Tag: Liberty National Golf Club

What top PGA Tour pro will Tiger’s caddie, Joe LaCava, be working for at Northern Trust?

Joe LaCava accepted a one-week gig to work for Patrick Cantlay, No. 3 in the FedEx Cup point standings.

Tiger Woods’ caddie has gotten the call from the bullpen.

Joe LaCava is scheduled to be on the bag of Patrick Cantlay this week at Liberty National Gold Club for The Northern Trust in Jersey City, New Jersey, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events.

“He’s going to have to put up with the scrub caddie this week,” kidded LaCava to Golf Digest.

Cantlay’s regular caddie, Matt Minister, who was on the bag for Cantlay’s latest victory at The Memorial in June, is sidelined after testing positive with COVID-19. Cantlay subbed with Joe Skovron, Rickie Fowler’s regular bagman, at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Cantlay enters the week ranked third in the FedEx Cup points standings thanks to two victories, and that’s not all that is at stake for him during the playoff run.

Northern Trust: Tee times, TV info | Odds | Fantasy

He needs to make up some ground to earn an automatic pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team or to assure Captain Steve Stricker that his game is in top form for a captain’s pick. Cantlay played under Tiger Woods at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia.

LaCava, who lives in the tri-state area in Connecticut and is a diehard New York Giants fan, has been in semi-retirement since Tiger Woods sustained injuries when he was involved in a single-car crash in February. Woods currently is recovering and hasn’t release a timetable for his return.

Previously, when Woods was out with a back injury, LaCava had inquiries to see if he was available for work, but politely declined to work for anyone else. That loyalty was rewarded in memorable victories with Woods at the 2018 Tour Championship, the 2019 Masters, his 15thmajor, and a win at the Zozo Championship in Japan that tied Sam Snead for the most wins on the PGA Tour with 82.

LaCava also looped for former boss Fred Couples at the Principal Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions earlier this year. Couples finished tied for sixth.

Cantlay is schedule to tee off on Thursday at 8:26 am ET on the 10th tee.

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For Jon Rahm, COVID downtime had a silver lining: more family time

If there was a silver lining to Jon Rahm’s ill-timed positive COVID tests, it was that he gained family time with his wife and new son.

Jon Rahm still can’t believe that he’s reached the end of a season in which six majors counted toward the beginning of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He’ll miss having so many majors in a season, Rahm said Tuesday ahead of The Northern Trust, but there’s arguably a fatigue factor at play, too.

Some guys have racked up an obscene amount of sky miles these past few weeks – Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas, both Olympians, talked of mileage totals upwards of 20,000 upon returning from Tokyo earlier this month. That’s one trip that Rahm didn’t take.

Rahm spoke for the first time on Tuesday since another series of positive COVID-19 tests prevented him from representing Spain in the Summer Games.

His season already took a COVID hit in early June when he was forced to withdraw from the Memorial despite having the third-round lead because he tested positive for the virus. He came back the next week to win the U.S. Open.

Northern Trust: Tee times, TV info | Odds | Fantasy

The positive test that knocked him out of the Olympics was tougher to take, he admitted.

“I understand it’s a weird case because I tested negative so quickly and tested negative and tested negative all throughout the UK, and I get here and the test is positive,” he said of the pre-Olympic testing cycle. “It really is unfortunate. It sucked because I wanted to represent Spain. I wanted to play that one. I wanted to hopefully give Spain a medal. I was wishing for a gold medal, but just being part of that medal count for the country would have been huge. It was more devastating in that sense. I was more in the mindset of playing for them more than me.”

Rahm confirmed he was never ill but knowing people close to him who did suffer with COVID, he understands the seriousness of the virus.

“That’s why I don’t take it lightly.”

U.S. Open
Jon Rahm celebrates holding the trophy as he poses with his wife Kelley Cahill and son Kepa Cahill Rahm after winning he U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Photo by Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

While his medal chances were dashed, Rahm did point to one silver lining in the form of some unexpected downtime: the new dad got the opportunity – a scarce one for Tour players – to remain home for a month with baby Kepa. He hasn’t competed since a T-3 at the British Open four weeks ago.

That translates to rejuvenation.

“I was with my family. I was with my wife and our son and had a great time, also trained hard and practiced hard,” he said. “Yeah, I feel like I’m a little – I’m probably going to be a little bit more rested than most people, but at the same time, I haven’t played competitively in four weeks. So there might be a slight bit of rust, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to go quickly just because of how happy and how excited I am to be back and be competing.”

For the next three weeks, the obvious goal is to win, but Rahm also wants to make sure he sticks around for the whole stretch. He’ll take it week by week to get there.

“The important one is the last one,” he said, “so it’s a bit of kind of like a qualifying few rounds where you’re just trying to get ready and get positioned for the Tour Championship.”

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Northern Trust Fantasy Golf Power Rankings

Collin Morikawa enters this week atop the season-long standings with two wins on the season.

This week’s Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey marks the beginning of the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs.

A field of 124 is in attendance with the top 70 in the season-long standings after this week advancing to the BMW Championship. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings for the 2021 Northern Trust, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.

