2018 Dell Technologies Championship Preview

Dates: August 30-September 3, 2018
Where: TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts
Par/Yards: 36-35–71/7,342
2017 Champion: Justin Thomas
Purse: $9 million total purse, $1.62 million to the winner
FedExCup: 2,000 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Field: Only the top 100 from the 2017-18 FedExCup Regular Season standings qualify, with 98 committed to play (Francesco Molinari and Rickie Fowler/oblique injury). The top 70 in the standings following the Dell Technologies Championship advance to next week’s BMW Championship.
Twitter and Facebook: @DellTechChamp      Instagram: @DellTechChamp

 

FedExCup and the Dell Technologies Championship

• The Dell Technologies Championship is the second of four events of the FedExCup Playoffs for the 12^th consecutive season since the Playoffs were introduced in 2007. Only the top-100 players in the FedExCup standings earn the right to compete at TPC Boston, with the top 100 jockeying to remain inside the top 70 to earn entry into next week’s BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf
• Three of the last five Dell Technologies Championship winners have gone on to win the FedExCup title in the same year (Justin Thomas/2017, Rory McIlroy/2016 and Henrik Stenson/2013). Vijay Singh also won the Dell Technologies Championship before claiming the
• Phil Mickelson, Ryan Moore, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III and Brandt Snedeker are the only players to advance to the Dell Technologies Championship every year of the FedExCup Playoffs.
• Whether or you are a foodie, a family, a socialite, or a golf fanatic, there is something for everyone at the Dell Technologies Championship. New this year, fans can print out a customized fan journey fromdelltechnologieschampionship.com to make the most of their experiences at the tournament.

 

Current FedExCup Rankings

1) Bryson DeChambeau	3,617
2) Dustin Johnson	2,969
3) Justin Thomas	2,954
4) Tony Finau	2,709
5) Brooks Koepka	2,332
6) Justin Rose	1,991
7) Bubba Watson	1,957
8) Jason Day	1,935
9) Webb Simpson	1,819
10) Phil Mickelson	1,750

 

A look back at the Dell Technologies Championship – 2017

• Justin Thomas entered the final round tied for the 54-hole lead with Marc Leishman but posted a 5-under 66 in the final round for a three-shot victory and his fifth win of the
• Thomas held off an early charge from his buddy Jordan Spieth, who briefly took sole possession of the lead after starting birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie. Thomas posted a birdie at the second, an eagle at the par-4 fourth and birdies at the seventh, 13^th and 15^th to close out the
• The win was Thomas’s fifth of the season and moved him to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings at the time behind Jordan Spieth, who he eventually passed at the TOUR Championship with a runner-up finish on his way to the 2017 FedExCup

Players on various FedExCup bubbles BMW Championship Bubble

Pos.	Name	Finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST
68.	Jimmy Walker	T71
69.	Louis Oosthuizen	T28
70.	Kevin Streelman	T40
71.	Tyrrell Hatton	T20
72.	C.T. Pan	T60

 

TOUR Championship Bubble

Pos.	Name	Finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST
28.	Rory McIlroy	DNP
29.	Chesson Hadley	T56
30.	Andrew Landry	T76
31.	Luke List	T48
32.	Brian Harman	T48

 

The Top Five in the FedExCup

The top five in the FedExCup standings is where players want to be after the next two events are played and the 100-man field at the Dell Technologies Championship is trimmed to 70 for the BMW Championship and then the top-30 for the TOUR Championship. The top five entering East Lake will control their own destiny and can win the FedExCup with a victory, which was most recently achieved by Jordan Spieth in 2015. Justin Thomas began the FedExCup Playoffs at No. 2 last year and was No. 2 heading into the TOUR Championship after his win in Boston but claimed the FedExCup title with a runner-up finish at East Lake.

No. 1 Bryson DeChambeau

Leads the FedExCup for the first time in his career after winning THE NORTHERN TRUST by four shots to move from No. 9 to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings.

