USA TODAY US Edition

FedExCup Playoffs start Thursday

Storylines for the PGA Tour’s postseason

- Geoff Shackelfor­d

The FedExCup Playoffs begin this week at The Northern Trust. Here’s a countdown of five key storylines to watch as the postseason tees off beginning Thursday at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey.

5. Players on the edge: Patrick Rodgers (93rd) is getting married and will sit out Week 1. … No. 121 Bud Cauley will tee up for the first time since suffering serious injuries in a May car crash. … In the Northern Trust, some surprise names including Jason Dufner (90th), Hideki Matsuyama (76th), Charl Schwartzel

(96th), Tyrell Hatton (92nd) and Charley Hoffman (98th) look to stave off eliminatio­n when the Playoff field is reduced to 100 for the Dell Technologi­es.

4. Can Rory and Rickie catch up? Rickie Fowler is sitting out The Northern Trust to rest a side muscle injury that hindered his PGA Championsh­ip play. Currently 17th in points, Fowler is likely pinning his hopes on a comeback in Boston, where he won in 2015.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy struggled at the PGA Championsh­ip and predicted he might skip the first event. “The best thing might be to take that first FedExCup week off and work on my game and come back, hopefully, in a better place for Boston,” he said.

Sure enough, McIlroy is not in the field, and the 2016 FedExCup champion enters the Playoffs 21st.

3. Swan song for Boston (sort of ) and Playoffs as we’ve known them: The traditiona­l Labor Day weekend Dell Technologi­es at TPC Boston ends in

2018 and joins The Northern Trust rota in years ahead. After a year off in 2019, the Northern Trust will come to Boston in 2020 and in even number years after that. This year’s Playoffs also mark the end of a four-tournament set, shifting to three events and potential format changes in 2018-19.

2. What will Tiger do? Woods has not competed in the PGA Tour Playoffs since 2013, when he opened with a T-2 at Liberty National, then faded. Coming off a second-place finish in the PGA Championsh­ip, will Woods grind out the Playoffs or pace himself with the Ryder Cup in mind? Physically, a five-event schedule over the next six weeks seems aggressive for someone who has played

14 times in 2018 and who has been very careful about pacing himself in a comeback from spinal fusion surgery.

1. Ryder Cup points race within the Playoff race: While the official effort to grab one of eight spots on the Ryder Cup team ended at the PGA Championsh­ip, U.S. captain Jim Furyk has said he will continue to keep a mock points list going to help determine his four picks. Convention­al wisdom already has Woods and Phil Mickelson on the team. So expect the Playoff focus for the final two picks to turn to Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Kisner, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele.

 ?? PHOTOS BY JEFF CURRY/USA TODAY SPORTS ?? Rickie Fowler, 17th in points, won’t play The Northern Trust as a side injury heals.
PHOTOS BY JEFF CURRY/USA TODAY SPORTS Rickie Fowler, 17th in points, won’t play The Northern Trust as a side injury heals.
 ??  ?? Rory McIlroy, 21st in the FedExCup standings, also will skip this week’s tournament as he works on his game and targets the second tournament in Boston.
Rory McIlroy, 21st in the FedExCup standings, also will skip this week’s tournament as he works on his game and targets the second tournament in Boston.

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