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2021 Ryder Cup Preview: Brooks Koepka Fuels an Old-Fashioned Controversy

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KOHLER – What’s the run-up to the Ryder Cup without a little Team USA controversy? While Team Europe seems to groove into its own special chemistry for each Ryder Cup event, the U S of A always approaches the match play tournament with a combination of complaining, griping, and theatrics.

This year the controversy started with comments by Brooks Koepka and were magnified with Paul Azinger did a media-only call to promote NBC Sports coverage of the event.

Let the commentary speak for itself:

“It’s tough,” said Koepka to Golf Digest. “There are times where I’m like, I won my match. I did my job. What do you want from me? I know how to take responsibility for the shots I hit every week. Now, somebody else hit a bad shot and left me in a bad spot, and I know this hole is a loss. That’s new, and you have to change the way you think about things. You go from an individual sport all the time to a team sport one week a year,” he said to a question about the differences between the PGA Tour and Ryder Cup (team) format.

“Brooks, I just read that article, I’m not sure he loves the Ryder Cup that much,” Azinger said during an NBC Golf call with the media. “If he doesn’t love it, he should relinquish his spot and get people there who do love the Ryder Cup.

“Not everybody embraces it. But if you don’t love it, and you’re not sold out, then I think Brooks should, you know, especially being hurt, consider whether or not he really wants to be there,” added Azinger.

“And then if you add the Bryson dynamic to that, that might be an easier decision for him. But Brooks is one of the most candid, most honest guys there ever ism and if he’s blatantly honest with himself and he doesn’t want to be there, he should come out and say it. But, I don’t know, I’m a fan of both players, and I just feel like it’s gonna be one or the other. They’re gonna put the weight of the team on their shoulders or they’re gonna be a pain in the neck,” noted Azinger.

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Team Rosters

Europe 🇪🇺

Team Europe Page (link)

Padraig Harrington Captain

Robert Karlsson Vice captain

Luke Donald Vice captain

Martin Kaymer Vice captain

Graeme McDonald Vice captain

Henrik Stenson Vice captain

Paul Casey Automatic qualifier

Matt Fitzpatrick Automatic qualifier

Tyrrell Hatton Automatic qualifier

Tommy Fleetwood Automatic qualifier

Rory McIlroy Automatic qualifier

Viktor Hovland Automatic qualifier

Jon Rahm Automatic qualifier

Lee Westwood Automatic qualifier

Bernd Wiesberger Automatic qualifier

Sergio Garcia Captain’s pick

Shane Lowry Captain’s pick

Ian Poulter Captain’s pick

USA 🇺🇸

USA Team Page (link)

Steve Stricker Captain

Phil Mickelson Vice captain

Fred Couples Vice captain

Collin Morikawa Automatic qualifier

Dustin Johnson Automatic qualifier

Bryson DeChambeau Automatic qualifier

Brooks Koepka Automatic qualifier

Justin Thomas Automatic qualifier

Patrick Cantlay Automatic qualifier

Daniel Berger Captain pick

Harris English Captain pick

Tony Finau Captain pick

Xander Schauffele Captain pick

Scottie Scheffler Captain pick

Jordan Spieth Captain pick

Ryder Cup Odds (by Fan Duel)

USA (-195)

Europe (+175)

Draw (+1200)

(As of 9/15)

Ryder Cup News & Notes

  • The September 24th golf tournament marks the beginning of the much-awaited 2020ne Ryder Cup competition, delayed a year because of the restrictions in travel for the COVID-19 global pandemic. There will be a combination of celebrity matches, practice rounds, a pre-opening ceremony, then the official Opening Ceremony at Whistling Straits’ Dye Plaza.
  • It is customary for the two team captains to reveal their planned line-ups for Friday morning’s foursome matches.
  • Aside from the constant controversy with Bryson DeChambeau and now former great and current TV commentator Paul Azinger, Brooks Koepka says he’s “ready to go” after a hand injury while hacking through the root of a tree at the TOUR Championship two weeks ago. “I’ll be there. I’m good to go,” he said via text message to Golf Week on Wednesday. “I’m feeling good. Been doing my rehab, doing everything I need to do to be ready for the Cup. I’ll be there ready to play.”