The three-week playoff stretch will culminate with the top 30 golfers at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club Sept 2-5. Dustin Johnson is the reigning FedEx Cup (FEC) champion and winner of last season’s Northern Trust, but that victory was at TPC Boston. He begins this year’s postseason at No. 17 in the FEC standings.

Collin Morikawa enters this week atop the season-long standings with two wins on the season, including the British Open. Jon Rahm, who’s No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, is fifth in the FEC standings.

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.

2021 Northern Trust: Fantasy Golf Top 20

20. Scottie Scheffler (+3000)

Followed up a T-8 at the British Open with a 14th-place finish at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He has seven top-10 finishes against four missed cuts in 2021. His strong putting and short game will be emphasized at Liberty National.

19. Hideki Matsuyama (+4000)

Though he remains inconsistent on the greens he ranks among the field leaders in Strokes Gained: Approach per round. He tied for second against the elite field at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational prior to missing the cut at last week’s Wyndham Championship.

18. Matt Fitzpatrick (+6000)

One of the best putters on Tour this season with 0.65 SG: Putting per round. He hasn’t played at this venue before but should be a course fit.

17. Tony Finau (+6000)

Started 2021 with four top-five finishes through his first five events but has just two top-10 finishes since, both in majors. He can up his game in bigger events and his 0.38 SG: Around-the-Green per round for the season will play well here.

16. Daniel Berger (+3000)

Sixth among qualified golfers with 0.88 SG: Approach for the 2021-22 season and enters the week 20th in the FEC standings with one victory and eight top-10 finishes since the fall.

15. Bryson DeChambeau (+3000)

Tied for eighth at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational for his first top-10 finish since a T-9 at the Wells Fargo Championship in early May. He rarely gets enough credit for his excellent putting, but his short game is a weakness that could be exposed at Liberty National.

14. Harris English (+4000)

Vaulted to fourth in the FEC standings by claiming his second win of the season at the Travelers Championship and finishing fourth at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He has two other top-10 finishes through 17 events in 2021, including a third-place showing at the U.S. Open.

13. Viktor Hovland (+3000)

Has never played this venue but is a strong fit for any course with 0.79 SG: Approach per round for the season. His short game is a weakness but it hasn’t stopped him from racking up two wins and seven top-10 finishes between the PGA Tour and European Tour in the 2020-21 season.

12. Abraham Ancer (+3000)

Won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to move to sixth in the season-long points standings. He finished second in this event in 2019 while leading the field in SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Tee-to-Green.

11. Xander Schauffele (+2000)

Missed the cut here in 2019 with 1.23 strokes lost putting per round and 0.78 strokes lost around the greens. He has been much better this season in both areas and is also averaging 0.82 SG: Approach per round.

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10. Paul Casey (+3000)

Second in the field with 1.04 SG: Approach per round while adding 0.27 SG: Around-the-Green per round. Followed up a T-4 at the Olympic Golf Competition with a T-5 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and hasn’t missed a cut since the RBC Heritage in mid-April.

9. Justin Thomas (+3000)

A rare value by the betting odds after slipping to 13th in the Golfweek rankings. He has just one top-10 finish through 12 international events since winning The Players Championship. He remains excellent with the irons but his putting has been a struggle.

8. Brooks Koepka (+2000)

Tied for 30th in 2019 with 1.20 SG: Off-the-Tee per round but 0.37 strokes lost per round with the putter. Tied for 54th in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational following a stretch of four finishes of T-6 or better within five events, including three majors.

7. Webb Simpson (+3000)

Leads all golfers in this field with more than eight rounds played at Liberty National with 2.64 strokes gained on the field per round. Tied for 18th in this event with 0.91 SG: Around-the-Green per round in 2019 and led last week’s Wyndham Championship field with 2.12 SG: Approach per round.

6. Rory McIlroy (+2000)

The two-time FedEx Cup champion tied for sixth in this event en route to winning his second title in 2019. He ranked fourth among those who made the cut with 1.27 SG: Off-the-Tee per round. He enters this year’s event 26th in the FEC standings.

5. Patrick Cantlay (+3000)

Third in the FEC standings with wins this season at the Zozo Championship in the fall and the Memorial Tournament in early June. He’s averaging 0.65 SG: Approach and 0.44 SG: Around-the-Green per round for the season.

4. Dustin Johnson (+1500)

It has been a disappointing 2021 campaign for the three-time winner in 2019, but he has corrected a bit of late with a T-8 finish at the British Open and a T-10 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The reigning Northern Trust champion tied for 24th at Liberty National in 2019.

3. Jon Rahm (+900)

The No. 1 golfer in both the Golfweek rankings and the Official World Golf Ranking enters the week fifth in the FEC standings. He tied for third in this event in 2019 and leads all golfers this season with 2.17 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.

2. Jordan Spieth (+1500)

The resurgent Spieth is second in the FEC standings with one win and nine top-10 finishes this season. He tied for sixth here in 2019 with 2.09 SG: Putting per round and his short game and driver have been in much better form this season.

1. Collin Morikawa (+2000)

The British Open champ tied for fourth in the Olympics but then tied for 26th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to cap a difficult stretch of travel. He took last week off and comes to Liberty National GC better rested and still the Tour leader in SG: Approach. He tied for 52nd in his debut here as a 22-year-old in 2019.

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