Qualifying for FedEx Cup on players’ radar
Garcia is looking to salvage chances at Canadian Open.
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND — Three tournaments remain before the top eight players qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, including $10 million or more purses from the World Golf Championship at Firestone and the PGA Championship.
Another deadline quickly approaching is the FedEx Cup, and Adam Scott did himself a big favor with his tie for 17th at the British Open.
Scott moved from No. 123 to No. 107 in the FedEx Cup standings. He should be set, especially being guaranteed points in two weeks at the Bridgestone Invitational. Scott, who has fallen to No. 73 in the world ranking, gets into Firestone because he played in the Presidents Cup last year.
“There’s good stuff in my game,” Scott said. “I didn’t hit it as well as I wanted this week, but there was still plenty of good in that. My short game is really good, I thought. So if I can just get the rhythm of the golf swing going a little better over the next couple weeks, I really feel like I can make a mark at the PGA and try to put a dent in the end of the season.”
Others remain in a tough spot. Sergio Garcia missed the cut at Carnoustie and fell to No. 132, which is why he decided to play the RBC Canadian Open this week for the first time since 2001. Garcia has played only 11 events on the PGA Tour this year.
Bill Haas, who took time off from golf after being the passenger in a fatal car accident outside Riviera in February, is at No. 144.
Busy times: Henrik Stenson banged the top part of his left arm on a door, and it was sore enough that it nearly kept him out of the British Open. He could use some quick healing with a schedule that is busier than usual.
A year ago, Stenson was at No. 75 in the FedEx Cup standings and in danger of not fulfilling his minimum 15 tournaments, so he entered the Wyndham Championship, which he won. Now, the Swede has a World Golf Championship at Firestone and the PGA Championship, and then the title defense at the Wyndham before the FedEx Cup playoffs start.
“That’s why I’m hoping the arm will clear up in a week or so, and I can get back into playing without thinking about that and just working on my game,” Stenson said. “If I’m going to play all that golf, I need to pace myself and not do too much. But at the same time, I’m not feeling like I’m firing golf-wise, so you still need to put the work in.”
Spreading the wealth: The PGA Tour Champions has its final major of the year at St. Andrews this week for the Senior British Open, and it’s been a year of spreading out the victories.
Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Regions Tradition in Alabama. Paul Broadhurst won the Senior PGA Championship. David Toms won the U.S. Senior Open in Colorado, and Vijay Singh won the Senior Players Championship two weeks ago in Chicago. Missing from the list is Bernhard Langer, who has won majors each of the last four years.
For the last six years, at least one player has won multiple senior majors. The last time the five majors were won by five players was in 2011: Tom Lehman, Tom Watson, Olin Browne, Fred Couples and Russ Cochran.
PGA Player race: Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas are in a tight race for the points-based PGA player of the year, and none has won a major. Johnson, Rose and Thomas are all three-time winners (each event is worth 10 points). Johnson leads in scoring average and is third on the money list, while Rose is second in scoring and money. That leaves both of them at 56 points.
Thomas leads the money list and is No. 4 in scoring average, leaving him two points out of the lead.
Divots: The R&A reported attendance for the week at the British Open at 172,000, a record for Carnoustie. The previous mark was 159,000 in 1999 . ... Rory McIlroy was the only player with all four rounds under par at Carnoustie in the British Open. ... By winning the British Open, Francesco Molinari took over the lead in the Race to Dubai on the European Tour. It had belonged to Patrick Reed since he won the Masters.
Stat of the week: Molinari and Y.E. Yang are the only players to win a major while paired with Tiger Woods in the final round.