A New Name Emerges in the Hunt for the FedEx Cup

By Sam Belden

This past Labor Day, Billy Horschel succumbed to the pressure of contending in a PGA Tour event. On the 18th hole of the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, he stepped up to the tee trailing by one, looking to birdie the par four and force a playoff. Instead, he hit his ball into the water and dashed his chances of winning, settling for a three-way tie for second place.

Now, Horschel has redeemed himself in the sweetest way possible. Carrying a three stroke lead into the final round, he shot a gutsy 69 for a two shot victory at the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, the third and penultimate leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. After an inconsistent front nine that included three birdies and two bogies, he reeled off nine pars on the back, missing his share of birdie opportunities but getting it up and down each time. Ryan Palmer, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson all challenged Horschel at various points of the round, but the University of Florida graduate never relinquished his lead and watched his pursuers fall off the pace one by one; Palmer and Garcia simply ran out of gas on the back nine, while Watson failed to make enough putts on the closing holes.

This win increases Horschel’s career total to two and ensures him a big jump in the Official World Golf Ranking. The biggest perk of all, however, may come in the form of 2,500 FedEx Cup points, a sum that lifts Horschel’s season total to 4,305, good for second place on the points list. He trails only Chris Kirk, while Watson, Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan round out the top five. These are the most important names to keep an eye on; they are the only ones who will be able to control their own destiny at the season-ending Tour Championship this week.

At the conclusion of the BMW Championship, the top 30 players’ FedEx Cup point totals are adjusted to ensure that every player in the field will have a mathematical chance of winning the FedEx Cup. This system was implemented to avoid a repeat of the 2008 playoffs, when Vijay Singh won the first two events and locked up the FedEx Cup, leaving that year’s Tour Championship devoid of drama. However, while every player in the top 30 may have a shot, only the top five players can guarantee themselves the FedEx Cup by winning the tournament; every other player in the field needs help in order to pull off the feat.

In 2009, the first year that the PGA Tour used the current points system, Phil Mickelson won the Tour Championship but fell short of the FedEx Cup; he would have taken both had he started the week in the top five in points. The next two years, Jim Furyk and Bill Haas, both ranked outside the top five, needed the leaders to stumble in order to pull off the win; the most recent champions, Brandt Snedeker and Henrik Stenson, both inhabitants of the top five, took advantage of the opportunity to control their own destinies and closed their seasons in fine fashion. In short, the fact that only the top five in points can guarantee a FedEx Cup title has impacted every season played under the new points system, and more often than not, added more drama and intrigue to an already thrilling tournament.

With a huge victory now under his belt, Billy Horschel already has a lot to smile about, but can also rest easy knowing that a win at East Lake will guarantee him the FedEx Cup. Players rarely pull off back-to-back victories, but if anyone can do it, Horschel can. He is currently the only player to finish in the top two of the past two events, so his game is in the right place.

As the tour heads to the season finale, every qualifying player should feel accomplished, but not to the extent that the top five should. For them, the FedEx Cup and accompanying $10 million prize are just a victory away. Everyone else can only play well and hope that things fall their way.

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Same Belden is a Contributing Writer for The Fordham Ram.