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Emergency 9: TOUR Championship, Round 4
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September 23, 2018
By Mike Glasscott , PGATOUR.COM
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Highlights
Bryson DeChambeau’s 39-foot birdie putt at TOUR Championship
Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the TOUR Championship gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. East Lake Golf Club just outside Atlanta plays 7,362 yards to Par-70.
80
After leading by three shots after 54 holes, Tiger Woods posted a final round 71 to sign for 11-under-par 269 to win the TOUR Championship by two shots and pick up his 80th-career win. He becomes the first player to win the season-ending event at East Lake twice. Justin Rose won the FedExCup Playoffs by 41 points after finishing T4 while Bryson DeChambeau was third (19th).
Woods first victory since the 2013 World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational was similar to his last. The world's best front-runner birdied the first hole and never looked back. After wiping out Rose by three shots in Round 3 he reward was Rory McIlroy in Round 4. Woods again knocked out his playing partner by three shots as he put the hammer down. Only Billy Horschel's late run appeared in the rear-view mirror but Woods' short game held strong and victory 80 was never in doubt.
Fantasy golf has changed again. For those of you just getting started now you'll see how Woods will affect your strategy moving forward. Good luck narrowing down those uses and which event to "save" him for One & Done! His first victory in the comeback will not be the last so those of you picking first in keeper leagues for next year will have an interesting decision!
Know Thy Enemy
These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. I included all players who were owned by 20 percent or more.
Rank
Player
Position
% Ownership
1
Justin Rose
T4
63.74
2
Bryson DeChambeau
19th
62.65
3
Tiger Woods
WIN
50.81
4
Justin Thomas
T7
48.09
5
Brooks Koepka
T26
48.03
6
Rory McIlroy
T7
44.94
7
Rickie Fowler
T7
43.05
8
Dustin Johnson
3rd
38.53
9
Tony Finau
T15
31.99
10
Tommy Fleetwood
T11
30.29
PAIN OR GAIN
These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO:
Rank
Player
Position
% Ownership
1
Bryson DeChambeau
19th
11.15
2
Justin Thomas
T7
9.51
3
Brooks Koepka
T26
8.21
4
Keegan Bradley
T26
8.08
5
Xander Schauffele
T7
7.11
6
Dustin Johnson
3rd
5.68
7
Billy Horschel
2nd
5.16
8
Justin Rose
T4
4.69
9
Rory McIlroy
T7
4.63
10
Tiger Woods
WIN
4.37
Amazing result for those of you who saved Woods for such an occasion! He didn't inspire confidence in the first two events and couldn't capitalize on his 62 at Aronimink. DeChambeau joins Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Camilo Villegas as players who two FedExCup Playoffs events and did not win the biggest prize.
Streak Continues
No FedExCup Champion has ever repeated and Justin Rose made sure that streak continued this week. The No. 1 player in the world entered the week No. 2 and becomes the fifth No. 2 seed in the last seven years to win the FedExCup Playoffs. For the second event in a row Rose has "lost" but yet "won". He couldn't close out Keegan Bradley at Aronimink but ascended to No. 1 in the OWGR. This week he was tied with Woods after 36 holes but closed 68-73 to cash T4 and win the FedExCup Playoffs. This will be the last time dual "winners" will happen as the format changes for next season.
Billy the Kid
In his third trip to East Lake Billy Horschel continues his run of top-10 play. The 2014 FedExCup Playoffs champion collected T7 honors in 2013 and was solo second in this session. Of the four FedExCup Playoffs events, Horschel never finished outside of the podium when he completed all four rounds (T3, WD, T3 and second) as he closed the season on absolute fire.
Spinning Big Finishes
Dustin Johnson hasn't cracked the code yet at East Lake but he reinforced his worth when it comes to difficult courses. The winning score at East Lake has never been better than 13-under since the change to Bermuda in 2007. Par matters here and Johnson's next step will be pushing it over the finish line. He didn't have his best stuff this week but played the final 36 in six-under for the lowest weekend score. This was his career-best payday at East Lake.
Following Fowler
He joined Woods as the only player to post 65 twice this week and his final one saw him jump into the top 10 (T7). Of Rickie Fowler's eight rounds played after returning from an oblique injury, FIVE went for 65. Sunday he painted 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 GIR and will be flying into Paris in a good mood.
Sunday Silence
Along with McIlroy getting trounced by Woods in the final group, it wasn't a Sunday of glory for the contending Euros. Justin Rose beat McIlroy by a shot but he began the day only three shots behind Woods. His 73 saw him drop to T4 while McIlroy's 74 knocked him to T7. ... Jon Rahm started Sunday T4 and just three shots out of T2 but his first round above par in eight tries at East Lake dropped him to T11. ... Paul Casey ends his streak of T5 or better in four starts as a pair of doubles, one on each nine, slide him to T11 from T6. ... Tommy Fleetwood put all four rounds at par-or-better in his first trip to East Lake. His Sunday 68 pushed him to T11 but it was Francesco Molinari (67, T21) who was European medalist.
Study Hall
For the third time in four rounds the scoring average was under par for the week as Sunday was 69.733. The aggregate for the week was 69.617 as the top 20 players posted even or better. ... Henrik Stenson's tournament record of 267 was in jeopardy until Woods took his foot off the pedal. Stenson and Gary Woodland's co-course record of 63 wasn't touched as 65 was the lowest round of the week. ... Tony Finau couldn't join the exclusive club of players who finished in the top 10 in all four FedExCup Playoffs events. Jon Rahm (2017) and Adam Scott (2016) are the last two players to accomplish this feat. ... Rookie Aaron Wise finished T15 but Fleetwood was the best newcomer at T11.
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