This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
While Patrick Reed moves to ninth in the world with his win, Len Hochberg notices that there is no clear cut PGA Player of the Year and he ponders whether there's still time for someone to emerge.
First there was Rory McIlroy. Then Jordan Spieth. Then Jason Day. Now …. now?
As the 20th anniversary of Tiger Woods turning professional just passed, we realize that he's not coming back, either as his old self or as the Next Tiger Woods. Not only was Woods once in a lifetime, if not once in history, but golf is just too dang balanced these days (this is not a debate about whether that's good or bad).
With three tournaments left in the season, no one is the PGA Tour's Player of the Year. Of course, someone will win it, but who actually deserves it?
The No. 9 golfer in the world, Patrick Reed has never even finished in the top-10 in a major. Reed reached that career-high ranking on Monday, after winning the Barclays, the first FedEx Cup playoff event. It was his first win in almost two years.
The No. 8 golfer in the world, Rickie Fowler, can't even automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup team, as eight golfers accrued more points. Fowler would have made it had he simply shot a 2-over on the back nine at Bethpage Black on Sunday instead of limping home with a 4-over.
No. 1 Day has won three times, though none a major, and right
While Patrick Reed moves to ninth in the world with his win, Len Hochberg notices that there is no clear cut PGA Player of the Year and he ponders whether there's still time for someone to emerge.
First there was Rory McIlroy. Then Jordan Spieth. Then Jason Day. Now …. now?
As the 20th anniversary of Tiger Woods turning professional just passed, we realize that he's not coming back, either as his old self or as the Next Tiger Woods. Not only was Woods once in a lifetime, if not once in history, but golf is just too dang balanced these days (this is not a debate about whether that's good or bad).
With three tournaments left in the season, no one is the PGA Tour's Player of the Year. Of course, someone will win it, but who actually deserves it?
The No. 9 golfer in the world, Patrick Reed has never even finished in the top-10 in a major. Reed reached that career-high ranking on Monday, after winning the Barclays, the first FedEx Cup playoff event. It was his first win in almost two years.
The No. 8 golfer in the world, Rickie Fowler, can't even automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup team, as eight golfers accrued more points. Fowler would have made it had he simply shot a 2-over on the back nine at Bethpage Black on Sunday instead of limping home with a 4-over.
No. 1 Day has won three times, though none a major, and right now is looking like the de facto POY. The final three weeks of the season notwithstanding, Day would be awarded for a very good year, not a great one.
There's still time for someone to emerge, such as major winners Dustin Johnson or Henrik Stenson, if the Swede's knee is okay. Spieth, Johnson and Adam Scott could join Day with a third win and, especially if it came in the Tour Championship to give them the FedEx Cup Championship, that seemingly would give them the edge.
Someone has to be Player of the Year.
Right?
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Patrick Reed
More than just a victory on Sunday, Reed also secured one of the eight automatic berths on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. It was a remarkable win not only for besting all the top golfers in the world, but for doing it in a fifth successive week of play. Reed has actually taken only one week off since the U.S. Open, playing 10 of the past 11 weeks. To be this fresh and this mentally tough after all that says a lot. We obviously were wrong to say a few weeks back that Reed's schedule was too aggressive, that he needed to take a week off. That said, it would be even more remarkable if he now continued to contend for titles in Boston and Chicago the next two weeks. He tied for fourth last year at the Deutsche Bank.
Rickie Fowler
What a sorry, mopey site to see, Fowler and his new mustache finishing up alongside the victorious Reed on Sunday. Fowler's final-round 74 dropped him to a tie for seventh, and the back-nine 39, which including three bogeys and a double, washed away all the positives of the first three days. Fowler showed he's still good enough to win, but it's hard to pick him in the next week of two after seeing that performance. Fowler's schedule has been almost as busy as Reed's since the PGA, and maybe it caught up to him. On the other hand, he's the defending champion at TPC Boston ..
Sean O'Hair
It seems there's one guy every year who rockets up the point standings in the playoffs, and this year it's O'Hair. By tying for second with a final-round 66, he went from 108th in points – in danger of not even advancing to next week – to 15th, thereby guaranteeing a spot in the Tour Championship. Maybe you picked him because you thought his course history at Bethpage was good (it was). Maybe you needed the right price to fill a spot on your DraftKings roster. Either way, great call, and now O'Hair will be in the three remaining playoff events. He tied for fourth last year at the Deutsche Bank, and thus will likely be an enormously popular DraftKings pick this week. Besides, O'Hair, four other golfers climbed into the top-100 to reach Boston: John Huh, Sung Kang, Tyrone Van Aswegen and Derek Fathauer.
