(Photo credit score: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)
Justin Thomas, Irishman Shane Lowry, Australia’s Adam Scott and different determined golf dignitaries are making their final push towards the FedEx Cup playoffs when the Wyndham Championship tees off Thursday in Greensboro, N.C.
The PGA Tour’s regular-season finale at Sedgefield Country Club serves because the final alternative to qualify for subsequent week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, the primary of three legs of the playoffs. Only the highest 70 in FedEx Cup factors shall be within the area for the preliminary leg of the playoffs, which is pared down additional earlier than the annual Tour championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Thomas, a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, has been preventing by a hunch all summer season. He missed the lower in 5 of his final seven occasions and has only one top-10 end since February. Thomas enters the Wyndham No. 79 within the FedEx Cup standings, and making the United States Ryder Cup staff appears like a longshot.
“That is the reality of golf, like it’s all on you,” Thomas mentioned Tuesday. “You’re not relying on any teammates to bail you out, to hinder you, it’s all on you. There’s just guys that have played better than me this season whether they’re ranked first in the world or 101st in the world. But now I have an opportunity to play well this week, get into the playoffs and to go to three courses that I love.”
Thomas is way from alone in his last-minute quest to make the playoffs.
Lowry, the 2019 Open Championship winner, is 76th within the standings after a quiet season with only one top-10. Scott, one other main champion, had a run of excellent ends in May however has performed simply 16 PGA Tour occasions this season, leaving him No. 81 in factors.
Scott and Matt Kuchar are the one two gamers who’ve certified for each FedEx Cup Playoffs since its creation in 2007.
“I’m really thinking about winning the tournament, not just trying to squeak in next week,” Scott mentioned. “I probably have to have a pretty high result to get in anyway, so I may as well think about winning. That’s what I would like to do the most this week.”
The participant at present “last man in” at No. 70 is Austin Eckroat. Other notable names preventing for his or her playoff lives embrace Ok.H. Lee of South Korea (No. 73), Matt Wallace of England (No. 80) and Joel Dahmen (No. 82).
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan is comfortably on the proper aspect of the road at No. 56, however he’ll tee it up in Greensboro aiming to enhance that standing. This yr, the playoff fields shall be trimmed from 70 to 50 to the normal 30 for the Tour Championship.
Tom Kim of South Korea gained the Wyndham final yr — improbably overcoming a quadruple bogey on his first gap of the week. Still going by Joohyung Kim at that time, he was taking part in on a PGA Tour particular short-term membership on the time and his victory earned him his full tour card.
But Kim tore a ligament in his ankle throughout The Open Championship two weeks in the past, and though he fought by the ache and climbed the leaderboard to a T2 end, he withdrew from the Wyndham to heal up for the playoffs.
Past champions who’re within the area embrace Jim Herman (2020), J.T. Poston (2019), Brandt Snedeker (2018, 2007) and Si Woo Kim of South Korea (2016).
–Field Level Media