3. Cam Smith Withdraws
Cam Smith, the third-ranked player in the FedEx Cup and no. 2 ranked player in the world withdrew earlier this week from the BMW Championship with an apparent hip injury. Smith is safely through to Atlanta, but the withdrawal comes at an interesting time in the Open winner’s career.
Rumors have surrounded Smith’s jump to the LIV Series, and he has all but confirmed the jump himself. Smith was issued a two-stroke penalty following his third round of play in Memphis last week, but wasn’t notified of the infraction until prior to his round Sunday morning.
If Smith does indeed make the jump, he will be the highest ranked golfer in the world to do so to-date. The 28-year-old has won three times this season on Tour, pairing the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The PLAYERS titles with his Claret Jug.
2. Presidents Cup on the Line
A trip to Atlanta isn’t the only thing on the line this week as the BMW Championship serves as the final qualifying event for the 2022 Presidents Cup taking place next month at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. Six spots will go to individuals on the American team, while the top eight earns spots for the International squad.
The top six for the United States currently consists of Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, and Tony Finau. Players near the top six but on the outside looking in include Will Zalatoris, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Billy Horschel.
On the international side, the top eight are Cam Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Joaquinn Niemann, Joohyung Kim, Corey Conners, Adam Scott, and Mito Pereira. K.H. Lee sits just .68 points behind Pereira for the final automatic spot and will be in action this week in Wilmington.
1. Who Heads to Atlanta in the Driver’s Seat?
With 2,000 FedEx Cup points on the line, the top spot in the FedEx Cup Standings is on the line this week. Whoever takes the top spot will head to East Lake with a 10-under to begin the tournament on Thursday. Will Zalatoris (3,680 points) jumped from the 12th to the top spot with his victory at TPC Southwind last week.
Scottie Scheffler, longtime leader in the standings, sits just 24 back of Zalatoris at 3,556 points. Smith, who won’t be in action this week, is in third with 2,548 points while Sam Burns (2,429 pts) and Tony Finau (2,261 pts) round out the top five.
Players outside the top five but still inside the top-10 have a chance to take over the top position with a win this week. Those players include Xander Schauffele (2,175 pts), Patrick Cantlay (2,129 pts), Sepp Straka (2,109 pts), Rory McIlroy (2,104 pts), and Justin Thomas (1,996 pts).
Sungjae Im (1,993 pts), Matt Fitzpatrick (1,945 pts), Cameron Young (1,855 pts), and Jon Rahm (1,798) would need to win the tournament and have the top guys finish well down the leaderboard for a chance at the no. 1 spot.
