no earlier than 7:30 a.m.

On Saturday, Cameron Smith recorded a career-low 18-hole score and set the Liberty National course record with a (61). Smith enters the final round tied for the lead with Jon Rahm who holds at least a share of the lead for the third consecutive round.

Players currently projected to move inside the top 70 (5): Erik van Rooyen, Harold Varner III, Tom Hoge, Keith Mitchell, and Joel Dahmen.

Players currently projected to fall out of the top 70 (5): Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston.

Only the Top 70 advance to this week’s BMW Championship.

Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Cameron Smith 69-68-60—197 (-16)

Jon Rahm 63-67-67—197 (-16)

Erik van Rooyen 69-67-62—198 (-15)

Justin Thomas 63-69-67—199 (-14)

Tony Finau 67-64-68—199 (-14)

Full Leaderboard (link)

Rahm Leads at Northern Trust

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JERSEY CITY – (PGA Tour Brunch) – Jon Rahm leads THE NORTHERN TRUST after recording the second-lowest 36-hole total of his PGA Tour career (130) while Tony Finau tied his career-best 36-hole total at (131) and sits in solo-second after 36 holes.

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Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth carded matching rounds of 9-under (62), both tying the course record at Liberty National G.C.

Defending champion and 2020 FedExCup Champion Dustin Johnson, FedExCup points leader Collin Morikawa both missed the cut.

Players currently projected to move inside the Top 70 (6): Keith Mitchell, Harold Varner III, Alex Noren, Tom Hoge, Erik van Rooyen, and Seamus Power.

Players currently projected to fall out of the Top 70 (6): Talor Gooch, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston.

Only the Top 70 advance to next week’s BMW Championship.

Leaderboard After First Round:

Jon Rahm – 63-67—130 (-12)

Tony Finau – 67-64—131 (-11)

Justin Thomas – 63-69—132 (-10)

Keith Mitchell – 68-64—132 (-10)

Xander Schauffele – 70-62—132 (-10)

Full Leaderboard (link)

Thomas, Rahm Lead Northern Trust

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JERSEY CITY – Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm share the 18-hole lead after matching 8-under (63)s, three strokes better than any other player. Thomas and Rahm both entered the week in the Top 10 in the FedExCup standings and Top Five in the Official World Golf Ranking.

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Harold Varner III (FedExCup No. 72 entering the week) finished T3 at the NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National in 2019, moving inside the top 70 to qualify for the BMW Championship.

Bryson DeChambeau (71) became the fourth player since the record was kept (1983) to make two or fewer pars and record a score of even-par.

Early Scoreboard Watching for Top 70 in FedEx Cup Points: Players currently projected to move inside the top 70 (6): Harold Varner III, Adam Scott, Andrew Putnam, Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, and Harry Higgs.

Players currently projected to fall out of the top 70 (6): Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton, Talor Gooch, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston.

Leaderboard After First Round:

Justin Thomas 63 (-8)

Jon Rahm 63 (-8)

Harold Varner III 66 (-5)

Six players 67 (-4)

PGA Tour: First Look at the Wyndham

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Preview of The Wyndham Championship

COURSE: Sedgefield Country Club – (Greensboro, NC)

ARCHITECT: Donald Ross

YARDS/PAR: 7,131 yards/Par 70

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,400,000/$1,157,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jim Herman (2020)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Total/Winner: 2,989/500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @WyndhamChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Wyndham Championship)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, August 12 and Friday, August 13: Coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.

On Saturday, August 14, Round 3 coverage 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. Then, CBS takes over from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, August15: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT) and CBS wraps it up from 3:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 7:00am (EDT) to 6:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live. Twitter coverage from 7:00am-8am on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 8:00am (EDT) to 6:00pm (EDT). Twitter will stream 8:00am-9:15am (EDT) on Saturday and 8:30-9:45am (EDT) on Sunday.

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the FedEx-St.Jude with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 12:00pm Noon (EDT) to 6:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins at 1:00pm (EDT) until 6:00pm (EDT) on Saturday and 1:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT) or conclusion on Sunday. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92)

How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)

 

The Wyndham Championship: Pre-Tourney Notebook

It’s the final week for PGA Tour pros to play their way to the Top 125 and qualify for the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs. Nine players have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in each season. Six of them in the field this week but four are on the bubble to qualify for the Playoffs: Adam Scott (121st), Matt Kuchar (124th), Justin Rose (138th) and Ryan Moore (142nd).

Charles Howell (137th) is not in the field and will miss the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time in the FedExCup era.

Notable players outside the Top 125 in the FedExCup standings include Rickie Fowler, who has not missed the Playoffs in his previous 11 seasons on Tour, World No. 35 Tommy Fleetwood and 2018 FedExCup championJustin Rose, noted above at No. 138.

The Basics:

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:50am (EDT) to 2:27pm (EDT).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast is for 82-degree temperatures, 66% humidity and a 40% chance of rain. Thundershowers likely in the afternoon.

PGATourBrunch will post at 7:00am (EDT) on Thursday.

