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Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth all try to avoid FedEx Cup bubble

By David Salituro

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA - SEPTEMBER 06: Tiger Woods of the United States plays his shot from the tenth tee during the first round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on September 6, 2018 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA - SEPTEMBER 06: Tiger Woods of the United States plays his shot from the tenth tee during the first round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on September 6, 2018 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) /
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Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth are grouped together at the BMW Championship as they all try to avoid missing out on the Tour Championship.

Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth all find themselves in an unfamiliar spot this week at the BMW Championship. Each of them is on the bubble to advance to the Tour Championship and risks having his season end at Aronimink Golf Club.

The group of Woods, Fowler and Spieth highlights the first two rounds of the BMW Championship as each of them tries to rebound from a winless year on the PGA Tour. The top 70 are in the field this week, but only the top 30 will make it to East Lake in two weeks. They begin the BMW Championship 25th, 26th and 27th in the points race, respectively.

Woods will likely need to finish 37th at the BMW to advance, while Fowler needs 29th place and Spieth 28th.

For Woods, the 2018 season has been one of redemption. He played only one event the past two years as he suffered through back injuries. He not only returned to the tour this year, but has gotten back to form. He’s contended at the past two major championships, finishing sixth at the Open Championship and second at the PGA Championship, but is coming off two disappointing finishes to begin the FedEx Cup playoffs, 40th at The Northern Trust and 24th at the Dell Technologies Championship.

Woods last played the Tour Championship in 2013. He declined to speak to the media after playing on Monday and again before start of play on Thursday.

Fowler has also gone through his own injury woes. He missed both The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies with an oblique strain, causing him to fall down the standings and put his playoff in jeopardy. He knows what it’s like to just miss the bubble for East Lake, losing out by a single shot in 2016.

Fowler says the goal at Aronimink isn’t just to get to the Tour Championship, but get into contention for the FedEx Cup there. A good showing at the BMW will go a long way towards accomplishing that.

“Ultimately, I’d like to not just to get to East Lake but to get myself in a good position to have a chance there,” he said at his press conference on Tuesday. “We’ve fallen back a little bit these last two weeks, but no reason we can’t play well here.”

This is uncharted territory for Spieth. He has made the Tour Championship every year since 2013, winning both the tournament and the FedEx Cup in 2015. While he is winless since the Open Championship last July, he took the 54-hole lead at Carnoustie this year and had a chance to win the Masters. Those two majors, however, are his only top 10 finishes in his last 13 events.

By all measures it’s been a down year for Spieth, but he is quick to point out it hasn’t been as bad as it may seem. He believes he doesn’t have to change anything about his game to have a chance at the BMW and advance to the Tour Championship once again.

“You might forget, I’m actually inside the number right now,” he said on Wednesday. “I don’t know about the scrambling. I just got to play normal.”

Spieth recognizes, however, that it’s not going to be easy every year. While he is in a more uncomfortable position this time than he’s been the past few years, he isn’t backing down from the challenge.

“I’m in a more difficult position to win the FedEx Cup than I’ve been in the last five or six years,” he said. “But, at some point in your career, you’re going to be stuck in a position that’s more difficult than other years. So embrace the challenge and try to go out and work my way into the top 10 this week would be my goal.”

Bryson DeChambeau currently leads the FedEx Cup points race after winning both The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies the past two weeks. He and Woods were announced as captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup on Tuesday, a team that Spieth and Fowler are already on.

The grouping of Woods, Fowler and Spieth began the first round of the BMW Championship at 11:30 a.m. ET. Woods and Fowler are both two-under thru three holes, while Spieth is even-par.

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