In the midst of the profound earthquake that golf is suffering, what happens on a course is once again in the spotlight. The FedExCup playoffs kick off today after a few days filled with news about the war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
In the preview of the St. Jude Championship there has been little talk of the tournament, and it is that the trial between the two circuits and the rumors that Cameron Smith may have a contract with the Saudi ‘super league’ have made headlines in recent hours.
Finally, the action on the green will give a truce, at least four days.
The FedExCup, situation
The St. Jude Championship that kicks off this Thursday at TPC Southwind in Memphis, USA, is the first of three FedExCup playoff events.
It is the first year in which this tournament starts the playoffs, since until last season, The Northern Trust did it. The 125 best players of the year on the North American circuit will participate in this tournament (it will really be 121 before the losses of Hideki Matsuyama, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood and Lanto Griffin).
After this tournament, in which there is a court after 36 holes, only 70 golfers will reach the BMW Championship next week, and only 30 of them will be in the final event, the Tour Championship in two weeks. The champion of this last event will pocket 18 million dollars, in addition to a prestigious trophy.
A loot not bad in these times when money is the protagonist in golf. Neither Talor Gooch, nor Matt Jones, nor Hudson Swafford will be at this St. Jude Championship. Justice did not agree with these three LIV Golf players, classified for the playoffs, and on Tuesday it was ruled that they could not participate as they had previously entered the Saudi circuit.
Yes, there will be Cameron Smith, who arrives as second classified in FedEx and in the midst of rumors that the Australian would already have a closed contract with LIV. In his press conference on Tuesday, the British Open winner threw balls out.
The earthquake that golf is experiencing is great, and the atmosphere is rarefied in Memphis. Jon Rahm will also participate, who last night announced that on August 5 he had become a father for the second time. Shortly after the birth of his first offspring, Kepa, the one from Barrika lifted the US Open.
Now, Rahmbo wants to dedicate his second child, Eneko, to a new triumph. The Spaniard arrives at these FedExCup playoffs in 16th place and far from his best level, having had an irregular season, in which he only won the Mexican Open and in the majors he was always very far from winning.
Despite this, Rahm has shown many times already that he has the quality to overcome losing streaks, and he wants to take away the bad taste in his mouth from last year, when he was second in these playoffs to a stroke of the final winner, Patrick Cantlay.
At 7:44 p.m. this Thursday, Rahm’s career begins, the only Spaniard alive in the playoffs, at this St. Jude. The American Scottie Scheffler arrives in Memphis leading the FedEx ranking after his unstoppable 2022, in which he has added up to four victories.
His advantage over the rest is great, more than 1,000 points over the second classified. However, in the playoffs everything can change from one week to the next, since the points distributed in each of the first two events are four times those given in the regular season (2,000 to the winner, while in a daily tournament are 500).
For example, if Rahm wins this week, he could even jump to second place. The show begins and, for four days, what happens at the TPC Southwhind will be the important thing in the golf planet.