Europe Finalizes Ryder Cup Roster

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SHEBOYGAN – Team Europe Captain Padraig Harrington finalized the 12 members of his team on following the conclusion of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, the final tournament to determine the automatic qualifiers and the captain’s picks for this week’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.

With his captain’s picks, Harrington chose Ryder Cup veterans Sergio Garcia of Spain and Ian Poulter of England along with Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who will be making his event debut.Left off the team was Justin Rose of England, who has played in the past four Ryder Cups for Europe.

Harrington said he selected Garcia and Poulter for their abilities but also for their leadership. Garcia is Team Europe’s all-time points scorer in Ryder Cup play, and Poulter will be playing in his seventh event. As for Lowry, who won The Open Championship in 2019, Harrington said he earned his first opportunity.

Entering Sunday, Harrington knew five of the players who would be traveling to Wisconsin but had to await the results of the tournament to determine four more automatic qualifiers. They turned out to be 11-time Team Europe member Lee Westwood of England and 35-year-old Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, a Ryder Cup rookie. They were joined by England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who had all but wrapped up their spots.

Players who previously had secured their positions were world No. 1 Jon Rahm of Spain, Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey of England, Viktor Hovland of Norway and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. This will be the first Ryder Cup for Hovland.

The United States team will attempt to regain the coveted Ryder Cup, which Team Europe won 17 1/2 to 10 1/2 in 2018 at Le Golf National in Paris. The delayed 2020 Ryder Cup will be held Sept. 24-26 on American turf again in rural Wisconsin, along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Team USA consists of automatic qualifiers Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay, along with captains picks Jordan Spieth, Harris English, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler.

Cantlay, Rahm Vie for Player of Year

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and wire service report) – Newly crowned PGA Tour/FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay of the United States and World No. 1 ranked Jon Rahm of Spain lead a group of five players nominated for 2020-21 PGA Tour Player of the Year honors. Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Collin Morikawa are also nominated for the Jack Nicklaus Award.

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Garrick Higgo and Will Zalatoris are the two nominees for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors, also known as the Arnold Palmer Award.

Winners are determined by PGA Tour player voting. Players who competed in at least 15 official FedExCup events during the 2020-21 season are eligible to vote through September 10th with the announcement forthcoming.

Cantlay Wins TOUR Championship

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ATLANTA – FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay hit a five-foot, eleven inch putt on No. 16 to go two strokes ahead of Spain’s Jon Rahm, bogeyed No. 17 to make it interesting and then birdied his final hole with a six-inch tap-in to win the TOUR Championship and its $15 million first place prize for the FedEx Cup.

For the third season, the TOUR Championship was weighted by the FedExCup “starting strokes” system, with the format crowning a single champion. Patrick Cantlay, the player with the lowest score in relation to par combined with his FedExCup Starting Strokes edge of (-10), won the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup – wire-to-wire. Cantlay becomes the third player in FedExCup history to rank No. 1 in the FedExCup entering the TOUR Championship and go on to win. He also became the first player to win four or more times in a season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17.

Rahm carded his 15th Top-10 this season, the most by any player in a season since 2015-16 and Kevin Na played his final 57 holes without a bogey en route to best FedExCup finish of his career.

Joaquin Niemann (29th at (+4) played as a single in the final round, teed-off first and shot a 2-over (72) in 1 hour, 53 minutes.

TOUR Championship Leaderboard:

Final-Round Leaderboard

1 Patrick Cantlay – (Started -10) – 67-66-67-69 (-11) – (-21)

2 Jon Rahm – (Started -6) – 65-65-68-68 (-14) – (-20)

3 Kevin Na – (Started -2) – 66-67-66-67 (-14) – (-16)

4 Justin Thomas – (Started -4) – 67-67-65-70 (-11) – (-15)

Final Leaderboard: (link)

Cantlay Leads at TOUR Championship

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TOUR Championship – FedExCup Playoffs Finale Today

ATLANTA – FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay (-20) will take his third career 54-hole lead/co-lead after posting a third-round (67) while Jon Rahm seeks to become the second consecutive FedExCup champion to win while ranked No. 1 in the world.

Cantlay recorded six birdies on the day, good for a two-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round. He had reached 21-under for the week with a birdie on the par-4 10th to assume a four-shot lead before bogeys on 11, 14 and 16 cut it to one shot as he birdied the 18th hole to finish at 20-under.

