Author: Justin Onken

The FedEx Cup Playoffs have been cut to the top 70 after last week’s Northern Trust. Hurricane Henri forced a Monday finish where Tony Finau finally got over the hump to beat Cameron Smith in a playoff for his first win in over five years.
70 players are fighting for thirty spots in the Tour Championship next week where the FedEx Cup Champion will be crowned. Players near the bottom of the top 70 will likely need at least a top 15 finish and some luck to move into the top 30.
Getting into the Tour Championship carries big benefits though and players are extremely motivated to find a way in so targeting those close to the cut off line is something worth looking at. 
Patrick Reed is the only golfer who is expected to miss this week as he battles pneumonia. With a field as loaded as this, I think it will look a lot like it has in the past and last week with elite players filling the top of the leaderboard come Sunday.
Caves Valley Golf Club is hosting the BMW this year and it is a new course for the Tour. The Champions Tour and the LPGA Tour have both played an event here in the past but this is largely a new test for the players.
Caves Valley is a par 72, playing around 7,540 yards. It is a long course that the fairways have allegedly been brought in a lot to try and provide some defense to the best players in the world. The early sentiment is that the course will yield a lot of birdies and the longer hitters will feast.
There aren’t strong defenses for missing the fairway like last week with water and long grass. It will largely just be rough and bunker placement that causes issues at Caves Valley. There are a number of drivable par fours depending on tee placements this week.
Bent grass greens this week so sorting players by their bent grass putting ability is something I will consider. The around the green ability that was important last week will likely be less of a factor as Caves Valley’s greens are significantly larger in size and more players will be hitting greens this week.
SG: Approach will be the key factor as always, particularly if birdies are out there. The best approach for players with a little extra length off of the tee is the type of player I will be targeting this week. 
There are a lot of players with big motivations this week, whether it’s to get into the top 30 or position themself for a realistic shot to win next week. It should be a fun week to watch the best players in the world gun it out.

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BMW Championship Outrights
These playoff events are typically won by the very top of the elite players. When you get this many top guys in a field, usually at least one of them brings the A game and takes home the victory.
This week will be […]