JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY - The FedEx Cup Playoffs are underway! The first two rounds of the 2021 The Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club have concluded and Jon Rahm leads the field with a score of 12-under and a single shot lead over Tony Finau. The cut this week has been set at 1-under.
Jon Rahm leads the 2021 The Northern Trust heading into an uncertain weekend
(image: Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
RAHMBO RETURNS
Rahm's skill and abilities were on full display during his first two rounds. He fired off an impressive 8-under 63 for his opening round, which included four birdies on the front nine and four on the back nine. He followed this up with a 4-under 67 on Friday.
He remains bogey-free for the tournament, a streak that was nearly in jeopardy on the par 4 16th hole on Friday. After landing his approach shot left of the green and chipping on poorly, Rahm was left with a 24-foot putt for par. It was a difficult putt, relatively speaking, that broke twice before reaching the hole. But Rahm, who's putting has been hot all week, sank the putt for a clutch par.
A win for Rahm this week would place him first in the FedEx Cup Rankings and make him a favourite to win the FedEx Cup outright heading into the Tour Championship.
THE TOP 70: HOW ITS LOOKING SO FAR
The Top 70 players in the FedEx Cup Rankings will move onto the second round of the Playoffs next week: The BMW Championship.
As it stands right now, the Top 70 "Bubble" includes Seamus Power (69) who sits at T26 at 5-under, Matthew Wolff (70) who was cut and Talor Gooch (71), who shot a 64 today to place him at T57 at 2-under. It will be interesting to see if Gooch and Power can play well on the weekend to stay/get into the Top 70.
Notable players out of the Top 70 include Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Bubba Waston, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Chesson Hadley, who just got into the tournament this week after a good performance last week at the Wyndham Championship.
Players who made the cut are not out of the woods yet. For those below the cutoff, they'll need good performances as do players who are just above the cutoff. It feels like a tournament within a tournament during these playoff events, because that's exactly what it is. Players do want to win this week, but if they can't, they want to ensure they can progress further along in the playoffs.
The biggest jump in rankings thus far goes to Keith Mitchell, who entered the week ranked 101st. He carded a 68 and 64 to put him at 10-under and tied for 3rd. Even better, he jumped 64 spots and theoretically sits in 34th place at the moment.
INCLEMENT WEATHER POTENTIALLY FOR LIBERTY NATIONAL
Liberty National Golf Club in the past has received criticism for its difficulty. This year, despite some windy weather during the opening round, the course played tough but fair. Low scores were had by many players. The low round of the tournament thus far was a 63, shot both both Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas. The second round also saw a slew of 64s being shot.
The weather however, is expected to turn for the worst. Tropical Storm Henri, currently over the Carolinas, is expected to make landfall late Sunday afternoon as a hurricane, with strong winds expected to reach the Jersey City area by Saturday night. It's not known how the storm will affect the tournament, but it suffices to say that officials are keeping an eye on it, no doubt thinking of player and spectator safety first.
Hurricanes have affected the tournament before. In 2011, Hurricane Irene forced the final round of The Barclays, as it was known then, to be cancelled. The tournament was shortened to 54-holes where Dustin Johnson went on to win.
CARRY ON WAYWARD TEE SHOT
Spectators of the second round were treated to a hilarious incident on the 10th hole. Hideki Matsuyama managed to land his tee shot right of the fairway, but directly inside a spectator's shirt. Luckily, he did not have to play the ball as it lied and took relief. Matsuyama, in an act of kindness, then signed and gifted the ball to the fan; a souvenir he will never forget.
Matsuyama ended up landing his second shot just left of the green and finished the hole with a bogey. He sits at T25 at 5-under and 15th in the rankings.
HOW ARE OUR PICKS DOING SO FAR?
Let's check in to see how our picks are faring so far:
1) Phil Mickelson: CUT
2) Dustin Johnson: CUT
3) Collin Morikawa: CUTSometimes we pick well and sometimes we don't! Phil Mickelson had a tough couple of rounds, in particular on the par 3 11th hole, which he double-bogeyed in his opening round, then triple-bogeyed in his second round. His position drops him to 67th in the rankings and is now in danger of not progressing in the playoffs.
Dustin Johnson had a bit of bad luck as well. Before his first round, he noticed his driver was cracked. He didn't have a replacement driver so he opted to play with two 3 woods, each with a different loft. This no doubt affected his scoring, reducing his driving distance by a substantial amount.
Many have wondered about Morikawa's play this week. It was recently reported though that Morikawa apparently hurt his back during the Olympics and as a result has been modifying his golf swing to make it less painful on him. As many golfers know, back injuries can plague golfers for their entire careers if not handled properly. Let's hope Morikawa is able to make a speedy but appropriate recovery.
***
And just like that, the first two rounds of the 2021 The Northern Trust have concluded. This weekend is sure to be interesting, given the inclement weather being forecasted and potential for low scores.
Stay tuned to see who has won and who is moving ahead in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
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