Rickie Fowler's Revival, Scottie's Streak, Fuels BMW Championship Buzz

Forbes

4 days ago

The FedEx Cup Playoffs enter their second stanza with fifty golfers left battling it out at the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland. The stakes? A hefty $20 million purse with a cool $3.6 million payday for the leaderboard topper.
The players fortunate enough to earn their place in the field have already locked in their spots for next year's elevated events, but now it's all about making the grade for the Tour Championship. Only the top 30 after this tournament is in the books will move on to the season-ender.
Last week at the St. Jude Championship Rickie Fowler turned on the afterburners to go from 64th to inside the 50 on the strength of a T6 finish. He was one of just five players to claw their way back into the mix, while some big names slipped backward—Jordan Spieth dropped to 54th, Wyndham Clark to 56th, and Min Woo Lee fell to 57th.
Fowler attributes his recently formidable form to rediscovering his swing and ball-striking mojo, which have driven his play to a level we haven't seen from him in quite some time. The crowd-pleasing Californian also credits a mental shift toward keeping 'things as simple as possible' for his late-season turnaround.
'Simple, as far as not trying to do too much or not trying to be too perfect, kind of taking what I have. I've been doing a good job of just managing my way around the golf course.'
Eight-time tour winner Patrick Cantlay, 19th in the rankings, heads into his ninth BMW Championship hungry to put an uplifting coda on a season that's been less than stellar. While he's logged four top-10 finishes—on par with last year's tally—on the flipside he also missed the cut in three of the four majors. Still, the BMW is a tournament he's enjoyed past sucess in, having tasted victory in both 2021 and 2022. He also arrives riding a confidence boost after a top-ten finish in Memphis.
'I think I drove the ball in the fairway a little bit more last week on a golf course where it's really important to drive the ball in the fairway. It's a course I've played well at over the years. Just a comfortable place for me,' Cantlay said.
Elusivity
Tommy Fleetwood has been on the brink of ending his PGA Tour winless streak twice this season—first at the Travelers Championship in June, then again this past weekend. Both times, late Sunday struggles got the better of him, most recently a bogey on the 17th hole that cost him the lead and a spot in the playoff between J.J. Spaun and eventual winner Justin Rose.
'With every disappointment I truly know I'm closer and closer and even more determined than ever that I will get this done,' Fleetwood said on X. 'The support I've received is invaluable and hugely appreciated, we'll get there together.'
With $7.5 million in earnings this season—good for 10th on Tour in official money—the bitter pill of coming so close goes down a little easier with that honey. Maybe his 163rd event will be the charm.
Substitute Caddie
Ted Scott, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler's club consigliere, who was absent during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship due to a family matter, remains out of action. Scheffler tapped Brad Payne to fill-in Sunday and shot a 67 to finish T3 for his twelfth top-10 finish in a row. It looks like this week he'll be using the services of Chris Kirk's caddie Mike Cromie. Kirk finished 51st, just outside the cut line in the rankings, so wont' be at the event.