Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Stars turn out in race for FedExCup
NEWTOWN SQUARE » There was the scintillating 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, easily the most important golf tournament held in the Philadelphia region since the early 1980s.
But this week’s BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club is surely the runnerup. In an area where the PGA Tour hasn’t stopped regularly in nearly 40 years, this is a big deal. So big, in fact, that red-hot American Bryson DeChambeau is here even though he can’t fall from his position atop the FedExCup points list no matter what happens.
“Yeah, I thought about taking the week off,” said DeChambeau, who just captured his third win of the PGA season at the Dell Technologies Championship. “I couldn’t do that to the BMW and I couldn’t do that to all the fans and the sponsors that have helped put this event on.”
Featuring an elite field of the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings, what happens over 72 holes beginning Thursday will determine the 30 who will advance to the Tour Championship in two weeks at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club and its whopping $10 million payout. This, the fourth of five in the playoff series, is the biggest event Aronimink has hosted since the 1962 PGA Championship, and Sunday’s winner will take home $1.62 million of the total purse of $9 million.
“To me the FedExCup and what that en- tails, every point is going to count towards the end all the way to East Lake and every stroke is going to count,” said Tony Finau, who is currently No. 4 on the FedExCup list.
The star power is overwhelming, with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy on hand, to name a few. The two-time defending U.S. Open champ, Brooks Koepka, is fresh off a win at the PGA Championship and is always a threat.
So is the world’s top-ranked player, Dustin Johnson, who trails only DeChambeau in the FedEx race. The 24-year-old DeChambeau and his uniquely simple swing arrived in Delaware County with back-toback wins under his belt, which hadn’t happened since Justin Thomas (also here) did it in 2017.
“It would be easy for me to say, ‘hey, I’m PGA TOUR BMW CHAMPIONSHIP Site: Newtown Square Course: Aronimink GC. Yardage: 7,267. Par: 70. Purse: $9 million. Winner’s share: $1,620,000. Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, Noon-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, Noon-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (NBC). Defending champion: Marc Leishman. FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau. Last week: Bryson DeChambeau won the Dell Technologies Championship. Notes: This is the third FedEx Cup playoff event, with the top 30 advancing to the Tour Championship at East Lake in two weeks . .... DeChambeau is assured of being the No. 1 seed at the Tour Championship. At stake this week is getting one of the top five seeds. Those players only need to win the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup title and the $10 million bonus . ... Aronimink last held a PGA Tour event in 2010 and 2011 when the AT&T National moved there from Congressional ahead of the 2011 U.S. Open. Justin Rose and Nick Watney won those two years. Tiger Woods, whose foundation ran the tournament, tied for 46th in 2010 and did not play in 2011 because of leg injuries . ... Rickie Fowler is playing his first FedEx Cup playoffs event. He missed the last two with an injury. He started at No. 17 and now is No. 26 . ... Aronimink is where Gary Player won the PGA Championship in 1962. The club will host the Women’s PGA Championship in 2020 and the PGA Championship in 2027. Next tournament: Tour Championship on Sept. 20-23. just going to skip this week because I’m tired,’” he said. “But no, I want to win three in a row and get some world ranking points as well.”
And don’t forget Britain’s Justin Rose, who has a victory at Aronimink to his credit at the 2010 AT&T National, is No. 3 in the current FedExCup standings, and loves playing in Philly. He also triumphed at nearby Merion five years ago for his first and only major title.
“Obviously the golf course doesn’t know it this week,” Rose said. “You can never kind of count on past victories or past performances. But absolutely, I think there’s always a bit of a feel-good factor when you come back to an area you enjoy.
“It invokes good memories, but obviously as of (Thursday) it’s all about doing a job.”
In all, every one of the top 29 players on the current World Golf Rankings are in the stellar field, including 2018 major champions Francesco Molinari (British Open) and Patrick Reed (Masters). A fan favorite at Merion, Mickelson is ninth on the FedEx list, coming off a final round 63 Monday.
Mickelson, Woods and DeChambeau were recently tabbed as captain’s picks by West Chester native and Team USA captain Jim Furyk for the 2018 Ryder Cup, which will take place Sept. 28-30 in France. The pressure may be off, but what about the motivation?
“It was definitely impressive to watch (DeChambeau),” said Ricky Fowler, who is coming off an oblique injury. “He answered a lot of questions I think for a lot of people in the last two weeks.”
Others, like Finau, will be ultra-motivated for one last chance to impress Furyk before he makes the final pick to round out the team.
“Tiger and Phil bring the experience (with) Phil having won this year and Tiger showing he’s back in form. There’s no hard feelings on my end,” said Finau, who has 10 top-10s this season. “The good news for me is there is still one spot left and if I continue doing what I’m doing, hopefully that spot is for me.”
Some of the big names like Woods (25th), Spieth (27), McIlroy (24), Fowler (26) and defending BMW champ Marc Leishman (22) will be trying to secure a trip to Atlanta. Others former major champions like Adam Scott (48) and Zach Johnson (59) have some work to do to finish in the top 30.
“I played here in 2010 and 2011 (and) I remember the crowds being great,” said Leishman, who won a year ago at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. “They support their sports very strongly, and hopefully they’ll be out and making some noise. And hopefully I’ll give them something to cheer about.”
As for the venue, the field will find a tweaked Aronimink that will play to 7,267 yards and par 70. Malvern-based architect Gil Hanse’s company oversaw a complete restoration completed this spring.
“I think if you can get driver in your hand — the fairways are wide, it’s pretty soft — you can take advantage of your length if you have that, and it makes the course definitely a lot more playable and a lot more scoreable,” McIlroy said.
As compared to the two-year run with the AT&T, the field will see wider fairways, more than 100 additional bunkers, 18 new tee boxes and larger greens that will bring more hole locations into the fold.
“Maybe a touch easier, possibly, tee to green,” Rose said. “I think the nuances are going to be understanding the changes in the greens.”
For what it’s worth, the winning scores at Aronimink in 2010 and 2011 were 10-under and 13-under-par, respectively.
“Four-under a round could win this tournament,” Spieth said. “You’re going to get opportunities to make at least four birdies a round. Just limit the mistakes.”