Groundhog Day
Australian Jason Day continued his dominating run by firing a final round 69 to post 22-under-par 262 to win the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill., by a whopping six shots over young American Daniel Berger. American Scott Piercy birdied the last to take the final spot on the podium another shot further behind.
The Aussie was 18-under after two rounds and never looked back. His five-shot lead after two rounds expanded to six after Saturday, the second consecutive round of ball-in-hand due to over four inches of rain Thursday and Friday. When presented with a lead of this magnitude AGAIN Day ran away from the competition and set himself up for a chance at the big prize, $10 million and the TOUR Championship next week at East Lake.
Why This Performance Doesn’t Surprise:
In his first time at CFGC he posted a pair of 66s finishing T4 in 2013. This year he went even lower with 61-63 to set the pace after two rounds and closed with two more in the 60s, 69-69, to lift the trophy. Gamers who aren't aware of his summer aren't paying attention as his worst finish in those prior five events were T12. Man is on fire.
Why This Performance Surprises:
It doesn't.
At all.
No need to try and find angles that simply don't exist. He's reinforced that when healthy, he's in ANY conversation for best player of anything related to golf.
How Day Won This Week:
He ran away and hid. Opening with 61 set the tone for a week that was going to be his. His 63 on Friday followed up and tied the lowest 36-hole mark ever on TOUR. It was also the lowest 36 hole score on TOUR this season. The weekend was just window dressing as he romped to victory.
At 22-under it's not strange to read that he led the field with 25 birdies and was T1 with two eagles.
It's also not strange to type that he only had ONE round with more than one bogey (four on Saturday) on the week.
Remember that fairways aren't the key to success on this track as Day only hit 57% on the week, T50 of the 69 players who finished (Jim Furyk, WD after six holes).
He led the field in driving distance and having shorter clubs in his hand resulted in T6 in GIR. He also led the field in strokes-gained: tee-to-green.
Known as a great putter, he didn't disappoint on the PERFECT 007 Bentgrass greens as he was eighth in strokes-gained: putting and fifth in putts-per-GIR.
He never put himself in any great danger and cruised to victory on the belief that he's been-there-done-that.
Moving Forward:
Stay healthy. Period.
Heck, he collapsed at the U.S. Open and still finished fourth.
He's been nicked up at some point in the year forever it seems like so imagine the damage he'll do if his body cooperates. Blimey.
With This Win:
Day moves to No. 1 in the OWGR, collects his second Playoff victory in three events and is No. 1 when the points reset next week for the Tour Championship at East Lake.
Déjà vu All Over Again?
Day closes out another win with the 54-hole lead as he did at Whistling Straits and The Barclays (co-leader).
Day becomes the third international player since 1960 to win five times joining Nick Price (1994) and Vijay Singh (2004) in this exclusive club.
He becomes the first player to win five times in a season since Tiger Woods in 2013.
He also becomes the first player to win by six shots or more multiple times in a season since Woods in 2007.
His total is the tournament record at CFGC but Jim Furyk's 59 still remains the course record. Sad face.
This is the third year in a row that a player has won multiple Playoff events and fourth time in eight years. Get hot, stay hot!
Hunter Mahan ends his streak of participating in every Playoff event as he finished T32 and ends his season at No. 49 on the list.
Young Guns Versus Prime Time Versus Old Guys:
I annually keep track of the age of the winners on TOUR because I’m an ageist. GET OFF MY VIAGRA.
