FedExCup Playoffs: The Northern Trust

After his maiden PGA Tour title at Liberty National, Tony Finau elevated himself to the number one spot in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup rankings now move on to the BMW Championship.

Quadruple FedExCup points were on offer at Liberty National, and while Finau took full advantage, some other huge names in the world of golf saw their seasons end at The Northern Trust. English trio Ian Poulter, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrell Hatton, former world number 1s – Australian duo Adam Scott and Jason Day, and American’s Bubba Watson and Zach Johnson, were amongst those unable to progress to Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland.

Finau shot a stunning 65 on the Monday, the lowest round in the field and the relief at finally winning his maiden PGA title wasn’t hard to spot. Near the end of the press conference following his victory, the relief became even more apparent when he was asked if he had been absorbing unfair criticism for his victory drought.

“Yeah, no question, I think a little bit of it,” he said. “But that’s how it is in sports — when you don’t seal the deal, as time goes on, they don’t give you the benefit of the doubt. So I knew for me, I needed to prove people wrong by winning. That’s the bottom line, and that’s what sports are all about.”

Confidence

You would never have known by watching Finau play that this week’s victory was his maiden Tour title. He has always carried himself with the kind of confidence the winners do, but then again, having such incredible power off the tee would give most players a surge of confidence as they swagger down the fairway.

Finau had an incredibly rational take on what had just happened, speaking to the press afterwards.

“I knew that I was close; the way that I play on Sundays tells me that I’m close, and when I look at my scores, I’ve made clutch putts. Sometimes, this game is funny. Guys get away with shots or whatever the case. I feel like I’ve got the short end of the stick, for the most part, coming down the stretch and having a chance to win a golf tournament. This time, I was able to capitalize when I needed to, and I got the breaks when I needed them, so I ended up on top this time,”

Tony Finau wasn’t the only player who had a great Sunday. Keith Mitchell found three consecutive birdies on the final three holes to jump 38 places in the FedEx standings to 63.

“I was pretty down on myself in the middle of the 15th fairway and to be standing here getting up and down on 15 for par and then birdieing the last three holes to play next week, it took a lot of, I guess just calming my nerves and trying to remember that this is it. I’ve got three holes left to keep playing, or I’m going home,” said Mitchell. He ended up tied 8th for the tournament. “I just decided to stick with it, and really, that putt on 18 just sealed the deal.”

Mitchell’s late flurry meant Matthew Wolff was bumped to number 71, the first man on the wrong side of the cut line. Wolff began the season in great form with runner-up finishes at the 2020 U.S Open and 2020 Shriners, but he has only had two top-20 finishes in 14 events throughout 2021. It has been a difficult season for Wolff, having taken a mid-season sabbatical to manage his mental health.

Movers

The two biggest movers in the race for the FedEx Cup were Tom Hoge and Alex Noren, who tied 4rth at Liberty National. Hoge jumped from 108th to 48th while Noren jumped 48 positions into the number 43 spot.

Phil Mickelson rode his luck, missing the cut at Liberty National, but his season will run for at least one more wee. Mickelson sits at Number 70 in the standings following The Northern Trust, meaning he was the final player to make it to The BMW Championship.

Here are the 70 players remaining in the FedEx Cup and advancing to The BMW Championship: