No Australian at Tour Championship for first time since 1998
Jason Day finished best of the Australasians in the FedEx Cup standings but missed out on Atlanta – image courtesy of USGA
Australia is without a representative in the Tour Championship for the first time since 1998, when the event gets underway at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta this Thursday.
Jason Day was the only Australian with a chance to make the field when he began this past week’s BMW Championship in Maryland in 44th position in the FedEx Cup standings. But, needing perhaps a top 5 finish this week to force his way into the top thirty who would make their way to Atlanta for the season ending event, Day could only finish 23rd this week and finished 41st in the standings.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox has had a fine second season on the PGA Tour, with two victories, and arrived at the BMW Championship in 34th place. However, by finishing 43rd this week, when perhaps needing a top 20 or better, he has ultimately finished 43rd in the standings.
Despite the disappointment of not making it to the riches of the Tour Championship, it has been a breakthrough season for Fox in so many respects and augurs well for his future on the PGA Tour.
Surprise, surprise, this week’s winner was Scottie Scheffler, who came from four shots behind Robert McIntyre in today’s final round to win by 2 over McIntyre with Maverick McNealy 3rd on his own and Tommy Fleetwood and Sam Burns in a share of 4th.
Despite being 4 over through 13 holes, a birdie at the 16th by McIntyre kept the door open for a possible late round comeback, the difference at that stage just one, but Scheffler produced the most stunning of chip-ins from off the green at the dangerous par 3 17th to establish a break that became a bridge too far for McIntyre.
So Scheffler would win his 18th PGA Tour title since his breakthrough victory in Phoenix 3.5 years ago, extend his already substantial lead in the FedEx Cup standings, and he heads to Atlanta in pursuit of a repeat of his 2024 victory.
Scheffler takes his career earnings on the PGA Tour beyond US$95 million.
