Local Golfers Make Chicago Proud in Playoffs

The FedEx Cup playoffs have been around for a few years, and they offer amazing spoils to those who excel in them (and even those who don’t).

They start with The Barclays at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., where the top 125 points leaders for the season battle for a smooth $8 million. Then it’s off to the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., with another $8 million on the line for the top 100 players.

This year, the players had a week off before coming to Cog Hill in Lemont from Sept. 15–18 for the BMW Championship. With the field now whittled down to 70 players, $8 million was again at stake.

The top 30 points leaders after the BMW earned tickets to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. In addition to another $8 million spread among the field, there was approximately $25 million in bonus money, including $10 million for the winner of the playoffs, $3 million for the runner-up, $2 million for the third-place finisher, and so on. Including those bonuses and tournament purses, $57 million was on the line in the FedEx playoffs. That’s quite a chunk of change.
It’s now old news that Bill Haas walked away with $11,410,000 just on that final day. Hunter Mahan, who lost in the playoff, “only” collected $700,000 in bonus money in addition to $864,000 for placing second in the tournament. It’s hard to feel sorry for someone who earns that $1.5 million, but consider that his total was about $9.5 million less than Hass’. Would those numbers have you shuddering over a putt? You bet.

The points process is a bit staggering in its complexity, and even the TV announcers on the last day had trouble figuring out who could win what, but that’s what makes it so intriguing. Each year some players come from behind and others fall to the back. Points are points, and no one gets a free ride in this playoff.

So how did our locals fare this year? Well, three of the top 30 golfers, or 10 percent, were locals whom we track: Luke Donald, Steve Stricker and Mark Wilson. That is very impressive.

Luke Donald
Donald started off at the rain-shortened Barclays in a tie for 18th. At the Deutsche Bank Championship, he tied for third place. At the BMW Championship, he had a tie for fourth, and he finished the Tour Championship with another third place. He was arguably the most consistent of all the players in the FedEx Cup race—no wonder he’s No. 1 in the world. He collected $3.3 million in earnings and bonuses in the final month of the season. It was a great ending to an incredible year.

Steve Stricker
Stricker also had a very profitable year in 2011. His FedEx Cup play wasn’t dynamic, but he was steady enough to make it all the way to Atlanta. He tied for 24th at The Barclays, tied for 42nd at the Deutsche Bank Championship, withdrew after two rounds at the BMW Championship due to back problems and finished 15th in the Tour Championship. His total earnings for the Cup were $497,476. Not bad for one month’s play.
Mark Wilson
Wilson started the year in grand fashion with a couple victories. He went on to have a steady year, making it all the way through the Cup playoffs. His results that final month: a tie for 24th in The Barclays, a tie for 56th at the Deutsche Bank Championship, a tie for 22nd at the BMW Championship (where he had a sizable gallery following him) and a tie for 26th at the Tour Championship. Combined, he earned $496,225.

D.A. Points
Points made it to the BMW Championship, where his tie for 53rd wasn’t good enough to get him to the Tour Championship. He missed the cut at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship. His 53rd place at the BMW, along with bonus money, netted him $128,613.

Jerry Kelly
Kelly had a good start to the playoffs with a tie for 24th at The Barclays followed by a strong tie for 10th at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which propelled him into the BMW, where his solid 16th place wasn’t quite good enough to send him to Atlanta. Including his bonus, he earned a more-than-respectable $492,233.

Kevin Streelman
Streelman’s year ended disappointingly, especially compared to a storybook 2010 when he came from behind to make all the events in the Cup playoffs. After tying for 32nd at The Barclays, he missed the cut at Deutsche Bank Championship, which forced him out of the Cup race. His playoff take was $119,782. CG