Bud Cauley trying to make the Tour Championship for the first time in 14 seasons on the PGA Tour
Collin Morikawa tosses golf ball to young Australian fan in Memphis
Riaan Ayoobi, 7, from Melbourne, Australia, catches a tournament-used golf ball from Collin Morikawa at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.
There’s one FedEx Cup Playoff event left to qualify for the Tour Championship, with 50 players in the field beginning on Aug. 14 for the BMW Championship, at the Caves Valley Golf Club near Baltimore.
The top 30 after the final round will advance to the Tour Championship Aug. 21-24 at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. And entering the first round, three area players are inside that threshold to start the week: No. 7 Ben Griffin of St. Simons Island, Ga., No. 13 Ludvig Åberg of Nocatee and No. 18 Brian Harman of St. Simons.
But one of the better stories might be if Bud Cauley, who played junior golf in Jacksonville, breaks through for his first appearance in the Tour Championship. Cauley is 46th on the points list and after missing his previous two cuts, tied for 14th last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Cauley has qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs five times in 14 seasons on the PGA Tour. His best finish so far was 83rd on the 2019-20 season.
Who are the area players in the BMW Championship field?
(FedEx Cup ranking in parentheses)
First Coast: Ludvig Aberg (13), Bud Cauley (46).
Golden Isles: Ben Griffin (7), Brian Harman (18), J.T. Poston (50).
Purse: $20 million ($3.6 million and 2,000 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Keegan Bradley.
TV: Golf Channel (Aug. 14-15, 2-6 p.m.; Aug. 16, 1-3 p.m.; Aug. 17, 12-2 p.m.).
What other Tours are playing this week?
LIV Golf
Event: LIV Golf Indianapolis, Aug. 15-17, Club at Chatham Hills, Westfield, Ind.
Purse: $25 million ($4 million to the winner).
Defending champion: First-time event.
TV: FS1 (Aug. 15, 12-2 p.m.; Aug. 16, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; Aug. 17, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.); FOX (Aug. 15, 2-5 p.m.; Aug. 16, 12-4 p.m.; Aug. 17, 12-3 p.m.).
Area player: Cameron Smith.
LPGA
Event: Standard Portland Classic, Aug. 14-17, Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Portland.
Purse: $2 million ($262,500 to the winner).
Defending champion: Moriya Jutanugarn
Area players: Amelia Lewis, Jessica Porvasnik.
TV: Golf Channel (Aug. 14-15, 11 a.m- 1 p.m.; Aug. 16, 6-9 p.m.; Aug. 17, 4-7 p.m.).
PGA Tour Champions
Event: Rogers Charity Classic, Aug. 15-17, Canyon Meadows Golf Club, Calgary.
Purse: $2.5 million ($450,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Ken Tanigawa.
Area players: David Duval, Fred Funk, Vijay Singh.
TV: Golf Channel (Aug. 15, 9-11 p.m.; Aug. 16, 10-12 p.m.; Aug. 17, 11 p.m.-1 a.m.).
Korn Ferry Tour
Event: Albertson’s Boise Open, Aug. 14-17, Hillcrest Country Club, Boise.
Purse: $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).
2024 champion: Matt McCarty.
Area players: Area players: Tyson Alexander, Samuel Anderson, Dawston Armstrong, Derek Bard, Chandler Blanchet, Cody Blick, Sebastian Cappelen, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Nick Gabrelcik, Luke Guthrie, Philip Knowles, Russell Knox, Rick Lamb, Marcus Plunkett, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Travis Trace, Carl Yuan.
TV: None.
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