Golf’s $15 Million Purse
08/19/2021By: Jeff Yoder
Good Morning
Sports are kicking back into gear as the weekend nears, but it all starts with Round 1 of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The PGA Tour’s three-week quest for $15 million begins now.
Letter Rip!
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PGA
Golf’s Playoff Primer
Photo: Ben Jared / Getty Images
PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs Tee Off Today With The Northern Trust at Liberty National
After the longest season in PGA Tour history (more than 50 events), golf’s three-week postseason has finally arrived. The FedEx Cup Playoffs tee off today from Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey for The Northern Trust. It’s the first of three events to name the Tour champion and dish out a $15 million purse. Here’s a quick rundown of how the next three weeks of golf will look:
FedEx Cup Playoffs Format
The playoffs consist of three events, including The Northern Trust, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The playoffs also feature an ongoing cut line that trims the field to 30 by the final weekend.
Event | Date | Field
The Northern Trust | Aug. 19-22 | 125 Players
BMW Championship | Aug. 26-29 | 70 Players
Tour Championship | Sept. 2-5 | 30 Players
Trimming the Field: The top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings will enter the field this weekend, but accumulative season points — not individual standings at each event — will determine who moves on. Points in FedEx Cup events will be quadrupled, but players who enter in the back of the standings will have a big hill to climb. Plus, starting strokes will give an advantage to players at the top of the leaderboard.
FedEx Cup Standings
1. Collin Morikawa (2,171 points)
2. Jordan Spieth (2,139 points)
3. Patrick Cantlay (2,056 points)
4. Harris English (2,039 points)
5. Jon Rahm (2,003 points)
6. Abraham Ancer (1,926 points)
7. Bryson DeChambeau (1,910 points)
8. Louis Oosthuizen (1,877 points)
9. Justin Thomas (1,758 points)
10. Sam Burns (1,721 points)
Notable Players: 13. Xander Schauffele (1,623 points), 14. Hideki Matsuyama (1,594 points), 15. Brooks Koepka (1,562 points), 17. Dustin Johnson (1,510 points), 22. Patrick Reed (1,381 points), 26. Rory McIlroy (1,291 points)
Full FedEx Cup Playoff Standings
Today’s Tee Times
8:04 AM: H. Matsuyama, B. Koepka, C. Smith
8:15 AM: R. McIlroy, M. Homa, C. Conners
8:15 AM: V. Hovland, J. Kokrak, X. Schauffele
8:26 AM: C. Morikawa, J. Spieth, P. Cantlay
8:26 AM: D. Berger, S. Scheffler, P. Reed
12:44 PM: D. Johnson, J. Niemann, S. Cink
12:55 PM: B. DeChambeau, J. Thomas, S. Burns
1:06 PM: J. Rahm, H. English, A. Ancer
All Round 1 Tee Times (Northern Trust)
Let the playoffs begin!
Additional Storylines
PGA: Player Power Rankings for the FedEx Cup Playoffs
GolfWeek: How the FedEx Cup Playoffs Work: Locations, Money, Starting Strokes
ESPN: Here Are the 125 Players Who Made it Into the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs
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MLB
The Best Sho in Baseball
Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Angels Pitcher Shohei Ohtani Hits 40th HR, Pitches 8 Innings in Best Outing Yet
If Shohei Ohtani didn’t have the AL MVP award in the bag, he might now. The Angels ace crushed his league-leading 40th home run of the year in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Tigers. He also pitched eight innings — his deepest start to date — while fanning eight batters and giving up just one run. Ohtani (40) is now five up on Vlad Guerrero Jr. (35) and six up on Fernando Tatis Jr. (34) for the 2021 MLB home run lead. No one else has more than 30. MVP? Shohei can just about book it.
Watch: Ohtani Hits 40th HR, Goes 8 Innings in 3-1 Win
MLB Quick-Hitters
Freddie Cycles, Again: Braves 1B Freddie Freeman only needed six innings and four at-bats to hit for the cycle in last night’s 11-9 win over the Marlins. It’s Freeman’s second cycle for Atlanta, making him the first Braves player in franchise history to hit for the cycle twice.
