Playoffs begin with eye toward PGA Tour player of the year

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The Olympics are over. The Ryder Cup in on the horizon.

In between is a $10 million payoff for winning the FedEx Cup, a four-tournament series that starts Thursday at The Barclays. Still up for grabs is who becomes the favourite for PGA Tour player of the year.

Jordan Spieth wasn’t sure who he considered the front-runner, perhaps because the summer has gone by so quickly due to the Olympic schedule. He first thought it would be Henrik Stenson, who won the British Open in that exquisite duel at Royal Troon. Then, he remembered Dustin Johnson winning the U.S. Open and a World Golf Championship at Firestone in consecutive starts.

Spieth could only say for certainty that he most likely wouldn’t be part of the conversation this year.

“I believe the player of the year award should go to someone who wins at the highest level,” Spieth said Wednesday. “Tiger won it in 2013 without winning a major, but he did win The Players, and the other events were all some of the best fields in golf. But I think that it’s hard to not give it to someone who has won a major championship.”

The next five weeks – there is a oneweek break between the third and the final playoff event – figures to go a long way in shaping that race.