Another good showing could put
Stephen Ames into the FedExCup top 50.
MORE FEDEXCUP:
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Standings |
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Leaders After the TOUR dividing its membership between two
events in two of the last three weeks, all active players reconvene
at Innisbrook for the Transitions Championship.
BUILDING MOMENTUM: We saw at the Honda Classic
what a good result in an opposite field event can do when the
schedule shifts back to a single-event week. Rory Sabbatini, who
posted a 5-under 66 in the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic
to slide into a tie for fifth, followed it up with a big victory at
The Honda Classic. He currently sits at No. 5 in the FedExCup
standings. Charles Howell III and Tommy Gainey each were in the top
20 in Mexico, then in the top 10 at PGA National.
WHO’S NEXT?: Stephen Ames moved into a tie
for third with a final-round 66 last week in Puerto Rico and tied
for sixth last year at Innisbrook. He moved to 79th in the FedExCup
standings and could make another moved with a good showing. Hunter
Haas (FedExCup: 50th) has three consecutive top-35 finishes
including a T3 last week in Puerto Rico while Bobby Gates
(FedExCup: 113th) has finished T5 and solo sixth in the last two
opposite field events. Keep an eye on these under-the-radar players
with momentum this week.
BEST NEW ARRIVAL: Aron Price made his first cut in
four starts last week in Puerto Rico and entered the standings in
197th place. Price has just missed the Playoffs each of the last
two years, finishing 129th and 136th.
BIGGEST MOVERS: Puerto Rico Open champion Michael
Bradley bounded 114 spots up the standings from 147th to 33rd with
his 250-point winner’s share. Troy Matteson, who fell to
Bradley in a playoff, moved up 79 spots from 112th to 43rd. Ames
and George McNeil also made 50-plus spot jumps from Puerto Rico.
Scott
At the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, Adam
Scott, with new putter in hand, earned 100 points from his T6
finish and moved 61 spots from 126th to 65th. Padraig Harrington
and Tiger Woods, each tied for 10th, moved up 60 and 59 spots
respectively. Woods is now 93rd, while Harrington sits at 101st in
the standings.
NOTABLE DROPS: 2010 q-school medalist Billy
Mayfair slipped from 111th to 126th after taking last week off
following a missed cut at The Honda Classic. Also dropping out of
the coveted top 125 spots were David Toms, Chris Stroud, Charlie
Wi, and Lucas Glover among others.
MORE ON LAST WEEK’S WINNERS: WGC-Cadillac
Championship champion Nick Watney climbed to No. 2 in the FedExCup
standings, the highest position of his career. Watney, you may
remember, was a tournament-best 10-under on the weekend last year
at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. That performance
moved him from 28th to 12th in the final standings. An early
favorite in this season’s FedExCup competition, the victory
will help get Watney into a better position as the TOUR season
continues. Bradley’s victory in Puerto Rico was the fourth of
his career and first since 2009, also at the Puerto Rico Open.
Bradley has never made the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup,
finishing 139th and 145th in the last two regular seasons. His 298
points leave him just eight points away from his 306-point total
each of those years, and less than 100 points shy of what it took
to make the Playoffs in each year.
-Chris Dunham