Spieth, Fowler among those needing help for big fall events
OLYMPIA FIELDS, ILL. (AP) » Jordan Spieth is only three years removed from winning the British Open and now has to ask for sponsor exemptions.
So does Brooks Koepka, who started this year at No. 1 in the world.
They were among several top players who failed to reach the top 70 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and advance to the BMW Championship. It’s not only about keeping alive hopes of reaching East Lake for the Tour Championship, and from there having a shot at the $15 million prize.
The FedEx Cup standings this year determine eligibility for the big-money, limited-field, no-cut events in the fall. And those become more attractive this year with the CJ Cup moving from South Korea to Shadow Creek in Las Vegas and the Zozo Championship in Japan headed to Sherwood Country Club in California.
That gives players a good twoweek stretch leading to the Masters in November.
The fields for those events are top 60 available in the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson, who won his $9 million winner-take-all match against Tiger Woods at Shadow
Creek two years ago, is at No. 75.
Koepka, who withdrew from the first playoff event, is at No. 104. Spieth failed to reach the BMW Championship for the first time and finished at No. 107. Justin Rose ended his season at No. 81, while Rickie Fowler was at No. 94.
They all need exemptions for the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship. Getting them shouldn’t be a problem, of course, although players typically are expected to give something back in return, mainly time with sponsors.
Still, it will be rare for players of this caliber to ask for an exemption. And those exemptions will be in high demand.
The CJ Cup can offer as many as eight exemptions to PGA Tour players (three of those unrestricted). The Zozo Championship has only five spots (four for PGA Tour members, one unrestricted). Early indications are that most will be going. Jon Rahm said last week he would happily take a short flight from Arizona to play the CJ Cup.
Some of the other elite events, such as Memorial, Riviera and Bay Hill, exempt major champions from the last five years.
The Asia events that are coming to America this year do not.
Louis Oosthuizen was aware of this when he spoke about what was at stake for him, in the 99th spot, at TPC Boston. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, he doesn’t plan to return home to South Africa late in the year to play. He is looking for more starts on the fall schedule, and the CJ Cup and Zozo are the biggest.