The Tour Championship ended this year’s FedExCup playoffs last weekend. Rory McIlroy won the tournament with a phenomenal final round that helped him defeat Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler.
After the Tour Championship, the next event on the PGA Tour is the Fortinet Championship which begins on September 15. The Presidents Cup is also scheduled to take place this month; starting on September 22.
Rory McIlroy Wins FedExCup
Rory McIlroy won his third FedExCup last weekend after finishing the Tour Championship -21. His win included an incredible comeback on Sunday and meant he won the tournament despite Scottie Scheffler leading the event for most of the weekend.
Scheffler began the tournament with the lead due to his positioning in the FedExCup standings. When play began on Thursday Scheffler was -10, with McIlroy tied for fifth at -4.
McIlroy was seven strokes better than Scheffler across the four rounds of the tournament, and Scheffler’s 73 in the final round eventually resulted in him losing the tournament.
Throughout the year McIlroy has been fantastic. McIlroy finished second at the Masters, behind Scheffler, eighth at the PGA Championship, tied for fifth at the U.S. Open, and third at The Open. His win at the Tour Championship will help him continue his momentum into next season, where he will be a favorite to win a major tournament.
In addition, McIlroy has also worked with the PGA Tour on some of the changes the organization has made over the last few weeks in response to LIV Golf. McIlroy could be even better next year as he will have momentum over the next few months after last weekend’s win.
Presidents Cup Set To Begin in September
After the BMW Championship, the six automatic qualifiers for each Presidents Cup team were announced. The United States team has won every Presidents Cup since 2005.
Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann, two of the best players on the PGA Tour, originally qualified as members of the International Team, but after both joined LIV Golf it is unlikely either will play at the Presidents Cup. As a result, the International Team automatic qualifiers are Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim, Corey Conners, Mito Pereira, and Adam Scott.
The United States automatic qualifiers are Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Tony Finau. Will Zalatoris, who potentially would have been an automatic qualifier for the U.S. team, will miss the Presidents Cup due to an injury.
Over the next few weeks team captains Trevor Immelman and Davis Love III will decide on their captain’s picks for the tournament. Players such as Abraham Ancer, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, and several others are also unlikely to play in the Presidents Cup due to signing with LIV Golf.
The Presidents Cup is set to begin on September 22. This year’s tournament will take place at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
LIV Golf’s Fourth Event Begins This Weekend
LIV Golf will hold its fourth event this weekend. The tournament is scheduled to take place at The International just outside of Boston.
Several players will play in their first LIV Golf event this weekend. Smith, Niemann, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale, Marc Leishman, and Anirban Lahiri all joined LIV Golf this week after the end of the FedExCup playoffs.
LIV Golf will hold five events before the end of October. The series of events will end in Miami, where the first “Team Championship” will be held from October 27-30. Over the next month, LIV Golf will play tournaments in Chicago, Bangkok, and Jeddah in addition to Boston and Miami.
Next year, the LIV Golf League will expand the number of events the series plays. The new organization will compete with the PGA Tour throughout next summer as players continue to decide where to play in the future.
