An $18 million Viktory, fan gambling, Ryder Cup picks

Check in each week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the most popular matters within the sport, and be a part of the dialog by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, our crew discusses Viktor Hovland’s runaway Tour Championship win, the brand new FedEx Cup Playoffs, playing at PGA Tour occasions and the U.S. Ryder Cup crew.

1. Viktor Hovland blew away the competitors on the Tour Championship, ending at 27 underneath to win the FedEx Cup title by 5 and declare the $18 million high prize. This, thoughts you, additionally follows his final-round 61 and win on the BMW Championship every week in the past. So, what on this planet has gotten into Viktor Hovland?

Ryan Barath, senior editor, gear (@rdsbarath): For Viktor, I feel it merely comes all the way down to studying how you can turn out to be an expert golfer. Now I notice that doesn’t make a ton of sense, however for context, he talked about lately that what has helped his brief sport much more than bettering his method was bettering his misses. Rather than be hyper-aggressive and shortside himself he’s selecting smarter targets, inserting himself in higher spots across the inexperienced and going again farther off the tee. At the best degree, these misses add up, and decreasing these small errors has made an enormous distinction. On high of that he’s gained driver distance from velocity coaching and alongside the best way improved his financial institution stability too.     

James Colgan, information and options editor (@jamescolgan26): I don’t assume something has gotten into Viktor Hovland. As finest I can inform, probably the greatest youthful gamers on the planet simply gained the largest occasion of his younger life. It’ll be solely a matter of time till we’re asking the identical factor on the finish of a serious championship. He severely is simply THAT good.

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): For Viktor, it’s often been about his brief sport. He’s at all times been a superb ball-striker, however the remaining has held him again, and he hasn’t been shy to confess that. Last week he was twenty second in SG: across the greens and 2nd in SG: placing. At East Lake, he was twentieth and 1st. But what’s actually obvious the previous couple of weeks is his confidence, and people shut calls at the moment are turning into wins. He stated it nicely himself on Sunday evening: “Before it felt like, Man, I have to not give up any shots to shoot a good round of golf. However, now that’s not true anymore. I can hit one bad and I can get up and down and move on and birdie the next three and then suddenly we’re right there.”

2. Now that the primary 12 months of the (barely) new-look FedEx Cup Playoffs is within the books — with 70 making the primary cease, 50 on the subsequent and 30 on the Tour Championship — what did you assume? Do you want this format higher than 125 making the playoffs? What would you alter?

Barath: I feel this 12 months has been a giant enchancment from a drama perspective, and actually created a necessity for high gamers to play extra usually, particularly in much less in style occasions. If I had it my approach I’d tighten it up much more to simply the highest fifty and lower 10 gamers after every of the primary two occasions main as much as the Tour Championship. I need to see the highest 50 actually go at it and I feel having the playoffs begin at 50 would make later season occasions matter much more for these on the bubble.

Colgan: Seventy, 125, who cares? Sure, it improves the standard of the product marginally, but it surely doesn’t change the truth that the FedEx Cup is by far the least compelling “postseason” in professional sports activities.

Berhow: I didn’t discover an excessive amount of of a distinction from this 12 months to final, which could be to say it’s very easy to neglect they went from 125 to 70. I’m going to attend till I see how the brand new fall sequence shakes out earlier than I make any massive conclusions right here, though for starters I want we may have issues keep the identical for only a bit longer. The fixed change — though a few of it’s compelled by way of LIV, and many others. — is exhausting to maintain up with. Even for media members!

3. After Max Homa had a putt interrupted by a fan who was playing on the motion on the BMW Championship, different execs weighed in on the subject final week at East Lake. (“It happens more often than you think,” stated Jon Rahm.) The PGA Tour has made main efforts over the previous couple of years to include the fast-growing sports-betting business into the motion, however do you see this being a long-term drawback? And, extra importantly, is there a solution to repair it?

Barath: I feel long run that this might turn out to be a HUGE concern for the PGA Tour as playing turns into far more mainstream. Rather than be a reactionary sport, there may be a variety of time for gamers to face over pictures and lots of people round to create chaos. I feel the one solution to repair it might be a ZERO tolerance coverage and big fines for individuals who don’t abide by the spectator coverage. I hope we by no means get to the purpose the place, underneath the foundations, a golfer has to or will get to re-hit a shot due to an enormous disturbance brought on by a spectator.

