Only two tournaments left in this year’s PGA Tour Season which means there are only two events left in this year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs. This week’s BMW Championship returns to the Chicago suburbs and will host the Top 70 ranked professionals before narrowing the field to the final 30 for next week’s Tour Championship.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs have provided the golfing world with several new storylines and faces to watch. Differing significantly from the PGA Tour season, players like Henrik Stenson and Rickie Fowler are making their presence felt as they make the final push to hoist the FedEx Cup.
If you are interested in whom we believe to be the top players and sleeper picks for this week’s BMW Championship,you are encouraged to check out our Power Rankings article as well. The success rate for our pick’s has been pretty on point as we can tout that 3 out of 5 of our weekly picks this season have landed in the top 10 weekly. Aside from the fantasy aspect of the golfing world, there are still several other storylines that need to be followed. Heading into this week’s event, let’s take a look at the Top 5 Storylines of the week:
Top 5 Storylines Heading into this Week’s BMW Championship:
1: Will Rory look like Rory?
Rory McIlroy seemingly has not fully recovered from the “freak” soccer injury sustained while playing a pickup soccer game with his friends. Since the injury, Rory just has not looked like himself; the driver isn’t there and it would appear that Rory still seems tentative on the ankle. Rory’s final round at the Deutsche Bank was a 6-under round 66 and it appeared as though he understood that if he wants to continue to be in the conversation for the World’s best golfer that he better start winning. Having the benefit of a week off last week, expect Rory to come out firing and attempting to separate himself from the field from the start on Thursday.
2: Can Jordan Spieth recover from two consecutive missed cuts?
For the first time in his young career Spieth missed two cuts in a row. During the regular season, Spieth looked unstoppable. His ability to go low on nearly every course he has played has allowed Spieth to be in the Top 10 of nearly every event he has played in 2015. Winning the first two majors of the season cemented Spieth in the conversation for the best golfer of the year. Can he lock up that designation with 1 or 2 wins in the final two tournaments this season while also winning the FedEx Cup?
3: Is Rickie Fowler the guy to watch?
Prior to winning this years Players and Deutsche Bank, Rickie was labeled as the most overrated player by his peers. Ouch! Now, here we are a few months later and Fowler is in the conversation for the FedEx Cup. Could Rickie emulate Billy Horschel’s results in 2014 by winning the last 2 events to claim the Cup? With Butch Harmon in his corner, do not count out young Fowler as he has a tendency of being streaky and if he is hot now he will be hot for at least the next week.
4: Who will win? Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth or the field?
The new “Big 3” of golf are constantly being challenged by other young golfers trying to force their name into the conversation of the best in the game. Henrik Stenson has also shown that he is finally healthy after battling with injury and illness for the better part of 2015. Regardless, this is the week that Rory throws his hat back in the ring and pulls closer to Day and Spieth in the Cup standings.
5: The “Bubble”.
With only two events left this week’s field of the Top 70 golfer’s in the FedEx Cup Standings will be narrowed to 30 for next week’s Tour Championship. There are a number of notable names just outside the Top 30 including Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, and last year’s champion Billy Horschel; each of which need a Top 5 finish to have a chance of moving on. On the other side of the coin, Paul Casey, Louis Ooosthuizen and Bill Haas are on the right side of the “bubble” and need solid finishes to stay inside the Top 30. Keep an eye on this as your favorite golfer(s) may be missing during the final event of the season.
There are several other stories that will be making waves this week in Chicago – keep an eye out for Sangmoon Bae as well as he finishes up the season prior to heading to South Korea for mandated military service. Regardless of the story you are following, the field of the best 70 golfers of the year will surely provide us all with enough action and drama to keep our attention.