2016 TOUR Championship Round Three

The TOUR Championship is the culmination of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR Season and the final event of the FedExCup Playoffs. The road to the TOUR Championship began with the top 125 players qualifying for The Barclays (won by Patrick Reed), followed by the top 100 players at the Deutsche Bank Championship (won by Rory McIlroy) and the top 70 players at the BMW Championship (won by Dustin Johnson). Each playoff event, including this week’s TOUR Championship, offers 2,000 FedExCup points to the winner.

Kevin Chappell                          66-68-68—202 (-8)

Dustin Johnson                         66-67-69—202 (-8)

Rory McIlroy                             68-70-66—204 (-6)

Ryan Moore                              70-68-66—204 (-6)

Hideki Matsuyama                     66-71-68—205 (-5)

Jason Dufner                            73-67-66—206 (-4)

Charl Schwartzel                        74-67-66—207 (-3)

Paul Casey                               68-70-69—203 (-3)

The top-five players in the FedExCup standings entering the TOUR Championship control their own destiny and will win the FedExCup title should they go on to victory at East Lake.

1                Dustin Johnson             1                                        1

2                Patrick Reed                 T20                                     3

3                Adam Scott                  T14                                     4

4                Jason Day                    WD                                     7

5                Paul Casey                   T7                                       6

A points reset took place following the BMW Championship giving all 30 players in the field at the TOUR Championship a mathematical chance to win the FedExCup.

Playing the TOUR Championship for the seventh time in his career, Dustin Johnson is tied for the lead with Kevin Chappell thru 54 holes at the season-ending TOUR Championship in search of his career-best fourth win of the 2015-16 season and his first FedExCup trophy. Johnson, who has finished 5^th and T5 in his last two starts at East Lake Golf Club (2013, 2015) is No. 1 in the FedExCup standings after a win in his last previous start at the BMW Championship. His third-round 69 marks his eighth consecutive round on the 60s, the longest active streak of players remaining from this year’s FedExCup Playoffs.

With a victory at the TOUR Championship, Johnson would have four wins in FedExCup Playoffs events, the most of any player in FedExCup Playoffs history. He would match Tiger Woods and Jason Day for most top-5 finishes in Playoffs events (9) and would move to second all-time in top-10 finishes at Playoffs events

Most top-10s in FedExCup Playoffs history:

Jim Furyk                16

Dustin Johnson       14

Steve Stricker         13

Jason Day              12

Adam Scott            12

Sergio Garcia          11

This marks Johnson’s 8th career 54-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR, and second in consecutive starts. Here’s a look at his previous leads/co-leads after two rounds.

2016 TOUR Championship                     Tie w/ Chappell              TBD                  TBD

2016 BMW Championship                      2 over Casey                 67                     Won

2015 U.S. Open                                     4-way tie                       70                     T2

2014 Tournament of Champions             Tie w/ Simpson/Spieth   73                     T6

2013 WGC-HSBC Champions                 5 over Poulter               66                     Won (3 over Poulter)

2011 WGC-Cadillac Championship         2 over three players       71                     2

2010 U.S. Open Championship              3 over McDowell           82                     T8

2010 AT&T Pebble Beach                      Tie w/ Goydos               74                     Won (1 over Duval/Holmes)

                              

If he were to go on to victory, Johnson would be the first player to enter the TOUR Championship at No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and win the event since Tiger Woods in the first FedExCup Playoffs in 2007.

With three victories this season (U.S. Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, BMW Championship), Johnson is joined by Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Russell Knox as one of the five players to capture multiple victories this season.

Johnson and Tiger Woods are the only players to win a major championship, World Golf Championships title and a FedExCup Playoffs event in the same season.

With his win at the BMW Championship, Johnson joined Rory McIlroy with the second-most wins on the PGA TOUR since 2008.

Most PGA TOUR victories since 2008:

Tiger Woods           18

Rory McIlroy           12

Jason Day              10

Phil Mickelson         10

Johnson has recorded 14 top-10 finishes in 21 starts this season, the most of any player.

Johnson’s win at the U.S. Open extended his TOUR-leading active streak of winning at least one tournament in each of his first nine seasons on the PGA TOUR.

