The race for the FedEx Cup title is already heating up with only 70 players remaining in contention for the $10 million top prize. All of them will now turn their attention to the BMW Championship, the penultimate event in this year’s playoffs, where a cool $1.44 million awaits the winner.
More importantly though, 2,500 FedEx Cup points are at stake and with only 30 golfers advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship next week, competition will surely be intense once again.
Can Rory McIlroy rebound from his disappointing performance at The Barclays and restore his winning ways? Or will Hunter Mahan ride the momentum of his stunning victory last week and protect his lead at the top of the FedEx Cup rankings? Read on below for our preview of this exciting tournament. While you’re at it, check out our feature on how the Ryder Cup works as golf’s biggest team competition hits the links next month.
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2014 BMW Championship Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Cherry Hills Country Club, Englewood, Colorado
His incredible winning run might already be over with a sub-par performance at the Barclays last week but there’s no denying the fact that Rory McIlroy is still the best player in the world today and should be considered the favorite in every tournament he enters.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Such is the dominance of McIlroy (+450) that he has finished in the top-10 nine times out of the 15 events he has participated in this season. Three of those nine top-10 finishes have been victories including the year’s final two majors, the British Open and the PGA Championship.
McIlroy’s improved driving has been instrumental in his resurgence, as he’s posted a 310.2 yard average off the tee this season. As a result, his scoring has picked up as he leads the Tour in birdies (4.56) and scoring average (68.96).
Meanwhile, Hunter Mahan is one golfer who’s also on a high, after scoring the biggest win of his career at the Barclays last week. His six-under-par 65 on the final round was good enough for a two-shot win over Cameron Tringale and helped him surge to the top of the FedEx Cup rankings ahead of Rory McIlroy.
Mahan is the only golfer to play in all 29 FedEx Cup playoff tournaments to date and his streak shows no signs of ending with the way he is swinging the golf club right now. In his last three events, Mahan has led the field in greens hit. To put that into perspective, no player on tour has led the field in greens in regulation (GIR) for more than two events total. He is pegged at +3,500 to win the event.
High-Value Sleepers: Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar
If ever there was a golfer who’s due for a breakthrough, it is Jim Furyk (+2,500). He has finished second three times already this season and just last week at the Barclays, he let slip another 54-hole lead that could have given him his first win of the year.
The one thing going for Furyk, though, is that his game is in solid shape. He is sixth in the PGA Tour in driving accuracy and that provides him the platform to attack the pins and post low scores. That will be crucial especially at Cherry Hills where putting the ball on the fairway is an absolute necessity with the par-71 course going 7,466 yards long this year.
Meanwhile, Matt Kuchar showed he was back to full fitness when he finished in a tie for fifth at the Barclays last week. Kuchar, who missed the PGA Championship with a back injury, shot an 11-under-par total as he climbed to fourth in the FedEx Cup rankings.
Kuchar has been one of the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour this year having recorded 10 top-10 finishes including a victory at the RBC Heritage last April. He is fourth in scoring this season with a 69.29 average and will be a major threat at Cherry Hills next week where he is pegged at +3,000 to win.
Long Shots: Keegan Bradley and Martin Kaymer
As we near the homestretch of the 2014 PGA Tour season, it looks like Keegan Bradley (+3,500) is beginning to lose some steam. After finishing fourth in the Bridgestone Invitational, he missed the cut in the PGA Championship and finished a lowly 53rd at the Barclays last week.
Still, the Ryder Cup factor is pretty much in play here and he’ll be desperate to show American captain Tom Watson that he has the game to perform at the Ryder Cup next month. Bradley finished in a tie for 16th at this event last year and will be one of the players to watch next week.
Another star who is grasping for form heading into the Ryder Cup is Martin Kaymer, which is surprising given his dominant start to the season. Kaymer, who won the Players Championship and U.S. Open this past summer, has struggled since then, finishing 70th in the Open Championship and missing the cut in both the PGA Championship and the Barclays.
You can never discount the two-time major winner, though, from rediscovering his golf game and will be a decent bet at +3,500 to win the crown this week.
