Tag: FedEx Cup

Tiger Woods rides birdie-fest up Northern Trust leaderboard on Thursday

Tiger Woods carded a 3-under 68 on Thursday in the opening round of the Northern Trust, the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Tiger Woods had himself a solid day at the office on Thursday at TPC Boston.

The 15-time major champion began his quest for a record third FedEx Cup title with a 3-under 68 in the first round of the Northern Trust, the first of three events in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Woods started his day on the more-challenging back nine and made it through the difficult stretch of Nos. 10-14 just 1 over. Alongside Matthew Fitzpatrick and Dylan Frittelli for the first two rounds, Woods made the turn at even par thanks to a missed eagle putt that left a tap-in birdie on the par-5 18th hole.

Northern Trust: Leaderboard | Best photos

The birdie was just enough momentum to kick Woods’ round into motion. The two-time FedEx Cup champion (2007 and 2009) made a pair of consecutive birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 and Nos. 7 and 8 to temporarily get to 4 under and inside the top 10. A poor tee shot led to an unfortunate bogey on No. 9 to seal the deal on Woods’ 68. The 44-year-old walked off the course T-15.

Woods is back in action on Friday afternoon off No. 1 at 1:17 p.m. ET.

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The Northern Trust Preview

Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the field in the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at TPC Boston for The Northern Trust.

Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the field in the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at TPC Boston for The Northern Trust.

Tiger Woods announces he will play Northern Trust in Boston

Tiger Woods will be in the field at the Northern Trust when the FedEx Cup Playoffs start next week.

It’s official — Tiger Woods will be in the field at the Northern Trust when the FedEx Cup Playoffs start next week. He tweeted the news on Friday.

Woods is currently 48th in the FedEx Cup standings. Starting with 125 players at the first event at TPC Boston, only the top 70 will advance to the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields in Illinois. From there, only the top 30 advance to the finale, the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

Woods insisted earlier he was prepared to play more events down the stretch, and had been gearing up for a more demanding schedule.

“We knew once I started playing again when I committed to Memorial that this was going to be a heavy workload, and my training sessions, we’ve been pushing it pretty hard, making sure that I kept my strength and endurance up,” he said. “We’ll be pushing it hard to make sure that I can stay strong and have the endurance to keep on going.”

Woods is not playing in this week’s regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship.

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Brendon Todd’s leads after the second round of play at TPC Southwind

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak discusses the second round of play from the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak discusses the second round of play from the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

PGA Tour pros who fall out of top 125 in 2020 won’t lose cards

The PGA Tour announced that the Korn Ferry Tour schedule this season will roll into the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

There will be no graduation to the PGA Tour in 2020.

The PGA Tour announced on Wednesday the Korn Ferry Tour schedule this season will roll into the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, which already has canceled nine tournaments on the developmental circuit.

The Korn Ferry Tour last played March 1 and is scheduled to resume with a new, yet-to-be-named tournament June 11 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If there are no more cancellations, the Korn Ferry Tour would play just 17 events in 2020. There also will not be a Korn Ferry Tour Q-School this year.

However, there will be limited promotion from the secondary circuit. The top 10 players from the final Korn Ferry Tour points list following the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance the last week of August will be allowed to play in all of the PGA Tour’s additional tournaments such as opposite-field events for the 2020-21 season.

Additional information concerning the Korn Ferry Tour’s adjusted and extended season is expected to be announced May 4.

As well, players on the PGA Tour who fall outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup points race after this season’s conclusion would have had the opportunity to regain their cards in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. This season, however, those who fall outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup points race won’t lose their cards; they now will have another year of eligibility.

Currently, the PGA Tour is scheduled to return June 11 with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. If the schedule holds, a FedEx Cup champion will be crowned at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta in September. If the PGA Tour does resume in June, FedEx Cup points will be awarded.

The PGA Tour has canceled or postponed 13 events this season.

The PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council and Policy Board approved a hybrid eligibility system for the 2020-2021 season.

“This eligibility update, contingent upon the planned restart of the season at the Charles Schwab Challenge, was deemed the best and most equitable solution for the membership at large after research by our competitions department and significant conversations with the Policy Board and Player Advisory Council,” the PGA Tour said in a statement.

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Exclusive: Dustin Johnson to skip Tokyo Olympics

Dustin Johnson’s manager confirmed the player’s decision to skip the Olympics, choosing to focus on the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The 2020 Olympics golf tournament has its first confirmed no-show: Dustin Johnson. The world No. 5 plans to focus instead on the FedEx Cup playoffs rather than pursue a gold medal in Tokyo in July.

Johnson’s manager, David Winkle, confirmed the decision to Golfweek on Monday. “Dustin gave the Olympics a great deal of thought and we discussed the pros and cons of him participating at length,” Winkle wrote in an e-mail.

“At the end of the day, it’s a matter of personal preference and priority. As much as he would be honored to be an Olympian, the FedEx Cup Playoffs are also very important to him. Having had a few close calls in the Playoffs, he really wants to win them before his time is done and feels that he wouldn’t be giving himself the best opportunity to do so if he added lengthy international trip just prior to their beginning (and shortly after returning from two weeks in Europe).”

Johnson will compete in the Open Championship July 16-19 at Royal St. George’s, where he almost won in 2011. The first round of the Olympics competition at Kasumigaseki Golf Club takes place July 30. The first FedEx Cup playoff event begins 11 days after the Olympics ends with the Northern Trust in Boston.

Four Americans will qualify to compete in the Games based on the world golf ranking. Currently Johnson is in the third team spot behind Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas. Koepka himself recently downplayed the importance of the Olympics, saying he views golf’s four major championships and the FedEx Cup as more important to him.

“We’ll see where everything else falls,” Koepka said, suggesting that he might also skip the trip to Tokyo. With Johnson confirmed out and Koepka sounding ambivalent, that could mean two men not currently in the top four Americans might qualify to join Thomas and Patrick Cantlay in Japan: Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed, who are the fifth and sixth-ranked U.S. players. The seventh-ranked American on that list: Tiger Woods.

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Billy Horschel talks Waste Management second round, game improvements

Billy Horschel talks about his second round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and how his golf game has improved over the years.

Billy Horschel talks about his second round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and how his golf game has improved over the years.