Emiliano Grillo
Grillo tied for second, also ensuring a trip to East Lake. Barring a surprise over the next month, Grillo will be the Rookie of the Year, in a vote much clearer than the one for Player of the Year. While Reed and even O'Hair could have letdowns this week, Grillo could contend again and has the all-course game to do it.
Jason Day and Jordan Spieth
It's becoming common to see Day and Spieth near the top of the leaderboard without truly contending. Day tied for fourth and Spieth tied for 10th at Bethpage. Even though Day was only two strokes better, 7-under vs. 5-under, he seems closer to victory than Spieth, who continues to struggle off the tee. Spieth even missed the cut last year in Boston, so expecting him to do well there this year will take a great leap of faith. Day could wrap up POY honors with a win, and his game is close enough that a win would surprise very few of us.
Rory McIlroy
Oh, Rory. McIlroy won at Boston in 2012, but that seems a lifetime ago. He tied for 31st at Bethpage, not even rallying on Sunday for one of his patented back-door top-10s. That actually dropped McIlroy in the point standings, from 36th to 38th. And while all it will take is one good week to get him into the top-30 and the Tour Championship, it would be a huge embarrassment for the world No. 5 if he didn't get there. The odds are about 50-50 that he does.
Billy Horschel
Horschel, as we all know, plays his best golf this time of year. He shot only one round in the 60s at Bethpage but did enough to tie for 13th, moving him from 72nd to 51st in points. Like McIlroy, he needs one good week to vault into East Lake. Horschel was T2 at TPC Boston two years ago. Hmmmm.
Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley
Simpson (T48 at Bethpage) and Bradley (T53) were the two most prominent golfers affected by the anchored-putting ban that went into effect on New Year's Day (Matt Kuchar didn't really anchor). Bradley's season ended on Sunday, as the native New Englander couldn't even crack the top-100 in the point standings to get to Boston. Bradley is an impressive T20 in strokes gained: tee-to-green this season. That's better than Reed, Horschel and Louis Oosthuizen, to name a few. He's also 194th in strokes gained: putting. And the tour counts only 196 golfers. Simpson, isn't much better, but that little bit has got him to Boston. He's 10th in SGTTG – that's better than Day, Spieth, Kuchar and Sergio Garcia – but 176th in SGP. Simpson won at TPC Boston in 2011 and was T9 two years ago. Simpson is so good tee-to-green, he could be a good DraftKings play this week. Just don't expect a big putt for a victory.
Jimmy Walker
Walker's season has already been deemed a success – he won his first major and locked up a Ryder Cup berth. But he sure is looking like a weak link on captain Davis Love's team. After the out-of-nowhere win in the PGA, Walker missed the cut at the Wyndham and now again this past week at Bethpage. He tied for ninth two years ago at Boston, but also sandwiched that finish with two MCs. The Deutsche Bank is probably the easiest cut to make all season – no more than 100 golfers vying for 70-plus-ties weekend spots. Will Walker make it to Saturday?
Shane Lowry
This has not been a great summer for Lowry. Yes, he's 36th in the world. But he gagged on Sunday at the U.S. Open. This past week, trying to show he belongs on Europe's Ryder Cup team, he eschewed the Barclays to play in Denmark on the European Tour. Not only did Lowry miss the cut there, but he fell from 87th to 102nd in FedEx Cup points, knocking him out of playoffs. Four other golfers' seasons ended when they were bounced from the top-100: Lucas Glover, Robert Streb, Peter Malnati and Jonas Blixt.
Danny Willett
The Englishman accepted PGA Tour membership after winning the Masters in April. Why? He skipped the Barclays, as did a few other Euros, but still had enough points to play in Boston. But he's also skipping the Deutsche Bank, and that will leave him out of the top-70 needed to get to Chicago. So, his U.S. season is done. After Augusta, Willett did not play a single PGA event outside of the majors and The Players Championship. Thanks for playing, Danny, drive home safely.
