‘Dawgs On Tour: The Penultimate Driving Machine

A sweltering week in Memphis didn’t shake up the PGA Tour playoff race much, but a few things did stand out.

Scottie Scheffler has a $100 million dollar swing. It looks like he’s drunk, but it is hard to think of someone in the last 60 years who produces more consistent results. And if he’s putting well, like he did last week, he’s pretty much untouchable.

TPC Southwind is a great track. Once it got firm and bouncy into the weekend, it was confounding the best players in the world. Almost no one figured out a good strategy off the tee, and the rough was truly penal.

Only a single player moved into the top 50 and advanced to this week. The bigger points available were supposed to provide volatility – not at the crazy levels of the first FedEx playoffs, but it really failed to provide much drama. The little drama was unfortunately by former UGA golfer Keith Mitchell. Speaking of which, here’s how the 5 Classic City Canines fared:

Brian Harman began the week in the 65 spot meaning he needed a top 5 finish to move up at least 15 spots in the playoffs. He was making noise with a Friday 64, yet his putter wouldn’t cooperate, he couldn’t convert when he game himself chances, and a Sunday 75 means he’s heading back home to SEGA.

Harris English was on the outside of the bubble and was doomed by a 75 Friday. His Sunday 67 was one of the better rounds of the day, but he was several shots short of slipping inside the top 50. So his season is over, but with a chance to improve his position during the Fall events.

Keith Mitchell started at 49th, and hung on the line all week. He needed birdie on the 72nd hole to secure his playoff berth, but his drive ran through the fairway and on the lip of the water. A shoeless, rolled up pants attempt to save his season was doomed when his approach came up short and the slope took it into the water. He’s in the same boat as English.

Sepp Straka was another former Bulldog who slipped a couple of places in the FedEx rankings, but since he started in 37th place, his T34 in Memphis means he’s still 39th in the playoffs and will tee it up this week. But he likely needs a top 10, or very close to it, in order to get inside the top 30 and continue his season next week.

Russell Henley was well positioned at 15th in the playoffs so he knew he was safe. Hopefully he used Memphis to work on a few things, stay hydrated, and crafting a strategy for East Lake. He is in 14th place this week – a virtual lock to advance to the Tour Championship next week. But there is still many millions to play for this week so we might as well preview it:

Tournament: BMW Championship, August 20-23, 2026

Course: Bellerive Country Club, par 70, 7,448 yards. On the western outskirts of St. Louis, MO.

Purse: $20 million in total for 50 players, with 3.6 million to the winner and $68k for finishing DFL.

Defending Champ: Scottie Scheffler. It was more of a close-run thing, but he birdied the 71st hole to give himself a cushion and grabbed his 5th title of the year.

TV Times: Only 50 players, but this gets more coverage than Brent Musberger on AJ McCarron’s special someone. Thursday and Friday 10 am – 12 pm ET on ESPN, then 3-6 pm ET on Golf Channel. GC will pick up the early broadcast Saturday and Sunday from 12 – 2 pm ET, then CBS carries you home both days.

‘Dawgs in the Field: Just two – Russell Henley (14) and Sepp Straka (39).

Enjoy, and as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!