The Round Table: Tour Championship and POY up for grabs at East Lake

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

The CPKC Women’s Open wound up on Sunday with Japan’s Miyu Yamashita winning by 9-shots. Defending champion Brooke Henderson finished T13 but never really contended while two young Canadians made it into the Top 10. What was your take on the event?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): I looked at the leaderboard of the CPKC all weekend, and just shuddered at the fact that, yet again, it was completely dominated by foreign names — mainly Asian.  This is NOT a racist comment — I marvel at the Asian players’ talent, composure, focus.  But I just know a leaderboard like that will just about kill any interest from thousands and thousands of television viewers in North America, and further erode dwindling fan support for the LPGA Tour, at a time when the talent has never been better.  My hat’s off to the two Canadian teens who finished in the top 10 — Anna Huang and Aphrodite Deng — and I hope this is just the beginning of two stellar future LPGA careers for them.  But I just wonder if SS LPGA is starting to list, heavily.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): Miyu Yamashita put on a clinic. Winning by nine-shots in professional golf is rare, and she never looked rattled. Brooke Henderson simply didn’t have her best stuff this week, But having two young Canadians (Huang and Deng) finish inside the Top 10 is a tremendous sign for the depth of the women’s game here.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: Yamashita didn’t fall off a pumpkin truck to win, she has won this year, has 9 top 10s and 15 of 17 cuts. She set the all-time 36 hole, 54 hole and tied the all-time 72 hole records. She beat her own best 72 hole score by 12 strokes. Talk about in the ‘groove’. I’ve played Mayfair, in fact I led the Alberta Open there after 18 holes and finished 8th. It isn’t a push-over. It’s a grand old course and great club.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): It’s a shame it was a runaway victory for anyone but a Canadian, but what a performance by Yamashita.  What jumped out to me was the performance by Anna Huang and Aphrodite Deng. Anna seems like the real deal, and it was great to see her secure her first LPGA top 10.  What a future she has.  And for Deng to perform that well as an amateur shows she’s got game as well.  The future is bright for the Canadian women!

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Checked in Rd 3 in the tiny two-hour window GolfChannel granted the event. (Huge marketing and ratings message there). Had to scroll down to 8th name to find a non-Asian one. Lost interest. Great that a pair of Canucks played well — Aphrodite a terrific name, after Asterisk was taken. That Deng and Huang made it to the next LPGA Tour event makes you proud to be Canadian.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine: Runaways, even at home, don’t generate any drama. Good for Yamashita, bad for TV. I was delighted to see Anna Huang near the top of the leaderboard. The Canadian teenager has five wins on the LET and now looks poised to contend at the next level. Good learning experience also for Aphrodite Deng, another future Canuck star.

Last week, Wyndham Clark coasted to victory at the BMW Championship becoming the third three-time winner on Tour this year. Clark’s wins include a playoff event and a major. During an interview on Saturday, Rory McIlroy said that if Clark wins the BMW, it definitely puts him in the conversation for Player of the Year which is voted on by the players. Scottie Scheffler, based on two wins and a mitt-full of Top 10s appeared to have that title sewn up. Will Clark’s win change anyone’s votes?

Deeks: I’ll defer to what happens in the final FedEx event.  Right now my vote’s with Scottie, but it’s becoming a cliff-hanger.

Loughry: I think Clark’s BMW win will impact some votes. Three wins, including a U.S. Open and a FedEx Cup Playoff event, is a pretty good résumé. But the Player of the Year isn’t just about highlights, it’s about the entire season. Scheffler’s consistency is remarkable and statistically he has been the best player week after week. Clark certainly has closed the gap, but if I had a vote, Scheffler would still get a slight edge.

Schurman: One time in my teens, I stayed out all night without phoning home. The next day around noon my father woke me up and asked “didn’t they have a phone where you were”?. And, then delivered the knockout punch when he said “You’ve got a lot of good livin’ to do to make this up to your mother and me”. I don’t know why but somehow I feel Clarke has some good livin’ to do to earn people’s endearment. However, he can play! To me top 10s are great but at this level victories and quality of event matters more. Clarke is Player of the Year unless Scottie wins the FedEx Cup.

Rule: It has to put him in the conversation, particularly since he’s got a major win in his portfolio this year, and Scottie doesn’t.  If Clark wins the Tour Championship, you’d be hard pressed not to give him the Player of the Year. Wins matter after all.

Quinn: Can’t help but get a lot of the guys thinking no matter how they feel about Clark and his anger-management issues. For the first time in a long time the guys have to take a close look. Wins are one thing, stats another, and personalities also factor in. For the first time in a long time the POY comes down to the final event. It’ll be worth watching.

Mumford: Maybe a few but Scheffler’s stats are other-worldly. Wins, especially majors, usually matter a great deal but Scottie has played so consistently well all season and leads in so many performance categories that he’s clearly outshone everyone. And given that it’s a player vote, I think most players like Scottie, Wyndham maybe not as much.

The PGA Tour heads to East Lake for the Tour Championship where all 30 players will have an equal chance to win the Championship and the FedEx Cup. Who’s your pick to win and why?

Deeks: I just think McIlroy is overdue to win a big one, again.  If he can make that putter work, and stop over-reading breaks, I’d love to see him take it all.

Loughry: My pick is Scottie Scheffler. At some point, the results have to catch up with the level of golf he’s been playing all season. He led just about every meaningful ball-striking category and kept putting himself in contention week after week. East Lake rewards complete players, and nobody has been more complete from tee to green. If he gets even an average week on the greens, I think he wins both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.

Schurman: This the best format for the playoffs. Year long results are considered to be the right amount. Just like any other sport, points get perks but not in the final. While it would be a great victory for an under-dog, Scottie is the player of our time. He seems like a decent, respectful person and he is the best player. I’m picking him.

Rule: Rory seems to be slowly rounding into form and may sneak out the win this week, which would be great to see. That might put his name in the hat for Player of the Year, although I don’t think he’s been consistent enough throughout the year.  But I can see him winning the final event to cap off his year.

Quinn: Like that it’s an even playing field to start — even better in a few years when its back-to-back match play — and among the 30 there are definitely at least 20 guys who could win it. But on recent form, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Rory and Scottie in the final pairing Sunday.

Mumford: Hard to argue with Scheffler or McIlroy as the frontrunners. They have the most experience getting the job done in this situation. There are no real longshots in this field of top performers but if ever there was a player who has been close a lot this season and is due for a breakthrough, it would be Sam Burns. Like Tommy Fleetwood last year, Burns would be a popular and deserving winner.