Under 30 -- Young Bucks
age in ( ) at time of victory
Sangmoon Bae (28) Frys.com
Ben Martin (27) Shriners
Robert Streb (27) McGladrey
Nick Taylor (26) Sanderson Farms
Patrick Reed (24) HTOC
Brooks Koepka (25) Waste Management
Jason Day (27) Farmers, RBC Canadian, PGA Championship, The Barclays and BMW
Jordan Spieth (22) Valspar, Masters, U.S. Open, JDC
Rory McIlroy (26) WGC-Match Play, Wells Fargo
Rickie Fowler (26) THE PLAYERS, DBC
David Lingmerth (27) Memorial
Danny Lee (24) Greenbrier
Troy Merritt (29) QLN
Shane Lowry (28) WGC-BI
Prime Time Guys -- 30-39
Ryan Moore (31) CIMB Classic
Charley Hoffman (37) OHL Mayakoba
Bubba Watson WGC-HSBC Champions
Jimmy Walker (36) Sony Open, Valero
Bill Haas (32) Humana
Brandt Snedeker (34) AT&T Pebble Beach
James Hahn (33) Northern Trust
Dustin Johnson (30) WGC-Cadillac Championship
Matt Every (31) Arnold Palmer
J.B. Holmes (32) Shell Houston
Justin Rose (34) Zurich
Chris Kirk (30) Colonial
Steven Bowditch (31) AT&T Byron Nelson
Fabian Gomez (36) FedEx St. Jude
Scott Piercy (36) Barbasol
Zach Johnson (39) The Open Championship
Crusty Veterans -- 40-up
Padraig Harrington (43) Honda
Alex Cejka (44) Puerto Rico Open
Jim Furyk (44) RBC Heritage
Davis Love III (51) Wyndham
Hindsight
What I learned from the finishers in the top 10 this week.
Daniel Berger: I won't speculate on where Berger's 65-64 would rate during the regular season but sadly this week it was FIVE shots off the lead heading into the weekend. Berger catapulted into the conversation off his T12 at the DBC and took his full chance this week and made it to Atlanta. He lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington in March at the Honda and had a quiet spring but he sprang into life when the biggest chips were on the table. Like Day he didn't hit many fairways (T67) but made 23 birdies on the back of T10 GIR and a fantastic week putting (sixth, SGP; 11th, PPGIR). He was also sixth in driving distance proving again that long and crooked works at CFGC is a sane option. Great time to tie his best finish on TOUR.
Scott Piercy: With nothing better than T48 in his last four events and his DFL finish here in 2013 I think most gamers will be as surprised as I am that Piercy moved from No. 44 and OUT to No. 20 and IN this week. After going out in 38 on Sunday it looked like he was going to fade but four birdies in his last five holes, including a $$$ putt for birdie at the last, saw him take third alone. You just can't predict fantasy golf, Suzyn.
J.B. Holmes: His last top 20 was at the WGC-Match Play in the first week of May but he adds credence to the bomb-and-gouge angle at CFGC as the key to success. He was T62 in fairways and even worse, T63, in GIR but he led the field in both putting stats and that always solves more problems than it causes. Hot putting cashes checks and this is his best finish since winning the SHO in a playoff in April. He picked the right week!
Rickie Fowler: His climb up the leader board came on the back of a weekend where he was 10-under and four rounds of 69 or better. After MC to start the FedExCup Playoffs at The Barclays he's rewarded his loyal following with a win at the DBC and T4 this week. He's in every conversation heading to East Lake especially after making just five bogeys this week. No false-positives here.
Rory McIlroy: He picked Sunday to post his worst round of the week, 70, but his birdie on the last moved him to T4 and a solid finish. He only made four bogeys and didn't make much on the greens. He's lurking.
Hideki Matsuyama: He played his final three rounds 14-under and made three birdies in his final seven to hit the top 10 for the first time since early June at the Memorial, a span of nine events. He was top 10 in fairways and GIR and putted just well enough to post T7. That's T25 or better in all three Playoff events to reinforce his consistency.
Cameron Tringale: Similarly to Holmes, Tringale hasn't found the top 20 since the end of April so this week is nothing short of a surprise. Similarly to Matsuyama he played the final three rounds 14-under tto finish T7. Birdies on three of his last four holes saw him jump from No. 55 to No. 36 but ultimately short of the finals. This week sums up the frustration for gamers who have been tracking Tringale for the last few years: close but no cigar.
Dustin Johnson: Sundays have not been fun days for DJ recently and this week looked to be no different as he was three-over-par through 13 holes. He birdied four of his last five to finish T7 to rack up his third top 10 in his last four on TOUR. His 62 on Friday went unnoticed because of Day's dominance but it tied his low round on the season.
