Brandt Snedeker has made the biggest jump without winning in the FedEx Cup playoffs, going from No. 18 to No. 5 with a tie for third at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship. He also has made a swift climb in the U.S. standings for the Presidents Cup, and is the equivalent of $28,016 behind David Toms at No. 10.
There was some movement in Boston, but not enough to clarify everything. The top 10 players earn spots on the U.S. team before Fred Couples doles out his captain’s pick (one already goes to Tiger Woods).
Jim Furyk finished sixth, moving him up to No. 9 – but he is only $15,809 ahead of Toms, and $43,825 ahead of Snedeker (each dollar counts two points in the standings).
Augusta’s Charles Howell at No. 23 is as low as anyone on the list with a mathematical chance of qualifying.
SEVE TROPHY: Second-ranked Lee Westwood and British Open champion Darren Clarke have been included in Britain & Ireland’s team for next week’s Vivendi Seve Trophy against Continental Europe in Paris.
Top-ranked Luke Donald, of England, and U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, will miss the match.
Jean van de Velde’s Continental Europe side includes Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and Italy’s Matteo Manassero.
BELLY BLUNDER: Brandt Jobe has been so frustrated with his putting over the past few months that he stopped having fun. It reached a point at the Deutsche Bank Championship that he decided to use a belly putter in the third round.
It had been so long that he didn’t want to make a full commitment, so he kept two putters in the bag for the third round.
“It was getting to the end of the year and I had nothing to lose, but I didn’t want to shoot 80 if it didn’t go well,” Jobe said.
With an extra putter, something had to give to stay at the 14-club limit, so he removed his 4-iron.
Bad move.
“I needed a 4-iron four times today,” Jobe said, laughing at himself.
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