Entering the week

#1                           FedExCup
#12                         OWGR
1                              Starts at the Dell Technologies Championship
T30 (2017)            Best finish at the Dell Technologies Championship
69                           PGA TOUR starts
3                              PGA TOUR victories
23                           PGA TOUR starts in 2017-18
8                              Top-10s in 2017-18

Wins (3): 2017 John Deere Classic, 2018 the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, 2018 THE NORTHERN TRUST

• Joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson as one of only four players in history to have won an NCAA Championship, U.S. Amateur, and at least three PGA TOUR events before their 25^th birthday with his victory at THE NORTHERN
• Became the youngest winner of THE NORTHERN TRUST in the FedExCup era at age 24 years, 11 months, 10 Players under the age of 25 have now won three of the last four FedExCup Playoffs events.
• DeChambeau has now won three of his last 30 starts on the PGA
• DeChambeau is looking to join Vijay Singh as the only player in FedExCup history to win each of the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs in a season. Singh, the 2008 FedExCup champion, is the only player to win the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs and go on to win the
• Recorded a career-best 63 during the third round of THE NORTHERN TRUST and hit 59/72 greens in regulation for the week, tied with Byeong Hun An for the most in the field. It’s the second most greens in regulation DeChambeau has ever hit in a PGA TOUR
• Finished 49^th in the FedExCup standings in 2017 as a PGA TOUR

 

No. 2 Dustin Johnson

Returns to the Dell Technologies Championship, where he has never finished inside the top three.

Entering the week

#2                           FedExCup
#1                           OWGR
8                              Starts at the Dell Technologies Championship
T4 (2009, 2012) Best finish at the Dell Technologies Championship
238                         PGA TOUR starts
19                           PGA TOUR victories
17                           PGA TOUR starts in 2017-18
3                              Wins in 2017-18

Wins (19): 2008 Turning Stone Resort Championship. 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, BMW Championship. 2011 The Barclays. 2012 FedEx St. Jude Classic. 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. 2014 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. 2015 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. 2016 U.S. Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, BMW Championship. 2017 Genesis Open, World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, THE NORTHERN TRUST. 2018 Sentry Tournament of Champions, FedEx St. Jude Classic, RBC Canadian Open.

 Has never missed the cut in eight prior appearances at the Dell Technologies Championship but hasn’t finished higher than T4 (2009, 2012). Has a total of three top-10s at TPC Boston.

• Has finished inside the top 10 in the FedExCup standings in six of the last eight
• Has won at least one PGA TOUR event in 11 consecutive seasons, dating to his rookie season in 2008, the longest active streak on TOUR.
• One of three players on TOUR this year with three victories (Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson).
• His 10 top-10 finishes are the most on the PGA TOUR this
• Currently leads the TOUR in scoring average at 68.630 and SG: Tee-to-Green (+1.990)
• Johnson is tied with Rory McIlroy for the most victories at FedExCup Playoffs events with
• Johnson is also tied for the most top-10 finishes in FedExCup Playoffs events with 16 (Jim Furyk).

 

No. 3 Justin Thomas

The defending Dell Technologies Championship champion and defending FedExCup champion Justin Thomas arrives to the Playoffs looking to become the first player in the 12-year history of the FedExCup to defend his season-long title.

Entering the week

#3                         FedExCup
#3                         OWGR
3                            Starts at the Dell Technologies Championship
1 (2017)                  Wins at the Dell Technologies Championship
114                       PGA TOUR starts
9                            PGA TOUR victories
20                         PGA TOUR starts in 2017-18
3                            Wins in 2017-18

 

Wins (9): 2016 CIMB Classic. 2017 CIMB Classic, SBS Tournament of Champions, Sony Open in Hawaii, PGA Championship, Dell Technologies Championship. 2018 THE CJ CUP NINE BRIDGES, The Honda Classic, World Golf Championships- Bridgestone Invitational.

 

• The 2017 FedExCup champion has followed his five-win season with three victories thus far in 2017-2018. With his fifth win of the season in Boston last year, Thomas became the first player to win five or more times in a season on TOUR since Jordan Spieth and Jason Day won five times during the 2014-15 season. Thomas became the fourth player since 1960 to capture five wins, including a major, in a season before the age of 25 (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth).
• Posted a T8 at THE NORTHERN TRUST for his third consecutive top-10 on the PGA TOUR
• Thomas’ bogey-free round of 63 in Sunday’s third round at TPC Boston in 2017 included 12 3s, the most ever recorded in a single round of a FedExCup Playoffs
• After recording one victory in his first 66 events on TOUR, he has won eight times in his last 44
• Entered last year’s FedExCup Playoffs at No. 2 in the standings. Secured the FedExCup title with finishes of T6, 1^st, T47 and 2^nd to win the season-long points
• In 2017, Thomas and Jon Rahm played all 16 rounds of the FedExCup Playoffs at par or better, becoming the only players in Playoffs history to record all 16 rounds at par or
• Thomas is one of four players to win a Playoffs event under the age of 25 joined by Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Xander
• Thomas is one of two players under the age of 25 to win the FedExCup (Jordan Spieth) and is the fourth consecutive FedExCup champion under the age of 30 – Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Rory McIlroy (2016) and Thomas (2017).
• Currently ranked second on TOUR in scoring average (69.101) and SG: Tee-to-Green (+1.725).

