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The FedEx Playoffs have reached their zenith, with only the season-ending Tour Championship left to play. But that is not for another week, and since only two Bulldogs moved into the top 30 cut line, I’ll take a bit of time this week to tell you how everyone else finished up.
Here’s a quick table on Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), FedEx Cup Playoff Ranking, and Prize Money earned during the 2015-16 wrap-around season on the PGA Tour.
Player OWGR FedEx Money
Harris English 63 47 2,014,283
Chris Kirk 72 54 1,762,355
Brian Harman 118 53 1,299,801
Russell Henley 101 87 1,228,347
Hudson Swafford 191 64 1,027,314
Erik Compton 524 173 247,903
Brendon Todd 324 212 75,772
Lee McCoy 509 N/A 0
**Apologies for the “table”. The new editor for SBNation has me befuddled.
Though they are ranked above in order of prize money, that does not give the same ranking in either OWGR or FedEx. The OWGR is based on a 2 year system, whereas the FedEx Cup was solely in the 2015-16 season (more recent). And the tournament itself dictates how much prize money is available (wide variance), how many FedEx Cup points available (wide variance), and more recent tourneys are weighted more than older ones for the OWGR. So it’s good to take a look at all three.
For example: Harris English has a higher world golf ranking, finished higher in FedEx Cup points, and made more money that Chris Kirk (neither was shabby), and that makes sense. But take example Russell Henley who has a higher OWGR than either Brian Harman or (significantly) Hudson Swafford, but finished well back of both of them in FedEx points, and yet made more money than Swafford and fairly comparable to Harman. That means Henley didn’t finish well during the playoffs, but had a steady current year similar to Harman, and had a much better previous year than Swafford. So you need to take all three into account to get the state of their game.
Quick notes on the two bottom dwellers. First, Lee McCoy doesn’t have status on Tour, but played in four events through sponsors exemptions. He didn’t make a cut as a pro, and will be going to Qualifying School and minor tours in order to try to qualify for full-time Tour status. Heck, he just graduated in May! But Brendon Todd is a veteran Tour member who just had a horribad and terri-awful year (h/t chuckdawg).
Some other news of note concerns Swafford. This is the first time inside the top 200 of the world, and he had a phenomenal summer and playoff run. If he plays the fall tourneys well, he has a good chance to qualify for more majors and invitationals in 2017, which only accelerates your chances to move up rankings, etc. And Erik Compton: to be honest, I think he’s lost his status on Tour. But he can likely get into the web.com tour if he continues his professional career, and might get an exemption or two. Just 2 years removed from almost capturing the US Open at Pinehurst, he has tumbled down the world rankings and just hasn’t been competitive in the last 20 months.
Kevin Kisner and Bubba Watson are the two former ‘Dawgs who made it to the Tour Championship held September 22-25, so I’ll give you some data on those guys next week. As a Ryder Cup update, Captain Davis Love III has named three of his four captains picks: JB Holmes (Kentucky), Rickie Fowler (OkSt), and Matt Kuchar (GT). With one more pick remaining, the smart money says Bubba Watson will be named if he’s even halfway competitive in the Tour Championship, but that won’t be finalized until a week from Sunday.
If you want to hear about the current slate of undergrads, Mr. Sanchez has been giving updates on the fall season both here and here. Leave any questions in the comments below, and I’m glad to research what I can. And as always...
GO ‘DAWGS!!!!