Polanco Calls Game: Jorge Polanco’s walk-off single gave the Twins an 8-7 win over the Indians on Wednesday to cap a three-game home stand. Minnesota (54-67) is 6-2 in their last eight games, but their playoff hopes are basically gone.
Royals Eyeing the Sweep: Kansas City won its third straight game in a four-game series with the Astros last night when Hunter Dozier smacked a two-run shot in the 7th for a 3-2 lead. A play at the plate ended the game when Andrew Benintendi threw out Chas McCormick to seal the win. The Royals and ‘Stros will finish the series tonight as KC goes for the sweep.
Heaney Hurls Gem as Yankees Sweep: Three-up, three-down for the Pinstripes! New York’s Andrew Heaney went seven innings with just two hits and one run in the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Red Sox last night as the Yanks swept the three-game series. New York (69-52) now holds the outright lead over Boston (69-54) in the AL East standings.
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NBA
Kings of the Summer League
Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Sacramento Kings Win NBA Summer League Title for First Time Since 2014
The NBA Summer League came and went in Las Vegas over the last few weeks, concluding with this week’s title game and a rare celebration for the Sacramento Kings. The Kings, led by new faces in rookie Davion Mitchell and Louis King, routed the Celtics (100-67) in the championship game to win their first Summer League crown since 2014.
Mitchell (Kings) was a stud during the August tournament, playing stout defense and showing flashes of what he can be at the next level. Cam Thomas (Nets) was also a co-MVP in Las Vegas after averaging 27 points per game. He dropped 36 in one game and could be a star off the bench in Brooklyn.
Antetokounmpo Titles in Bunches
After Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas all won NBA titles in the last two seasons, the youngest Antetokounmpo brother, Alex, has his own trophy after joining the Kings’ Summer League run. Where the Greek brothers go, championships follow.
Additional Storylines
NBA: Top 10 Dunks From Summer League in Las Vegas
NBC Sports: Kings’ Davion Mitchell & Nets’ Cam Thomas Named Co-MVPs of Summer League
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
️ MLS: Ruidiaz Nets 14th Goal in Sounders Win
The Seattle Sounders took down FC Dallas on Wednesday (1-0) behind Raul Ruidiaz’s league-leading 14th goal of the season. The win vaulted Seattle into first place in the MLS Western Conference and second overall.
WNBA: Liberty Rally in WNBA Return
The New York Liberty stunned the Seattle Storm (83-79) in their return to WNBA action on Wednesday night thanks to a 10-point 4th-quarter comeback. Betnijah Laney (17 points) scored the go-ahead jumper with 17.6 seconds left to spoil Jewell Loyd’s 35-point night for the Storm.
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THE STORYLINES
The NFL’s Highest-Paid Players in 2021
NFL players are getting paid, and many are breaking league records with their offseason deals. Here is a complete breakdown of the highest-paid players by position heading into the 2021 season. (CBS Sports)
The NBA Summer League Standouts
The 2021 NBA draft class showed out in Las Vegas for the summer league. We graded each lottery prospect who played at least three full games in Las Vegas while highlighting the standouts who were slept on during draft night. (Bleacher Report)
Will the U.S. Open Signify a Shift in Tennis?
Two weeks before the U.S. Open… Players like Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek and Sofia Kenin have pulled out of the field. So who’s left? And is there a tennis shift in the making? (Sports Illustrated, +Paywall)
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THE HEADLINES
Connecticut Sun’s Jonquel Jones Eclipses 2,000 Career Points in WNBA
(SI)
Ex-USGA Staffer Charged With Stealing $3 Million in U.S. Open Ticket Scheme
(Yahoo! Sports)
49ers Cut Former 1st-Round Pick QB Josh Rosen After Training Camp Struggles
(ESPN)
Mets Owner Steve Cohen Takes Shot at Team’s ‘Unproductive’ Hitters
(USA Today)
NHL Allowing Jersey Ads Beginning With 2022-23 Season
(NBC Sports)
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