Mahan’s playoff streak on line
FedEx Cup field will be reduced to 100 after this weekend.
EDISON, N.J. — Recent history is what gives Hunter Mahan a level of optimism he would not ordinarily have at The Barclays.
For the first time in 10 years, he is at risk of ending a PGA Tour season without once finishing in the top three. For the first time in more than six years, Mahan is out of the top 50 in the world ranking. He starts the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 71, his lowest position since this series began in 2007.
Mahan is the only player to have never missed a playoff event. That streak is in jeopardy.
He also knows how quickly it can turn around. “Takes one good week to propel you up the board,” Mahan said. “And you can change the schematic of the whole thing.”
A year ago, Mahan was No. 62 in the FedEx Cup when he closed with a 65 and won The Barclays. That moved him to No. 1 in the standings, assured him a spot in the Tour Championship and impressed Tom Watson enough that he used a captain’s pick on Mahan for the Ryder Cup.
“You can have an OK season and all of a sudden you play good at the right time and be a FedEx Cup champion,” Mahan said. “It does feel like a late-season push here. You can kind of forget where you’ve been and you can really be right here because you know good play right now means a lot.”
One good week. That’s what motivates players like Davis Love III and Jason Gore, who only qualified last week in North Carolina.
It’s not so much an issue for Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, for PGA champion Jason Day and others who have played so well all year that they are virtually a lock for the Tour Championship at East Lake. Because the points are reset for the final event, whoever wins in Atlanta stands the best chance at capturing the $10 million bonus.
Only the top 125 in the FedEx Cup are eligible for the playoffs, and there are some big names missing. Tiger Woods failed to qualify for the third time in the last five years. Ernie Els and Geoff Ogilvy didn’t make it. Neither did Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.
The Barclays features only a 120-man field because five players chose not to play.
Rory McIlroy wanted to give his ankle another week off to make sure there are no issues. He can afford to miss it at No. 9 in the Fed Ex Cup. Also missing are Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari and Retief Goosen. Molinari, whose wife just had a baby, is No. 99, so his season is over. Goosen is out of the top 100 and is done for the season.
Only the top 100 advance to Deutsche Bank Championship next week, and the top 70 move on to the BMW Championship. The top 30 go to the Tour Championship, a golden goose for some because it puts them in the majors for next year.
The change in the points system this year meant a little less volatility. Points used to be worth five times as much as the regular season. Now they’re worth four times as much. What hasn’t changed is the need to play good golf.
Love faced the end of his season until he won last week, and that’s what is on the line for 25 players this week.