TEN THINGS is a collection of words that runs prior to each week’s PGA Tour event, mostly ABOUT that event.
Down to the top 50! But before we get to Bellerive officially, we must reflect.
1. THE JORDAN SPIETH SADNESS INDEX SCORE (JSSIS)
You’ve probably seen the stat that Spieth was the only guy in the FedExCup playoffs without a single top-10 finish, which only made it crazier on Sunday when he made the turn inside the projected top 50, with a chance to make it on to Bellerive. Earlier in the day, a “friend” of mine on our group Slack said, “Jordan is going to, even in a small way, crush his fans today.” Boy was he right! Spieth went two-over on an admittedly tough back nine to settle in at 52nd, which means we won’t see him again until the fall, at the earliest. By all rights, the Sadness Index Score should be a 15/10. HOWEVER. Did you see his quotes after the round? Really took it in stride, and left us with this:
“This is the last time I’ll finish like this for a while … I’m very, very confident in what’s coming.”
Yes. YES. YESSSSSSSS. Belief is strong! Minimum two majors in 2027, and probably a calendar slam in 2028. This time, it’s real. Therefore, I cannot responsibly go higher than an 8.7/10 on the JSSIS.
2. THE PLAYOFF PARADOX: FUN, BUT WITH NO JUICE
Here’s the most legitimately exciting part of the playoffs, for me: Whatever Brian Rolapp announced at East Lake regarding the 2028 season. Will the match play championship have survived, as it appeared to do at the Travelers? Is the championship/challenger dichotomy solidifying, with maybe more venue announcements? Are we going to Pebble in the postseason? Will we move to 54-hole events with everyone wearing shorts and bad music blasting the entire time?
It’s actually fascinating stuff, but it also sort of proves that the current playoffs are in their lame-duck phase. There’s a caveat there, though, which is that even though it doesn’t really matter to me who wins the Tour Championship, it was fun at Memphis to follow the drama of who would make the cut, especially in regards to Spieth and poor Keith Mitchell. This coming week, it’ll happen again with someone like Rickie Fowler, and Sunday will be, at the very least, interesting. That’s the “fun” part.
Existing alongside it, though, is the “no juice” part, which for me is primarily based on the fact that the “championship” at East Lake is just a normal stroke-play event. The staggered scoring wasn’t a perfect solution, but at least it was something. But the current placeholder where all 30 guys start on the same score makes it so that it’s only a meaningful championship if a meaningful player wins. As in, if Scottie Scheffler wins, sure, he’s a deserving champion, but if Kristoffer Reitan wins, it’s stupid and nobody will really think he’s the champ. That’s a bad format, when the significance of the thing is dictated entirely by the result, rather than the event containing its own intrinsic significance. Yes, you can have some flukes in match play, and I’m not pretending the shift will instantly put it on the level of a major or even the Players, but at least it will produce a unique and logical 1v1 path to the title.
All of which is why this week at Bellerive will be, I think, more fun than the finale. On some level, it’s just more interesting to see who makes the cut for the top 30 than who wins at East Lake.
3. OKAY, BELLERIVE, WHAT’S UP?
Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis is not a normal tour stop, but we saw it in 2018 for the PGA Championship, and we’ll see it again for the Presidents Cup in 2030. It’s one of those mega-old courses, founded in 1897, and like many of those old courses it has moved a few times before settling in a suburban location. They didn’t admit a black member until 1991, when their hand was forced by the controversy at Shoal Creek for the 1990 PGA, and a bunch of courses had to decide to either end their all-white policies or give up future major championships. Bellerive was slated to host the 1992 PGA, so they got in line, and since then have had a smattering of big tournaments, including Koepka’s win at the ’18 PGA.
So what’s the deal? You can watch a flyover from 2018 here (there have been a few alterations since, but it gives you the basic idea), and as far as design, I recommend this fascinating piece by Andy Johnson from before the PGA, where he makes the argument that the various re-designs at the place have been about maintaining “a difficult par,” which is destined to make the work obsolete before very long. And indeed, the repeated re-designs at Bellerive prove his point. In short, it erases art and strategy built on natural features and becomes an endless process of lengthening, eternally devolving into a dull procession: target golf with boring lines.
Not everyone will agree with this, which is fine, but it does seem to be the expert opinion, and only highlights the need for some more exciting playoff venues down the line.
4. SCOTTIE’S ALWAYS BEEN THE ALPHA
After a year on the brink, there was something of the “F you” in Scottie’s win in Memphis, when he came within an inch on 18 of literally doubling up the guys in second place. He’s literally the only guy who could have won in a blowout in a way that felt exciting—shades of Tiger—and it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what happened in the majors this year, or how many times he finished second, he’s still the alpha dog on tour, and probably will be for at least the next five years.
The strokes gained stats for the week were off the charts—first in putting, by a lot (when Scottie is first in putting, just pack it up), and even more importantly, second in approach. Because while it’s true that Scottie had to bring his putting up to better than slightly sub-mediocre in order to win majors, the strength of his game has always been ball-striking, and if you want to circle one reason why he won a little bit less in 2026, it’s that he was sixth in SG: Approach (the horror!) instead of first like he was the three years before that. It sounds like impossibly thin margins, but these margins legitimately make up the difference between simply being the best golfer in the world and being the best golfer in the world who gets a half-dozen wins every year.
