Football has a halftime.
So does basketball.
Now golf has one as well. At least the FedEx Cup Playoffs have one.
Two in the books, two to go. Time for a break. Perhaps the PGA Tour, in all its glory, didn’t want to go head-to-head with the NFL on season-opening Sunday.
More likely, these modern players don’t want to be forced to play four weeks in a row.
So now we have halftime.
Only the top 125 made the Northern Trust field two weeks ago.
Then 100 played in Boston last week at the Dell.
The weeding-out process continued with only 70 heading to Conway Farms outside Chicago in two weeks for the BMW.
So what have we learned so far after two playoff events?
Let’s take a brief look at the lessons from the past two weeks.
Jordy’s Most Consistent:
Jordan Spieth has two straight runnerup finishes. If he had won both, this thing might be close to over, but he didn’t. Still, he was in the hunt all the way or two straight weeks and as a result, he’s in the No. 1 spot in the points standings.
D.J. Looked Like The Old D.J.:
Dustin Johnson looked incredible at the Northern Trust. His mano-a-mano with Spieth over the final nine two Sundays ago was great stuff. You just don’t see that very often with two of the game’s pure superstars going at it in the final pairing. D.J. looked like the D.J. from the early part of this season. It didn’t carry over to the Dell. D.J. could only manage a tie for 18th in Boston. He’s still third in the points standings.
World’s Top Five All In The Hunt:
It’s amazing how the world rankings mirror the top five in the FedEx standings after these first two events. No. 1 D.J. is third, No. 2 Spieth is first, No. 3 Hideki Matsuyama is fourth, No. 4 Justin Thomas is second and No. 5 Jon Rahm is fifth in the point standings going into the BMW in two weeks.
Rory’s Got Work To Do:
The highest ranked player in danger of not making it to East Lake is Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, the defending FedEx Cup champion, finds himself well outside the top 30. The world’s sixth-ranked star is a lowly 51st and will need to make a big move at the BMW to crack the top 30.
Sergio, Stennie, J-Day On The Bubble:
Three big names who need a good showing at Conway Farms include Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Jason Day. Sergio is outside the top 30 at No. 34. Stenson (26) and Day (28) are inside the number but need to play well in Chicago to assure a trip to Atlanta.
Great Showing By Jon Rahm:
Jon Rahm just keeps getting more impressive the more we see him. He finished tied for third at the Northern Trust and tied for fourth at the Dell. Two top fives, nice.
Paul Casey Keeps Showing Up:
Paul Casey is a guy flying totally under the radar, yet he’s been in the thick of it these first two weeks. Casey finished solo fifth at the Northern Trust and tied for fourth in Boston. He’s sitting No. 8 on the points list. Another good week could get him into the top five going into Atlanta.
No Controversy To Be Seen:
Lastly, everything’s been pretty smooth in the playoffs so far. No controversies, no strange rulings, not much griping.
Just a lot of really, really good golf.