2008        134                117                               MC (134)

2009        14                  15                                 T15 (20)      T4 (10)                    T30 (11)            27 (14)

2010        5                   11                                 T9 (6)          T57 (16)                  1 (2)                  T22 (5)

2011        4                   19                                 1 (1)            T42 (2)                    T65 (2)              T23 (4)

2012        8                   26                                 T3 (8)          T4 (6)                      T6 (7)                T10 (8)

2013        13                  16                                 CUT (22)     T27 (23)                  T62 (30)            5 (13)

2014        30                  6                                  DNP (14)     DNP (22)                 DNP (30)           DNP (30)

2015        7                   7                                  T9 (6)          T44 (8)                    T7 (7)                T5 (7)

2016                             2                                  T18 (3)        T8 (3)                      1 (1)

Scenarios for Dustin Johnson to win the FedExCup;

Kevin Chappell’s opening bogey-free 4-under 66 was Thursday’s only bogey-free opening round. He extended the streak through his first 10 holes on Friday before recording his first bogey of the week at the par-3 11^th.  That bogey, on Friday, remains the only bogey of his first three rounds. Chappell shot a third-round 69 to hold a share of the lead heading into the final round of his first TOUR Championship.

Playing in his 167^th PGA TOUR event, Chappell has twice previously held a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic at Walt Disney World where he finished T3 and the 2015 Quicken Loans National where he finished T18.

Chappell has advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for six consecutive years but this is his first appearance in the TOUR Championship. Although still looking for this maiden PGA TOUR victory, Chappell has come close to winning this season with four top-5 finishes this season.  In addition to a T3 in his debut at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Chappell recorded three runner-up finishes this season (RSM Classic, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, THE PLAYERS Championship).

Should Chappell go on to win, he would join Chad Campbell (2003), Bart Bryant (2005), Bill Haas (2011) and Henrik Stenson (2013) as players to win the TOUR Championship in their first appearance (not including Tom Watson’s win at the first TOUR Championship in 1987). He would join Campbell as the only player to make the TOUR Championship their first career PGA TOUR victory.

Scenarios for Kevin Chappell to win the FedExCup;

And…

*Tie for FedExCup

•            Wins the TOUR Championship (currently T3)

And…

•            Dustin Johnson (#1) finishes T2 or worse (currently 1^st)

•           Can finish 2nd and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup depending on the winner of the TOUR Championship

It had been a tale of two 9s for Rory McIlroy through 36 holes at the TOUR Championship. Starting the third round, McIlroy was 12 shots better on the back nine this week playing the front nine in 5-over-par and the back nine at 7-under. That changed on Saturday with McIlroy hitting 17 of 18 greens to shoot a bogey-free third-round 66 (1-under-par on the front) and finish at 6-under-par, two strokes off the lead.

Although McIlroy was victorious on the European Tour this season, heading into the FedExCup Playoffs, his last PGA TOUR victory was the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship, and he entered this year’s FedExCup Playoffs at No. 36 in the standings. To begin the Playoffs, McIlroy had recorded six top-10 finishes in 11 starts on TOUR with top-five finishes at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, Wells Fargo Championship and The Open Championship. After a T31 at The Barclays, McIlroy found his putting stroke and was able to follow an opening-round 71 with rounds of 67, 66 and 65 for a two-stroke win and his 12th PGA TOUR victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He began the final round six shots behind leader Paul Casey to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

With the victory sandwiched between two finishes outside the top 30, McIlroy enters the Playoffs Finale at No. 6 in the standings. This is McIlroy’s fourth time qualifying for the TOUR Championship in the last five years, with his best finish (T2) coming in 2014.

Rory McIlroy’s 12 PGA TOUR titles:

2010 – Wells Fargo Championship

2011 – U.S. Open

2012 – The Honda Classic, PGA Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship

2014 – The Open Championship, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship

2015 – World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, Wells Fargo Championship

2016 – Deutsche Bank Championship

Five of McIlroy’s 11 stroke-play victories on the PGA TOUR have been in come-from-behind fashion.

