Lucas Glover goes back-to-back, Tommy Fleetwood close again - Five things we learned from FedEx St Jude Championship
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Updated 16/08/2023 at 10:10 GMT
We have reached the business end of the PGA Tour season and an unfamiliar name continues to dominate proceedings as we build towards the season finale. Lucas Glover took the title at the FedEx St Jude Championship to back up his win at the Wyndham Championship, as the 43-year-old's golden summer continues. Meanwhile, it was another near-miss for Tommy Fleetwood.
'I'd tell you you're crazy' - Glover reflects on FedEx St. Jude Championship win
Lucas Glover is the hottest player in golf right now
You only had to look at Lucas Glover’s sweat-stained clothing to see that he was generating a bit of heat in Memphis.
After sinking a couple of clutch putts during Sunday’s final round he was also seen dunking his hands into an ice bucket in a bid to beat the heat.
But all jokes aside, he is clearly the in-form player in the world having added the first FedExCup play-offs tournament to the Wyndham Championship title he captured the previous week.
The 43-year-old had been enduring a season to forget with multiple missed cuts before he switched to a long putter back in June.
That has since inspired three top-six finishes in addition to his two victories and with his sixth career win, he is the first player over 40 to have won consecutive PGA Tour titles since Fiji’s Vijay Singh in 2008.
“I mean, if you would have told me this three months ago, I'd tell you you're crazy. But at the same time, if you asked me legitimately did I think I was capable, I'd say yes, even then,” he said following his latest success. “It's just one of those sad ways athletes are wired. We always believe in ourselves no matter how bad it is.”
To underline his red-hot form, he has risen from 119th in the Official World Golf Ranking to 30th and banked US$4.96m in winnings in the last fortnight alone. Could he also scoop the US$18m bonus for the season-long title?
FedExCup Rankings race intensifies
The battle for the FedEx St Jude Championship title was only part of the story in Memphis, with the sport’s elite also trying to stay alive in the battle for the overall title.
The top 70 teed it up last week in the knowledge that only the top 50 would progress to the second play-off event - the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields.
Qualification would bring with it the added bonus of automatic entry into the eight Signature Events scheduled for 2024.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Australia’s Cam Davis made the most significant moves, doing enough to climb into the top 50 in the rankings and extend their seasons for at least another week.
That came at the expense of Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes and American Nick Hardy who slipped out of the all-important top 50.
The competition intensifies once again in Illinois with only the top 30 finishers earning an invite to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Jon Rahm still leads the ranking despite a T37 finish in Memphis, thanks largely to his four previous wins this season. He is followed by Scottie Scheffler after he finished T31, while Rory McIlroy closed the gap on the top two with a T3 place. The in-form Glover climbed to fourth place in the rankings with his latest win.
A reminder that the final 30 players will be rewarded for their ranking position at the Tour Championship in the form of their starting score. For example, the leader will start at 10-under-par, second at 8-under-par, third at 7-under-par, the fourth at 6-under, and the fifth at 5-under.
Fleetwood’s day will surely come soon
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood is still without a PGA Tour win having once again flirted with his first tour title.
A third-place finish in Memphis was his fifth top-10 finish in his last six starts and while not as agonising as his sudden death play-off loss to Nick Taylor at the Canadian Open back in June, this latest near-miss will add to his frustration.
"It's better than being nowhere near," insisted Fleetwood post-round. "Of course, it's frustrating, but I think I have to look at it in a positive way, be proud of the golf I'm playing and the work that we're doing.
"I haven't done loads wrong, and I'm feeling very, very comfortable. It's just trusting that it will happen and keep playing my game."
His impressive run of form means he is 10th in the rankings and a lock-in for both the BMW Championship and Tour Championship where he may finally get the job done.
Spieth remains a man of the people
Jordan Spieth has long been a fan-favourite with his on-course emotion and honesty having entertained us all many times over the years.
His popularity will have soared once again during the FedEx St Jude Championship after another memorable exchange with one of his many fans.
After hitting his tee shot on the 16th during Sunday’s final round, Spieth pulled out a sandwich before a fan asked him, ‘Having a little snack?’
Without missing a beat, Spieth offered him half, before checking if the contents were to his liking.
As he handed over a slice of his sustenance, no doubt saving his new-found friend a few dollars at the concession stand, another famous chapter had been written in the legend of Spieth.
Morikawa is fighting for more than one cause
A first victory since the 2021 Open Championship and keeping alive his Tour Championship hopes were not the only things occupying Collin Morikawa’s mind this past week.
LIke many, he was left shocked and stunned by the deadly wildfires that have ravaged Maui in Hawaii and specifically Lahaina where he has particularly strong links.
His father’s side of the family grew up in the region and he has pledged to do his bit to help the relief efforts.
“It's devastating what we've been able to … what we've been seeing. The before-and-after photos are just heartbreaking, knowing that my entire dad's side of the family grew up there,” Morikawa told reporters last week.
“My grandparents were born in Lahaina. We had the restaurant out there. That's what the photo was. We went there as kids. It's a special place. It's amazing how many things you take for granted really in life, and when you see that, it's just heartbreaking.”
Morikawa is donating US$1,000 to charity for every birdie he cards during the play-offs with his T13 finish at the FedEx St Jude Championship contributing the first $16,000 to the cause.
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