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Tour Championship Preview, Picks & Analysis

By: Golfshake Editor | Mon 19 Sep 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


And then there were 30, and for everybody else the 2016 PGA Tour season is over.  The Tour Championship at East Lake brings together the last 30 standing as the FedEx Cup playoffs reach their dramatic climax with a $10m jackpot waiting at the end of it all for one lucky player.

Against all the odds, Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship to transform his season and will head to East Lake in good heart and as one of the favourites to win the big prize for the second time. The Northern Irishman has played well enough all year long but his putting has let him down time and time again. The nadir came at the US PGA Championship when his putting statistics confirmed what he already knew - that he had to do something about it.

He went away for a couple of weeks and came back with a new putter and a new putting stroke. And lo and behold, he not only holed just about everything he looked at while winning at TPC Boston but led the putting stats in every category. For McIlroy, of course, golf is all about winning majors and on that score his season has been a bitter disappointment, but winning the FedEx Cup would be some consolation for the Northern Irishman.

But then he turned up at Crooked Stick for the BMW Championship and could barely hole a putt worth the name. It's a funny old game. And while he was struggling, Dustin Johnson beat Paul Casey into second place with a wonderful performance on the greens.

I had McIlroy as a shoo-in for the FedEx Cup, but who knows which Rory will turn up at East Lake? If it's the one who beat the field at the Deutsche Bank then we could have a thrilling finish between Johnson and the Northern Irishman. If it's the one who struggled at Crooked Stick then the Dustinator is going to be just about impossible to beat.

So who else comes into the equation? After two runner-up finishes, Casey could be worth a punt. Or what about Jason Day,  Adam Scott, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson or Jordan Spieth?

Mickelson hasn't won for three years but played his part in a memorable Open Championship when he went head to head with Henrik Stenson, shot 65 in the final round and came off second best. It left him devastated, and he has struggled ever since, but it proved to him that he remains good enough to compete at the very highest level. He has had plenty of top 10 finishes in 2016 and is determined to salvage something from his season. Mickelson likes East Lake and if he can drive the ball straight then he won't be far away.

The biggest challenge to Johnson and McIlroy could come from Jimmy Walker, whose entire demeanour has changed since his victory in the US PGA Championship. He exudes confidence and he looks and plays like a major champion. The funny thing is that he'd had a thoroughly average season until winning the season's final major but now looks 10 feet tall. A huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

This time last year, Day was holing everything he looked at and was the man to beat at every tournament in which he played. His game remains as good as ever and if he starts holing putts then he will once again take some beating. One of the reasons Johnson took so long to land his first major was that his short game simply wasn't up to it, especially when the pressure was on. But he went away and worked for endless hours on both his wedge play and his putting and it resulted in him winning the US Open.

Spieth's season has been one long struggle, punctuated by the odd spell of brilliance. The two-time major champion has played well in recent weeks and it would be a foolish individual who writes him off. It hasn't been fun to see him spray so many drives off target; it would be fun to see him return to the form that took him to world number one in 2015.

To Win:

Rory McIlroy. If he putts well he wins

Each Way:

Jason Day. Looking for a big finish

Each Way:

Dustin Johnson. In the form of his life

Fantasy Picks:

Rory McIlroy. Wants a consolation prize after poor season

Jason Day. Don't be surprised to see him win

Dustin Johnson. On a different level right now

Adam Scott. Brilliant ball striker

Patrick Reed. As gutsy as they come

Jimmy Walker. Looks like a different golfer

Russell Knox. Big point to prove to Darren Clarke

Paul Casey. Two runner-up finishes - third time lucky?

Jordan Spieth. Trying to rediscover the magic

Hideki Matsuyama. As good a dark horse as you will ever find

 


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Tags: rory mcilroy PGA Tour FedEx Cup Dustin Johnson



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