Year       Final Rank       Began Playoffs Rk        Barclays       Deutsche Bank     BMW            TOUR Champ

2010       36                   21                                 T56 (28)        T37 (29)               T37 (36)

2012       2                     3                                  T24 (4)          1 (1)                     1 (1)             T10 (2)

2013       50                   49                                 T19 (3)          T47 (41)               T59 (50)

2014       3                     1                                  T22 (2)          T5 (2)                   T8 (4)           T2 (3)

2015       15                   9                                  DNP (15)      T29 (17)               T4 (11)          T16 (11)

2016                             36                                 T31 (38)        1 (4)                     T42 (6)

The third-round leader/co-leader has won 19 of 29 times at the TOUR Championship including each of the last three years. The largest come-from-behind victory in TOUR Championship history is five strokes (Camilo Villegas, 2008).

Jason Dufner made a move up the leaderboard thanks to a 4-under 66 and is 4-under-par for the event.  Having endured a two-year hiatus from the season finale, Dufner returns to the TOUR Championship in 2016 thanks to five top-10 finishes and his fourth career PGA TOUR victory. Dufner took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge, but a final-round 70 opened the door for David Lingmerth, who forced a playoff after carding a bogey-free 65. Dufner made a 7-foot par putt on the first extra hole to stay alive, but once Lingmerth hit his approach in the water on the second extra hole, another par from Dufner was enough to secure the win.

Paul Casey (T7) is making his third appearance at the TOUR Championship, advancing to the season finale with two runner-up finishes, but without a victory, in each of those three seasons. This season, Casey was second at both the Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship. Last season, a T5 finish at the TOUR Championship followed playoff losses to James Hahn at the Northern Trust Open and Bubba Watson at the Travelers Championship. In 2010, Casey had runner-up finishes at the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play and BMW Championship before finishing T4 at the TOUR Championship.

Charl Schwartzel posted consecutive eagles during the third round of the TOUR Championship, at the par-5 6th hole and the par-4 7th. This is the first time in tournament history at East Lake that any player has recorded back-to-back eagles. Canadian Nick Taylor and Schwartzel are now the only players to score back-to-back eagles this season on the PGA TOUR. Taylor eagled the par-5 fifth hole at PGA WEST TPC Stadium Course during the second round of the CareerBuilder Challenge and immediately followed with a hole-in-one at No. 6.

Jason Day withdrew during the second round as a precautionary measure due to a back condition. Day’s management team released the following statement.  –  “Jason has a strained ligament in his lower right back with muscle spasm. He withdrew as a precautionary measure. Jason should be fine with some rest after a long break in the offseason.”

It is the second consecutive event in which Day has been forced to WD after also withdrawing during the final round of the BMW Championship. Day will receive last-place/unofficial money and no FedExCup points for the TOUR Championship

Seven players are making their first appearance at the TOUR Championship this week: Russell Knox, Emiliano Grillo, Justin Thomas, Kevin Chappell, Si Woo Kim, William McGirt and Jhonattan Vegas.

Here’s a year-by-year look at FedExCup winners and their performance throughout the Playoffs in the years they won:

Emiliano Grillo and Si Woo Kim are two of seven PGA TOUR rookies who have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs. Grillo, at No. 9 in the FedExCup standings, and Kim (No. 18) are the only two who advanced to the TOUR Championship. Previously, in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs, no more than one rookie in a season has qualified for the TOUR Championship.

This year, the front and back nine holes at East Lake have been reversed for the TOUR Championship, providing significantly more drama on the finishing holes from past years. The par-3 ninth hole (formerly the 18^th) played to an average score of 2.989 (-.011) during round 3, marking the first time in TOUR Championship history that the hole played under par.

Scoring Averages for the par-70 East Lake Golf Club:

Thursday                                35.933              34.967              70.900

Friday                                    35.276              34.897              70.172

Saturday                                34.345              34.931              69.276     70.116

Bogey-free rounds:

R1 – Kevin Chappell (66)

R2 – None

R3 – Kevin Chappell (68), Rory McIlroy (66), Matt Kuchar (68)