Next Week: Northern Trust – the first round of FedEx Cup Playoffs (link)

Last Week: WGC-FedEx/St. Jude (link) and Barracuda (link)

Wyndham – Field and Tee Times:

The Field – (link)

Tee Times: (link)

Odds for the Wyndham Championship

(Odds by William Hill)

Webb Simpson 12-1
Hideki Matsuyama 14-1
Louis Oosthuizen 18-1
Patrick Reed 22-1
Brian Harman 28-1
Will Zalatoris 28-1
Jason Kokrak 28-1
Sungjae Im 30-1
Kevin Kisner 33-1
Tommy Fleetwood 33-1
Charl Schwartzel 33-1
Russell Henley 35-1
Matthew Wolff 40-1
Kevin Streelman 40-1
Seamus Power 40-1
Kevin Na 40-1
Si-Woo Kim 40-1
Gary Woodland 40-1
Bubba Watson 40-1
Adam Scott 40-1
Rickie Fowler 45-1
Justin Rose 45-1
Robert Macintyre 45-1
Brandt Snedeker 45-1
Sebastian Munoz 50-1
Branden Grace 50-1
Jhonattan Vegas 50-1
J.T. Poston 50-1
Erik Van Rooyen 50-1
Mito Pereira 50-1
Zach Johnson 55-1
Talor Gooch 55-1
Ryan Moore 60-1
Harold Varner 60-1
Patton Kizzire 66-1
Lucas Glover 66-1
Chez Reavie 66-1
Doug Ghim 66-1
Hank Lebioda 66-1
MacKenzie Hughes 70-1
Ryan Armour 80-1
Luke List 80-1
Doc Redman 80-1
Brendon Todd 80-1
Chris Kirk 80-1
Lanto Griffin 80-1
Rory Sabbatini 80-1
Adam Schenk 80-1
C.T. Pan 80-1
Joel Dahmen 80-1
Keith Mitchell 100-1
Patrick Rodgers 100-1
Kramer Hickok 100-1
Kyle Stanley 100-1
Adam Hadwin 100-1
Matt Jones 100-1
Jim Herman 100-1
Mark Hubbard 100-1
Dylan Frittelli 100-1
Andrew Putnam 100-1
Bo Hoag 100-1
Roger Sloan 100-1
Scott Piercy 100-1
Francesco Molinari 100-1
Tom Lewis 100-1
Brandon Hagy 100-1
Henrik Norlander 125-1
Adam Long 125-1
Scott Stallings 125-1
Matt Kuchar 125-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 125-1
Michael Thompson 125-1
Sepp Straka 125-1
Brian Stuard 125-1
Aaron Wise 125-1
Sam Ryder 150-1
Byeong Hun An 150-1
Brice Garnett 150-1
Richy Werenski 150-1
Martin Laird 150-1
Joseph Bramlett 150-1
Jason Dufner 200-1
Camilo Villegas 200-1
Matthew NeSmith 200-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Wyndham Clark 200-1
Vincent Whaley 200-1
James Hahn 200-1
Russell Knox 200-1
Beau Hossler 200-1
Anirban Lahiri 200-1
Satoshi Kodaira 200-1
Harry Higgs 250-1
Denny McCarthy 250-1
Nate Lashley 250-1
Will Gordon 250-1
Tom Hoge 250-1
Sean O’Hair 250-1
Chesson Hadley 250-1
Bo Van Pelt 250-1
Akshay Bhatia 250-1
Kevin Tway 250-1
Scott Brown 250-1
Chase Seiffert 300-1
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 300-1
Davis Thompson 300-1
Aaron Baddeley 300-1
Mark Anderson 300-1
Alex Smalley 300-1
Vaughn Taylor 300-1
Hudson Swafford 300-1
John Augenstein 300-1
Austin Cook 300-1
J.J. Spaun 300-1
Robby Shelton 300-1
Padraig Harrington 300-1
Tyler Duncan 300-1
Nick Watney 300-1
Cameron Percy 300-1

PGA Tour: WGC/FedEx/St. Jude Wrap

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WGC-FedEx St. Jude Wrap-Up

Abraham Ancer overcame a 4-stroke deficit in the final round to become the fourth player from Mexico to win on the PGA Tour. It was his first event “W” in his first playoff on Tour. Ancer became the seventh player to make a World Golf Championship his first career PGA Tour victory.

Sudden death playoff also-ran Sam Burns carded eight final-round birdies in bid to become the season’s seventh multiple winner, but settled for T-2 with Hideki Matsuyama.

After holding a two-stroke lead after each of the first three rounds, Harris English carded a 5-over (40) on the inward nine and missed the sudden death playoff with missed birdie putt on his final hole.

Playing in the final pairing with English, Bryson DeChambeau recorded three bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine to close in 6-over (41) on Back 9.

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WGC FedEx St. Jude Final Leaderboard

*Abraham Ancer 67-62-67-68—264 (-16)

Sam Burns 66-64-70-64—264 (-16)

Hideki Matsuyama 68-69-64-63—264 (-16)

Harris English 62-65-65-73—265 (-15)

*won with a birdie on the second hole of sudden death

PGA Tour: WGC-FedEx St Jude Final

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MEMPHIS – Harris English tied Tiger Woods for the lowest 54-hole mark in tournament history with 18-under 192 and is seeking to become the third wire-to-wire winner in tournament history.

Bryson DeChambeau (T-2) birdied four of his last seven holes for a 7-under (63).

Cam Smith (T-2) birdied two of his final three holes to sit T2 in search of his fourth career PGA Tour victory.

Both English and DeChambeau are attempting to become the only three-time winner of the 2020-21 PGA Tour season

WGC-FedEx St. Jude Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Harris English 62-65-65—192 (-18)

Bryson DeChambeau 65-66-63—194 (-16)

Cam Smith 67-62-65—194 (-16)

Abraham Ancer 67-62-67—196 (-14)

Scottie Scheffler 65-65-67—197 (-13)

Ian Poulter 64-66-67—197 (-13)