The final event before the beginning of the FedExCup playoffs takes place this weekend when the Wyndham Championship begins. Multiple players will attempt to earn enough points in the FedExCup standings this weekend in order to qualify for next week’s event.
Tony Finau’s back-to-back victories over the last two weeks will mean he heads into August confident ahead of the FedExCup playoffs. This weekend will begin an exciting month of golf, with the Tour Championship starting on August 25.
Tony Finau Wins Rocket Mortgage Classic
Finau had an incredible week at the 3M Open, winning the tournament after entering the final day well behind the tournament’s lead. His solid play continued last weekend, as he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He finished five strokes ahead of Cameron Young, Taylor Pendrith, and Patrick Cantlay, who finished in a tie for second. Finau’s back-to-back victories were his third and fourth wins on the PGA Tour during his career.
Since last season, Finau has had consistent success on the PGA Tour. He is now 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking heading into August. In addition, Finau passed Jordan Speith in the competition to automatically qualify for the United States Presidents Cup team.
It is exceptionally likely Finau will be a member of this year’s team at the Presidents Cup even if Spieth eventually earns automatic qualification over him. It would be the second consecutive time Finau was a member of the U.S. team at the tournament, and the fourth time he would be a member of the United States team at the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.
Finau wasn’t in contention to win any of this year’s major tournaments, but he has played well all year. Next year, he should be well positioned to be one of the PGA Tour’s best players and to compete to win his first major tournament.
Wyndham Championship
The Wyndham Championship takes place this weekend with one week remaining before the FedExCup playoff begins. This weekend’s tournament will be highlighted by several players hoping to qualify for the playoffs.
Will Zalatoris and Billy Horschel are the only two players in the Top 15 of the World Golf Ranking that will participate in this week’s tournament. Zalatoris has played extremely well in each of this year’s major tournaments. The first tournament Zalatoris played after the end of The Open was last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he finished tied for 20th, and this weekend will give him another opportunity to prepare for the playoffs.
This weekend will be the first time Horschel has played in a tournament since The Open, where he finished tied for 21st. Horschel missed the cut at both the Scottish Open in July and the U.S. Open in June, but won the Memorial Tournament at the start of the summer.
However, the main focus this weekend will be on the players attempting to ensure they will make the FedExCup playoffs. Players who departed the PGA Tour earlier this year for LIV Golf, who are no longer eligible for the playoffs, have already made a major impact on who could qualify for next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Players such as Webb Simpson, who was announced as an assistant captain for this year’s Presidents Cup team earlier this week, Rickie Fowler, and Cameron Champ are all hoping to play well this weekend in order to reach the playoffs.
While the tournament doesn’t feature any of the Top 10 players in the world, it will still have an important impact on how the rest of the season unfolds. Over the course of the weekend, the competition to determine who qualifies for this year’s FedExCup playoffs will be interesting to watch.
Important Tee Times for the Wyndham Championship
The Wyndham Championship begins at 6:50 a.m. EST on Thursday morning when Nick Watney, John Huh, Vince Whaley, Scott Brown, Tommy Gainey, and Doc Redman all begin their weekends.
Webb Simpson tees off alongside Davis Love III, and Kevin Kisner at 7:45, with Will Zalatoris, Sungjae Im, and J.T. Poston set to follow at 7:56 a.m. 11 minutes later, at 8:07 a.m., Cameron Champ begins his tournament alongside Chad Ramey and Sung Kang.
Fowler and Horscel both begin their tournaments in the afternoon. Fowler is set to tee off at 12:49 p.m. alongside Stewart Cink, who also hopes to play well this weekend to ensure he qualifies for the playoffs, and Lucas Glover. Horschel will play with Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry during the first two days of the tournament.
This weekend’s tournament will feature several players hoping to ensure they continue to play in some of the PGA Tour’s most important tournaments throughout the rest of this month. The FedExCup standings will be the main focus throughout the course of the weekend.