Colgan: Maybe this can be a contact fatalistic of me, however I actually imagine we’ll in the future look again on the proliferation of sports activities playing the best way we now do with cigarettes. The suggestion that skilled sports activities can by some means keep away from working afoul of the dangers of playing whereas concurrently embracing sportsbooks as a major piece of their enterprise is ridiculous. That’s not simply professional golf — however throughout all of professional sports activities. Distractions throughout the course of play are solely the start of it. 

Berhow: There’s no nice solution to accomplish each. Sports playing is right here to remain, and there’ll at all times be an over-served fool who screams at gamers and really thinks the opposite followers round them might be entertained by their childishness. If there was an apparent reply we’d have it by now. Golf, the place silence is required throughout essential moments, is in a tricky spot and an apparent outlier among the many main sports activities. But it begins by being higher spectators and completely banning those who aren’t.

4. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson will finalize his crew with six captain’s picks on Tuesday, which means the Tour Championship was a handful of gamers’ closing audition. Keegan Bradley completed eleventh within the standings but nonetheless was usually talked about as a participant who could be left off. So is Sam Burns, who gained the WGC-Match Play this season and completed twelfth within the standings. Both completed T9 in Atlanta this week. How a lot inventory will Johnson put in Tour Championship performances?

Barath: Overall, the Tour Championship is probably going solely going to play a really small consider Johnson’s picks, and it’s going to come back down to statistical data and up to date type.

Keegan has confirmed to be a robust matchplay golfer, and I feel his play this season and end at East Lake warrants a choose for the Ryder Cup crew.  

Colgan: I feel there’s some inventory to be positioned in current type, however the greatest benefit will come when ZJ is evaluating these two to, say, Justin Thomas, who spent this weekend watching alone from dwelling. When the margins are so skinny, these are the kinds of issues that may assist make up a captain’s thoughts. 

Berhow: Even although Keegan didn’t play as nicely on Sunday his 54 holes earlier than that clearly helped his possibilities. If both of them would have completed twentieth or worse in a subject of 30, it might have made it simple for ZJ. Now? Not a lot.

5. Let’s hold this straightforward: Who must be the six picks come Tuesday? And who would be the final man out?

Barath: Picks: Brooks Koepka, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Lucas Glover, Jordan Spieth, Cam Young.

My final man out goes to sound a little bit far-fetched but it surely must be Russell Henley. The man is constant as you get (with out successful that usually) and on a good golf course when you must hit fairways and greens — particularly in alternate-shot he can be my choose.

Colgan: Koepka, Spieth, Bradley, Morikawa, Fowler and … Denny McCarthy. Yeah – I do know that final one is a little bit of a darkish horse, however the U.S. has wanted a participant of his placing and restoration expertise on European soil for 20 years. Give Denny a shot to show he belongs!

Berhow: Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler, which implies Fowler (who completed thirteenth within the standings), would leapfrog Burns, who was twelfth. That places Burns because the odd man out, however I don’t assume there’s an opportunity Fowler is left off and I feel Keegan actually helped himself on the Tour Championship. You may argue Cam Young didn’t even make it to East Lake, however ending ninth within the standings like he did, I feel that was sufficient already. (As for JT, nicely, see under.)

6. Two in style American gamers sit exterior of the highest 12: Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas. If you may solely take one, whom are you deciding on?

Barath: I’m taking Rickie. Other gamers all like him, and in contrast to JT, his placing stats are good.

Colgan: Fowler and I don’t assume it’s significantly shut. Ultimately, JT is the higher participant, however Rickie has performed the higher golf during the last 12 months. A choose for JT can be a personality choose all the best way, and I are likely to lean within the route of those that have earned it with their play.

Berhow: Fowler. I had extra confidence that Thomas can be on this crew a few weeks in the past, however this isn’t a good time of 12 months to be absent. While JT has been out of sight and out of thoughts, others have made their case and, in my thoughts, must be rewarded. Thomas has been nice in these occasions, however his play this summer time has not been.