Aug 1, 2019
The stressful season starts for golfers on the bubble
We’ve reached the time of the golf year when lots of attention is focused on numbers and projected finishes, Bob Weeks writes.
By Bob Weeks
This week’s Wyndham Championship represents the last chance for players to make a move into the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list. It can be a high-tension, nerve-wracking week for those on the bubble.
Finishing inside that top 125 means a spot in the first stop of the playoffs and job security for 2019-20.
For that reason, it’s no surprise that golfers from Mackenzie Hughes at 103 to Ryan Blaum at 137 are in the field.
Hughes is a lock to stay within the magic number, as are four other Canadians: Corey Conners (31), Adam Hadwin (41), Roger Sloan (91) and Nick Taylor (114). That’s the most Canadians to advance to the playoffs since the season-ending system started back in 2007.
The playoffs are made up of three events, down from four in previous years. The first, the Northern Trust, includes the top 125, while the next event, the BMW Championship, includes the top 70. The Tour Championship brings together the top 30 after the first two events.
The entire FedEx Cup is a wealthy affair. There’s a $70 million bonus pull and the winner gets $15 million of that. The prize payouts extend all the way down to those finishing 126th to 150th on the FedEx Cup list, with each member of that group collecting $70,000.
There are also a handful of exemptions that come with being among the final 30 players, like a spot in next year’s Masters.
While five Canadians are assured of jobs for next season, three more are not. On the outside looking in are Adam Svensson (171), David Hearn (173) and Ben Silverman (181). Those three will have to do something special to make a leap up and advance to next week’s stop.
All three have been grinding away to find their games in time to make a move. Silverman, for example, is playing his seventh consecutive event at the Wyndham. But that’s better than Hearn who was hoping for a spot to open up in the field as he sat as the first alternate as of Thursday morning.
While they may not make the playoffs, they all must fight to stay within the top 200. Players who finish from 126-200 can play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, a three-event series that will award playing privileges for next season’s PGA Tour.
That event includes those 75 players, along with the top 75 from the Korn Ferry Tour year. There are 25 spots on next year’s PGA Tour up for grabs while the top 25 players from the Korn Ferry Tour are guaranteed to advance but will play to improve their position on the priority list.
It’s a time of year when lots of attention will be focused on numbers and projected finishes even more than on the top of the leaderboard. It can be exciting for fans, but especially unnerving to be among the bubble boys.