Justin Thomas recorded his only bogey of the day with a three-putt on the par-5 18th for a third-round (65), matching Saturday’s low round. He’s in third place, five back.

Sungjae Im has now carded 493 total birdies for the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season, tying the all-time record since 1980.

Brooks Koepka withdrew after 12 holes with a left wrist injury

Rahm and Cantlay will be paired together today for the 21st time in their careers.

TOUR Championship Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

1 Patrick Cantlay (Started -10) 67-66-67 (-10) -20

2 Jon Rahm (Started-6) 65-65-68 (-12) -18

3 Justin Thomas (Started -4) 67-67-65 (-11) -15

4 Kevin Na (Started -2) 66-67-66 (-11) -13

PGA TOUR Championship: First Look

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Preview – TOUR Championship First Look

COURSE: East Lake Golf Club – (Atlanta, Georgia)

ARCHITECT: Tom Bendelow

YARDS/PAR: 7,346 yards/Par 70

PRIZE Money/FedEx Champ/First Place Winnings: $60,000,000/$15,000,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Dustin Johnson

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST FedEx Cup CHAMPIONS: (link)

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @Playofffinale

OFFICIAL SITE: (TOUR Championship)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, September 2 and Friday, September 3: Coverage from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.

On Saturday, September 4, Round 3 coverage 1:00pm to 2:30pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. NBC Sports takes over from 2:30pm to 7:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, September 5: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 12:00pm to 1:30pm (EDT) and NBC wraps it up from 1:30pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 11:00am to 6:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live.

On Saturday, PGA Live coverage runs from 12:00pm Noon to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 11:00am to 6:00pm or conclusion (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the TOUR Championship with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 12:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins Saturday from 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday’s finale from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) or conclusion. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92).

TOUR Championship/Final of the FedExCup

ATLANTA – The 50-event 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season will conclude at the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned. Patrick Cantlay, the PGA TOUR leader in wins this season (3), enters the TOUR Championship at No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and will begin the tournament at 10-under via FedExCup Starting Strokes.

The FedExCup Starting Strokes system was implented at the 2019 TOUR Championship. That year, No. 1 seed Justin Thomas went on to finish T3, while Rory McIlroy, who began the tournament in fifth place at 5-under came from five strokes back to win. Dustin Johnson entered as the No. 1 seed in 2020 before going on to defeat Thomas and Xander Schauffele by three strokes, becoming just the second No. 1 seed entering TOUR Championship to win the FedExCup.

The players who’ve qualified for the TOUR Championship are eligible for the following tournaments in the 2021-22 season: Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship.

Patrick Reed, who has just recovered from a case of pneumonia (both lungs), is in the field this week at No. 30. He is also playing for possible selection for the USA Ryder Cup team. (Reed to play)

Two players in the field qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time: Sam Burns and first-year member Erik van Rooyen. Burns earned his first victory on TOUR earlier in the season at the Valspar Championship, while van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship. 20 players in the field qualified in 2020 and 29 of the 30 players are in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, both record-highs for the FedExCup era (van Rooyen, No. 55).

The Basics:

With the limited field of 30 players, TOUR Championship Tee Times Thursday run from 11:40am to 2:00pm (EDT) with players playing in pairs.

Weather: Thursday forecast is for sunny skies and a comfortable 75-degrees. Humidity will be 65% with only a 10% chance of rain (link)

“Patty Ice” Wins at the BMW

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OWINGS MILLS – Patrick Cantlay made a 17’6” putt for birdie on the sixth extra hole to defeat Bryson DeChambeau and win his fifth PGA Tour title. In doing so, Cantlay overtook the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup rankings. Cantlay became the first three-time winner of the 2020-21 season and first 54-hole leader/co-leader to convert for the win since Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship, a span of 15 events

DeChambeau moved from No. 8 to No. 3 in the FedExCup rankings with his eighth Top-10 finish of the season.

The BMW Championship marked the fourth consecutive week to feature a playoff and 14th of the season.

In his first FedExCup Playoffs start, Erik van Rooyen (5th) closed with a bogey-free 7-under 65 to earn a berth into the Tour Championship; played his final 69 holes without a bogey.

