Cam Davis – file photo – heading to Memphis – file photo
Despite a valiant effort in round four of the Wyndham Championship, Adam Scott has narrowly missed out on a place in the FedEx Cup playoffs, the first time in his career he will not be playing the end of season events.
Scott knew he needed something very special today to improve his 81st place standing in the FedEx Cup table and finish inside the top 70 who will advance to the opening first event of the Playoffs in Memphis next week and his final round of 63 including birdies at four of his last five holes so nearly got the job done.
Scott will finish in a share of 7th place this week but in 72nd place for the season in the FedEx Cup standings and for the very first time since their inception back in 2009, he will miss the chance to tackle the Playoffs.
Matt Kuchar now remains as the only player to have made it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs every year.
When Scott was asked what his mindset was heading into today’s round knowing he needed a big day if he was to advance his cause he responded;
“I didn’t really have one, honestly. I didn’t play well on Friday and Saturday tee to green, didn’t feel amazing, so I didn’t really have any expectations. That might have been a good thing for a good score. I wish I knew what I was doing, but I don’t.”
Scott was asked before play had finished how would feel if he did in fact miss the chance to play in Memphis.
“I think I’m actually getting to the point where, you know, I’ve got to put that stuff aside and, you know, not play to keep a streak of playing Playoffs going but play to win stuff, not just be there to make the numbers up.
“So if it does end, I think it’s a good thing. I think it gives me a good chance to have a look at what I need to do differently to be more competitive in whatever competition I’m playing in.”
Cam Davis, however, needed a solid week to book his ticket to Memphis and he did just that, finishing in a share of 7th place with Scott but advancing from 69th at the start of the week to 62nd and joining Jason Day as the two Australians to make it to the Playoffs.
Davis was probably safe heading into the final round but his 66 today confirmed his immediate future.
“It’s a stressful position being right on the bubble starting the last hole of the season,” said the now US-based Sydney golfer. “But yeah, I played really solid last week to get myself inside 70 and I played really good golf this week as well.
“I wanted to just try and win the tournament and get as high up as I can, then find out at the end. So I didn’t look at the leaderboard all week, I didn’t know where I stood projection-wise, I just wanted to finish off the tournament and I knew where I finished today should be plenty.
“Very pleased with the way I held everything together and played a really good round today to finish off a nice little stretch to finish the regular season. So looking forward to the Playoffs
Each of the three Playoff events, The FedEx Cup Championship, The BMW Championship and The Tour Championship are worth at least US$20 million, ensuring a potentially lucrative finish to the 2023 season.
The tournament was won by former US Open Champion Lucas Glover who moved from 112th to 49th in the standings as a result of his 5th PGA Tour title but only his second since 2011.