Bubba Watson: He had it to 14-under on Sunday and was eight-under on the day before bogeying two of his final four holes. He opened with 65 and closed with 65 but 70-72 with ball-in-hand was weird. Make it four top 10s in his last six and nothing worse than T29 in that stretch. Career bests in wins (T2), top 10s (9) and, most importantly, cash money.
Henrik Stenson: He's the only player to finish in the top 10 in all three Playoff events. His T10 this week cements his status to control his own history as he'll enter the TOUR Championship at No. 4 next week. No player has ever won the $10 million twice. He played half of his rounds this week minus a bogey but also had half of his rounds at even par. He's played East Lake once. He won. By a lot. #Noted
Kevin Na: His putter saved the day and he made just enough putts on the weekend to vault himself from No. 34 to No. 27 and into the finals. He was second in SGP and PPGIR so there was no secret to his success this week. He joined Berger and Piercy as the only players to play their way into East Lake. This will be his second consecutive trip and fourth in seven years.
Rookie Watch:
No. 51: Zac Blair--Finished No. 59 after T53
No. 46: Daniel Berger--Solo second and IN and is the only one to advance. There were no rookies at East Lake last year.
No. 41: Tony Finau--Plenty of good (64-68) and plenty of rookie (72-77) saw him finish T47 and OUT
No. 35: Justin Thomas--He was 10-under entering the weekend but his 70-71 finish didn't get him over the hump. He was T13 but a water ball on the final hole killed his chance for a top 10 and advancement. Super-bright future.
Men with Their Own Section:
Only the top 30 after this week make it to East Lake and the TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola. Let's see who enters the week with one eye on the scoreboard and one eye on their scorecard.
No. 25: Ben Martin--He picked the wrong tournament to fire an 80. T68 and drops out at No. 35.
No. 26: Daniel Summerhays--Came home in 38 with his season on the line; needed a 16-footer on the last to advance but he missed and misses out at No. 31. Ouch.
No. 27: Bill Haas--66 on Sunday moved him to T19 and No. 26. Workman-like as usual.
No. 28: Jason Bohn--His career year crashed out with MC-T64 the last two weeks to finish No. 40.
No. 29: Russell Knox--Dug a hole too deep opening with 74. T45 knocked him to No. 34 and out
No. 30: Louis Oosthuizen--Fired three rounds in the 60s to move up one spot to claim his spot in Atlanta. Big player did what was needed.
No. 31: David Lingmerth--65 on Friday righted the ship but the ship ran out of gas with 70-74 on the weekend as he finished No. 37.
No. 32: Harris English--Whew. He was on the bubble and missed the last two years but this year his birdie on the last saw him finish on the magic number, No. 30. Not bad for closing with 72.
No. 33: Matt Jones--Chic pick this week off T4 last week and T4 and 20 birdies in 2013 but the Aussie came up short with T32 to remain No. 33. He also missed out on that T4 by a couple in 2013. Not his kind of town, Chicago.
No. 34: Kevin Na--See above.
No. 35: Justin Thomas--See above.
Coming TUESDAY:
I’ll publish my weekly preview, Range Rover, around lunchtime, children permitting. I’ll focus on history, current form, course characteristics, winning qualities and those who I think will and will not.
Coming TUESDAY Afternoon:
Playing the Tips will be up and running this and every Tuesday late afternoon and will list all of the Rotoworld experts picks in the GolfChannel.com game, the Yahoo! Fantasy Golf game, DFS plus the European Tour! Oh, and my One-and-Done feature. Look for it every Tuesday until the Presidents Cup.
Coming Wednesday:
And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat NEXT Wednesday at 12 ET. We will be breaking down the field at the TOUR Championship plus answering your questions and some breaking news...
Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter. Don’t forget to follow Rob (http://twitter.com/RobBoltonGolf) and Glass (http://twitter.com/mikeglasscott) on Twitter.