Notes:

• Sergio Garcia’s T-6 finish results in his first TOUR Championship start since 2017

• Players who moved into Top 30: Erik van Rooyen, Sergio Garcia

• Players who moved outside Top 30: Charley Hoffman, Max Homa

BMW Final Leaderboard:

Patrick Cantlay 66-63-66-66—261 (-27)*

Bryson DeChambeau 68-60-67-66—261 (-27)

Sungjae Im 67-65-66-67—265 (-23)

Rory McIlroy 64-70-65-67—266 (-22)

Erik van Rooyen 67-68-67-65—267 (-21)

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

DeChambeau and Cantlay Share Lead

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OWINGS MILLS – Tournament leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay will play together in the final group in a final round for the second time in their careers. They previously played together in the final grouping in the final round of the 2018 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, which DeChambeau won; each has won the Memorial Tournament (Dechambeau in 2018, and Cantlay in 2019 and 2021)

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21-under par equals the second-lowest 54-hole score to par in a FedExCup Playoffs event.

After rounds of (64)-(66), World No. 1 and defending BMW champion Jon Rahm posts a 2-under 70 and sits five shots off the lead. The six-time PGA Tour winner has never successfully defended a tourney title.

Three of the four players who qualified for their first BMW Championship are inside the Top 12: Sam Burns (T-4), Erik van Rooyen (T-10), K.H. Lee (T-12); Other: Cam Davis (T-22)

• Current projections of player(s) to move into Top 30: Sergio Garcia

• Current projections of player(s) to move outside Top 30: Max Homa

Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Bryson DeChambeau 68-60-67—195 (-21)

Patrick Cantlay 66-63-66—195 (-21)

Sungjae Im 67-65-66—198 (-18)

Rory McIlroy 64-70-65—199 (-17)

Abraham Ancer 66-67-66—199 (-17)

Sam Burns 64-70-65—199 (-17)

Sergio Garcia 65-67-67—199 (-17)

DeChambeau Cards a 60 to Lead BMW

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The BMW Championship/FedExCup Playoffs

OWINGS MILLS – Bryson DeChambeau missed a 6-foot, 3-inch birdie putt on the final hole and posted a career-low 12-under (60) for the round. Prior to missing the putt on No. 18, he was 13-for-13 inside 10 feet (including 3-for-3 from 4-8 feet) during the round.

Currently at (+11.135) when play was suspended, Patrick Cantlay would set the record for lowest Strokes Gained: Putting through the first two rounds of a PGA Tour event in the ShotLink era (2003-present)

Sergio Garcia, who entered the week No. 44 in the FedExCup, is bogey-free through two rounds for the third time in his Tour career.

Friday play was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation at 4:32pm (EDT) and resumed at 6:18pm (EDT) – (1 hour, 46 minutes). Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:40pm (EDT), with 15 players yet to complete their round.

The second round resumed at 8:30am (EDT) this morning.

The third round, consisting of threesomes off split tees, will tee-off from approximately 10:40am to 12:50pm (EDT) today.

 

Leaderboard:

Bryson DeChambeau 68-60—128 (-16)

Patrick Cantlay 66-63—129 (-15)

Jon Rahm 64- (-15 thru 15 holes)

Sungjae Im 67-65—132 (-12)

Sergio Garcia 65-67—132 (-12)

Rahm, McIlroy & Burns Lead at BMW

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OWINGS MILLS – World No. 1 and defending BMW Championship winner Jon Rahm holds a share of the 18-hole lead for the second consecutive week while 2012 BMW Championship winner Rory McIlroy tied his lowest score of the season with a (64) same as R-4/Waste Management Phoenix Open).

In his BMW Championship debut, Sam Burns posted a (64) for the fourth time in his last eight rounds on the PGA Tour.

The top 30 players in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will advance to the season-ending Tour Championship

• Current projections of players to move into Top 30: Sergio Garcia, Keegan Bradley

• Current projections of players to move outside Top 30: Charley Hoffman, Max Homa

The Top 70 PGA Tour pros in the current FedExCup standings are eligible for the BMW Championship.; After this weekend, the Top 30 will advance to the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned.

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.

Be sure to see: PGA Tour Brunch

Leaderboard After 18 Holes

Jon Rahm 64 (-8)

Rory McIlroy 64 (-8)

Sam Burns 64 (-8)

Sergio Garcia 65 (-7)