The former world number one says he will have no trouble this week eliminating the Ryder Cup from his mind as he chases the tournament crown and also the $10 million bonus handed out to the victor of the season-long FedExCup points race.
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With three victories this season, including his first major title and a WGC trophy at the Bridgestone Invitational, Johnson is also the frontrunner in the U.S. tour’s player of the year race.
“Although I’m disappointed with my play in the majors, I will have played a lot of good golf this year and that’s the way the game goes”, he said. “Number one, trying to lock up making the Tour Championship, but more importantly trying to do something to make Davis take note and give me some consideration for the Ryder Cup”.
A hard and fast rule of the lucrative competition is that the top five-ranked players heading into the Tour Championship are guaranteed to win the FedEx Cup title if they win in Atlanta. He is followed by Barclays victor Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, world No. 1 Jason Day and Paul Casey.
Jordan Spieth believes the performance at the Tour Championship in East Lake will decide who gets the final slot in the USA team for the Ryder Cup 2016. This year, 106 players earned at least $1 million for the season, and Dustin Johnson enters the Tour Championship with $9,067,685 for the year in 21 starts.
Obviously, there is the added spice of the undecided American Ryder Cup wildcard, which will be handed over to one player after the dust settles at East Lake. Best putter on Tour and that counts for a huge amount at East Lake.
Scott has won twice and has eight top 10’s in his 19 starts while Day has three wins and 10 top 10’s over the same period.
The long-hitting Johnson, a three-time victor on the 2015-16 PGA Tour, holed out from four feet at the par-five 18th to card a four-under-par 66 on the East Lake course. Patrick Reed (+2200) and Adam Scott (+2200) are also pegged as contenders on the golf betting lines.
It continues to be a learning process and Day can now feel Johnson breathing down his neck.
Next weekend, the Texan is likely to play a key role as the US look to turn around a dismal recent Ryder Cup run. And if Johnson kills the FedEx Cup race suspense – we are a long ways from that, of course – that leaves only the race for the final wild-card pick to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Schwartzel is a 2011 Masters Champion and despite it being five years ago, there’s some familiarity when it comes to playing in Atlanta, Georgia. “I think it’s tough”, Spieth said.
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In the first three events Scott finished T4, outright fourth and T4 and if he was to repeat that this week would still have a mathematical chance to win the Cup.
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“I’d like to give Dustin a good run for it”, Day said.
