Rahm, who has won four times on the PGA Tour, including at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last month, said the new playoffs may be too tough for some players. “I think that’s kind of crazy,” Rahm said. “I think it’s a little bit extreme, to be honest with you. I think that’s a little overboard for a guy that works hard and works well, and has been playing well, and just tries to win. I don’t think it’s that extreme, but I think it can be improved.”
The Northern Trust links to a page that has a piece by Jon Rahm, the top ranked player on the PGA tour, who was recently quoted as saying that the FedEx Cup format is “unfair” and that it “takes away” from the players. Rahm also said that people can “make a lot of money” by following the course schedule that has been set up for this week.
The Northern Trust Open, a PGA Tour event, is in full swing, and the leading players are doing their best to get a leg up on the field. One player who has been particularly impressive is Jon Rahm, a 20-year-old from Spain. Although he has only played seven events in his career, he has finished in the top 10 in six of them, including a win at the RBC Heritage earlier this year.. Read more about fedex cup and let us know what you think.
NEW JERSEY CITY — Jon Rahm has played in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs enough to be familiar with the process.
And he isn’t happy about it.
“I don’t believe it’s fair,” Rahm said after leading Tony Finau by one stroke after 36 holes at the Northern Trust, the first of three playoff events that culminate in two weeks at the Tour Championship.
Rahm, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, is fifth in FedEx Cup points and would take over first place if he won the event. If he wins the BMW Championship next week, he will have a commanding lead in the FedEx Cup standings.
However, it would only offer him a little edge in Atlanta the following week, when the top 30 players are reset based on their points position. The top player begins at 10 under par, while the second player begins at 8 under par, and so on down to the lowest five players, who all begin at even par.
In its third year, the system reflects what would have been a points distribution and enables for a single winner of the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup. Previously, the Tour Championship had a winner, with a separate FedEx Cup winner possible.
“I don’t like it at all,” said Rahm, who has gone 36 holes at Liberty National without making a bogey. “No. I believe you have the playoffs on your hands, and if you win the first two and don’t play well in the third, you may wind up with a disappointing ending.
“I’m not fond of it.” I’m familiar with the system. And, according to one of the PGA Tour officials, if I’m a Patriots supporter and the Patriots win everything to get to the Super Bowl but don’t win it, I don’t receive the Lombardi trophy, right?
“My response was that they still came in second. They must realize that golf is not like other sports.”
Rahm, who is from Spain and went to Arizona State, is well-versed in football, as well as American sports in general. With the exception of home field advantage, the club with the best record in the regular season has no significant advantage over its opponent in the playoffs.
To reiterate Rahm’s argument, a golfer might win every event during the year and yet still have a 2-stroke lead at the Tour Championship.
The circuit has attempted to strike a balance between allowing for some uncertainty during its playoff events while still rewarding players for a successful season. At the Northern Trust, for example, Collin Morikawa didn’t make the cut. The Open Championship champion, who is now ranked No. 1 in FedEx points, is expected to slip to No. 6 in the coming weeks.
Regardless of his performances, he will comfortably qualify for both the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. He may be done in a real playoff, but the tour wants players who had good years to be in Atlanta.
“I realize that’s for TV reasons and excitement and simply to make it more of a winner-take-all situation, and they give you a 2-shot lead, but it can be gone in two holes over four days,” Rahm said. “I’m not sure which system is the greatest.” In the sense of knowing where you stand and what you have to do, I like coming to East Lake with this new one. There were so many potential permutations of what might happen in previous years. It was difficult to keep your mind on one subject.
“But I don’t believe it’s a fair system in that sense right now,” she says, “but it’s the one we have to live with.”
For the time being, Rahm can only focus on the event at hand, and although he has reached 12-under 130 thanks to a combination of brilliant strokes and tremendous saves, he still has his hands full.
“‘I hit my fair share of poor shots today, believe it or not,” Rahm said. “I was able to save a few of nice ones, just like yesterday. I’m certainly going to have to fix up a few of those errors before the weekend.”
Finau shot a 64 with a bogey on the last hole as he attempts to earn a place among the 30 players who will compete in the Tour Championship at the conclusion of the season, as well as bolstering his chances of making another Ryder Cup squad.
Xander Schauffele, an Olympic gold winner, matched his PGA Tour personal best and the course record at Liberty National with a 62, and was in the group at 10-under 132 with Justin Thomas (69) and Keith Mitchell (64).
Thomas, who was tied for the lead after 18 holes with Rahm, couldn’t figure out which direction the ball was going, making four bogeys in eight holes before closing with a 5 under par five, including an eagle at the par-5 eighth, to remain in contention.
Mitchell began his round by making six consecutive birdies, a sequence that ended on the 18th hole as he approached the turn. He needed two shots to get out of a deeper bunker on No. 7 and made double bogey before closing with two birdies. Mitchell, who is ranked No. 101 in the FedEx Cup, is playing for a spot among the top 70 players who will compete in the BMW Championship next week.
Jordan Spieth matched the course record with a 62 after making consecutive eagles — he holed out from the fairway on the par-4 fifth and nailed a shot from the edge of the lake on the par-5 sixth. Along with Brooks Koepka, he was now four strokes behind (64).
After a bogey on the first hole, Spieth began the day concerned about making the cut. He finished in a tie for 10th place, and he believes he had the best luck in the field with those eagles.
“You go for a run when things are going good, right? When you gain momentum, the ball finds the cup, and when things aren’t going well, it bounces in the opposite direction,” he said. “”Right now, I feel like I’m on the right side of some momentum, and all I have to do is keep it going.”
Others have reached the end of their season. Adam Scott, who missed a 4-foot putt in a playoff last week that would have won the Wyndham Championship, scored a 75 to miss the cut by one stroke. In the FedEx Cup, he was one of 28 players outside the top 70 who didn’t make the cut.
This article was written with the help of the Associated Press.
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