The race for the FedEx Cup crown is definitely heating up with only 70 players remaining in the hunt for the $10 million top prize. All of them will now turn their attention to the BMW Championship where a cool $1.485 million awaits the winner. More importantly though, 2,000 FedEx Cup points are at stake in this event and with only 30 golfers advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship next week, the battle for the remaining spots will surely be intense once again.
Who will emerge victorious in this world-class event? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this exciting tournament and while you’re at it, you can check out our sleeper picks for the BMW Championship.
Jason Day was sent crashing back to earth at the Deutsche Bank Championship, finishing in a tie for 12th with a six-under-par total of 278. That being said, Day (+600) still enters the BMW Championship as the overwhelming favorite because of his outstanding form this season. Day already has nine top-10 finishes this season. He has also won three of his last five PGA Tour starts.
[sc:Golf240banner ]It isn’t far-fetched to see Day return to winning ways at the BMW Championship this week as he has fared extremely well at Conway Farms before. He finished tied for fourth the last time this tournament was contested in this golf course. Look for Day to rack up the birdies in this event this week.
Day’s game might be on the rise but the same can’t be said about the current play of Jordan Spieth who is in the midst of a horrific slump. Spieth shot rounds of 75 and 73 in the Deutsche Bank Championship to miss the cut by three shots. That’s the first time Spieth has missed consecutive cuts in his career. To further illustrate Spieth’s woes at the Deutsche Bank Championship, he ranked 96th in the field in strokes gained putting and made 11 bogeys in just 36 holes of golf.
That being said, you can’t rule out the reigning Masters and US Open champion from contending at the BMW Championship this week. Spieth (+800) has been on fire this entire season, finishing in the top-10 in 13 of his 23 starts this year. He already has four tournament wins this year, grabbing victories at the Masters, US Open, Valspar Championship and John Deere Classic. With Spieth’s playoff batteries recharged following a rare off-week in the PGA Tour, expect the world No. 2 to be firing on all cylinders this coming weekend.
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High-Value Sleepers – Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka
One golfer who’s having a solid season this year is Patrick Reed (+3,500). The 25-year-old has finished in the top-25 in 12 of his 25 starts this year, including a dramatic victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions last January. Reed will head to this week’s event with momentum on his side following a fourth-place finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier this month. Powering Reed’s success this year has been his incredible putting. He is 13th in the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting with a .530 average. That will come in handy when traversing the tricky greens of the Conway course.
Another American who’s making waves in the PGA Tour this season is Brooks Koepka. He has recorded six top-10 finishes in the PGA Tour this year, including a victory at the Phoenix Open last January. He also made his mark in the majors this season, finishing fifth at the PGA Championship just last month.
Key to Koepka’s ascent this season has been his phenomenal driving. Koepka is a big hitter who is averaging 309.1 yards off the tee, ranked eighth overall on the PGA Tour. Thanks to that extreme length, Koepka is now sixth in the PGA Tour in scoring with a solid 69.629 average. That tremendous power will be crucial for Koepka when tackling the 7,198-yard, par-71 Conway Farms golf course. With the form that he is in right now, expect Koepka (+5,000) to post some low numbers this week.
Long Shot – Ryan Palmer
Ryan Palmer’s golfing woes continued earlier this month when he finished in a tie for 65th at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Palmer has now finished outside the top-40 in four of his last five starts. He will need to up his game at Conway Farms if he is to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship next week.
He will fancy his chances of doing just that as he has fared extremely well in this tournament before. He finished tied for fourth in this event last year, carding a nine-under-par total of 271. Palmer (+8,000) may be struggling for form at the present time but don’t be surprised to see him contend this weekend at the BMW Championship.
