The concept behind establishing the FedEx Cup playoffs was to increase the drama and add a little more excitement to what has traditionally been a quiet, seemingly uninterested winding down of the professional golf season. Whether one believes that this has been accomplished is obviously open for debate, but despite coinciding and competing with college football and the 2nd week of the NFL season – there is undoubtedly plenty of drama for the remaining 70 players competing for the $10 million prize next weekend at East Lake.
But only 30 of those 70 players will move on to the Tour Championship next week, and a few dozen notables who find themselves nearer the bottom of the pecking order than the top will certainly be feeling some added pressure to stay in the hunt this week in Chicago.
Current FedEx Cup Projected Points Standings
Playing host to the 3rd stop of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff series is Conway Farms Golf Club, situated about 5 miles west of Lake Michigan. The part-links, part-parkland blend was designed by Tom Fazio back in 1991, and although this week marks the first time the PGA Tour has ventured to Conway Farms, the club has played host to a number of high-profile Open qualifiers, collegiate and amateur events over the years. Not nearly as long as some of the more notable PGA Tour stops, the layout will test the players this week with some narrower driving lines and awkward approach angles going into the well-protected greens.
One of the notables who’s hoping to turn a suspect season around this week is Luke Donald, who finished T41 two weeks ago at the Deutsche Bank Championship and finds himself needing a strong showing this week to advance to East Lake for the Tour Championship finale. Donald, a nearby Northwestern University grad, revealed earlier this week that he’s not satisfied with where his game is and that it’s time for change. “I think someone who was at the pinnacle of the game not too long ago and is now 54th on the FedExCup, it’s been disappointing,” Donald said. “It’s been very hard this year. It’s been frustrating at times, and I’ve had to make some tough decisions.”
Photo by AP
One of those tough decisions was informing Pat Goss, the guy who recruited Donald for Northwestern back in the mid-1990’s and has been his only golf coach since, that it was time to move on. “It was a tough decision. He understood it perfectly. He’s always wanted me to be as good as I can be and make those decisions that I think will make that difference in my career. It’s just one of those things that was very tough but I felt like I had to do. I felt like if I didn’t at least try something different, I would have regrets.” Luke is now working with Chuck Cook, who also happens to be newly-crowned PGA Champion Jason Dufner’s current swing coach. Donald admits that the change won’t be easy, but feels optimistic about his game again. “I feel pretty good about where things are headed, and I’m excited about the future. This year I still have time to rescue it,” he said. “I’m going to have to do that this week, and that’s the beauty of the FedExCup. It takes one good week to kind of rescue a year. And I certainly have that opportunity this week.”
As do a handful of other players, like Rory McIlroy, Nick Watney and Bubba Watson, three of the more prominent notables who entered the season having finished solid 2012 campaigns, but have struggled with consistency much of this season.
It should be a compelling weekend of golf, at least for those of us not watching college football and the NFL, to find out who those 30 players will be.
(players quotes courtesy of the PGA Tour)
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