Anyway, I’m here for the late Scottie charge. It’s the best-case scenario for these playoffs.
5. SURE, LET’S TALK ABOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
It’s Scottie.
Done.
No, he didn’t win a major, but even before Memphis, he was statistically the best player in the game, and that gives you a top-three argument no matter what else happened. He had to win again, and now he has, so let’s ask ourselves: Who’s actually more deserving? It can’t be someone who didn’t win a major, because Scottie is demonstrably better than all of them by the numbers. Sorry, Cam Young and Matt Fitzpatrick. So which major winner should we actually elevate above him? Not Aaron Rai, obviously. Not Ryan Fox, obviously. Not Rory, because Rory’s entire MO is “once I win the Masters, the rest of the year is gravy,” and we only saw two other top-tens from him in 2026. (I mean, we barely saw the guy even play.)
Which leaves Wyndham Clark. He’s the best counter-argument, because he won the U.S. Open and the Byron Nelson, and he could still take it if he wins in St. Louis or Atlanta. It’s close, but Scottie’s statistical dominance is absolute, and Wyndham’s problem is that by those measures, he’s actually worse than Young and Fitzpatrick. Long story short, if anyone but Scottie gets the nod, it’s mostly out of a desire for some kind of variety.
6. HOW IS RICKIE FOWLER THIS GOOD?
It’s probably a slight on me to say this, but every once in a while, despite following the sport closely, you’ll see something legitimately shocking that probably shouldn’t be. I knew Fowler had comfortably made the playoffs, but on Sunday, they showed his standing, and I couldn’t believe it: 30th!
I feel like we haven’t talked about Fowler at all in 2026, and he’s inside the cut bubble for East Lake? You could have knocked me over with a feather. If you had put a gun to my head five minutes earlier and asked if he was going to even make the top 50, it would have been a cold sweat running down my brown, but in fact, he’s got a great chance to go all the way to Atlanta.
How did this happen? Basically, a lot of quiet top-tens. Four of them in fact, and then one not-so-quiet top-ten with his runner-up at the Truist—the man loves Quail Hollow—and another heap of top-20s. He’s missed his fair share of cuts, including three in a row mid-summer, and he hasn’t done anything at the majors, but he’s just been consistent enough to occupy that sneaky East Lake bubble spot.
I have no real point here except, I’m surprised, and also, tip of the cap to Rickie for a sneaky-good season.
7. FIVE OTHER PLAYERS TO CARE ABOUT
A. Matt Fitzpatrick, Cam Young — Grouping them together because they’ve won a bunch this year and could sway me on POTY by doing it again at Bellerive.
B. Alex Noren – Seriously, what is in this guy’s köttbullarr? (Had to Google national dish of Sweden, it’s just meatballs). This is a true renaissance. Get him on the Ryder Cup team! [Luke Donald promptly has me assassinated.]
C. Viktor Hovland – I can’t shake the feeling he has another win in him.
D. Michael Thorbjornsen, Michael Brennnan – Two young Mikes with recent wins, but will have to fight hard to make East Lake … which would be better for having one of them involved.
E. Justin Thomas – 44th in FEC, 11th in Presidents Cup standings … is there some drama on that front if he doesn’t make the Tour Championship?
8. ONE NORMIE PICK, ONE WEIRD PICK
Normie pick is Scottie because mama didn’t raise no fool, and for my weird pick, I’m going with the guy who won here in ’18, Brooks Koepka.
[puts hand to earpiece]
Okay, I’m hearing Koepka didn’t make the playoffs. In that case, I’m not even sure who a weird pick would be now that we’re down to 50, but last week I picked Alex Noren and he finished second, so let’s ride the hot hand and go with Jake Knapp, who seems to be peaking and will be playing for his East Lake life.
9. ROGUE GOLF TAKE: YES, BRANDT SNEDEKER, STILL PICK JACKSON KOIVUN FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP
We are all slaves to recency in this sport, and I’m no exception, and while you could accuse me of recency bias in saying Koivun should make the Presidents Cup team, I’m going to accuse you of the same thing if you say that he should be left off because he didn’t advance to the BMW. This all comes down to one question: Do you think he’s going to be a superstar? If yes, as I do, just put him on the damn team for your good, his good, and the good of the future. Get him in the mix as soon as possible, and hopefully he’ll be a Cup thoroughbred for the U.S. for years to come.
If you don’t think the’s going to be a superstar … sorry, you’re wrong.
10. ROGUE NON-GOLF TAKE: I HAVE SPENT YEARS UNDERRATING THE SONG “MAN IN THE BOX” BY ALICE IN CHAINS
I am a somewhat typical early-middle-aged man in that rather than exploring new music, which is all bad, I have begun reverting back to what I liked from ages 10 through 28. As such, I recently re-discovered “Man In the Box” by Alice in Chains, read the whole sad story of Layne Staley, and can’t stop thinking about this song and singing in my best Staley voice to the intense annoyance of my entire family. Now, maybe it will be in your head too, in which case I recommend this ridiculously great live version. FEEEEEEEEDD MYYYYY EYESSSS.