 

No. 4 Tony Finau

Has nine top-10s this season including three runner-up finishes and enters the Dell Technologies Championship at No. 4 in the FedExCup standings after finishing second at last week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST.

Entering the week

#4                         FedExCup
#18                       OWGR
3                            Starts at the Dell Technologies Championship
T24 (2016)          Best finish at the Dell Technologies Championship
116                       PGA TOUR starts
1                            PGA TOUR victories
25                         PGA TOUR starts in 2017-18
9                            Top-10s in 2017-18

Wins (1): 2016 Puerto Rico Open

Best 2017-18 results: 2^nd – Safeway Open, 2^nd – THE NORTHERN TRUST, T2 – Genesis Open

• Finau has now finished inside the top 10 in each of his last three starts in the FedExCup Playoffs with T7 finishes at last year’s BMW Championship and TOUR Championship and a runner-up finish at last week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST.
• With nine top-10s this season, Finau is tied for second in top-10s on TOUR with Justin Thomas. Thomas and Finau are both one behind Dustin Johnson’s 10.

• Has finished in the top 50 in the FedExCup standings each of his first three seasons on the PGA TOUR – 19 (2017), No. 45 (2016), and No. 43 (2015)
• Posted three top-10s in major championships this year – T10 at The Masters Tournament, fifth at the S. Open, and T9 at The Open Championship.

 

No. 5 Brooks Koepka

Enters the second FedExCup Playoffs event following his two major championship victories.

Entering the week

#5                         FedExCup
#2                         OWGR
3                            Starts at the Dell Technologies Championship
T18 (2017)          Best finish at the Dell Technologies Championship
101                       PGA TOUR starts
4                            PGA TOUR victories
14                         PGA TOUR starts in 2017-18
2                            Wins in 2017-18

Wins (4): 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open. 2017 U.S. Open. 2018 U.S. Open, 2018 PGA Championship.

• Playing for the fourth time in the FedExCup Playoffs, Koepka is looking for his first finish inside the top five in the FedExCup after ending 2017 at a career-best 10^th.
• Recorded his third consecutive top-10 on TOUR with a T8 at THE NORTHERN
• With 12 starts in FedExCup Playoffs events to date, Koepka’s best finish was a solo-sixth at the 2017 TOUR Championship.
• Joined Tiger Woods (2000), Jack Nicklaus (1980), Ben Hogan (1948) and Gene Sarazen (1922) as the only players to win the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same season

 

Past Champions of the Dell Technologies Championship in the field

Player	Year(s) won	2018 FedExCup Rank
Justin Thomas	2017	3
Rory McIlroy	2012, 2016	28
Chris Kirk	2014	64
Henrik Stenson	2013	55
Webb Simpson	2011	9
Charley Hoffman	2010	75
Phil Mickelson	2007	10
Tiger Woods	2006	25
Adam Scott	2003	40

 

Advancing to the Dell Technologies Championship

It took 557 points to advance to this year’s Dell Technologies Championship, with Jason Dufner earning the final spot in the 100^th spot in the FedExCup standings.

Six players – Nick Watney, Bronson Burgoon, Jhonattan Vegas, Scott Stallings, Danny Lee, and Brian Stuard – played their way into the top 100 in the FedExCup standings to advance to the Dell Technologies Championship, while six players — Patrick Rodgers, Brandon Harkins, Trey Mullinax, Charl Schwartzel, Rory Sabbatini, and Alex Cejka – fell out of the top 100 to end their respective seasons.

 

FedExCup Playoffs Notes

Year-by-year look at FedExCup winners and their performance throughout the Playoffs in the years they won:

Year	FedExCup Champion	TNT	Dell Tech	BMW Champ	TOUR Champ
2017	Justin Thomas	T6	1	T47	2
2016	Rory McIlroy	T31	1	T42	1
2015	Jordan Spieth	MC	MC	T13	1
2014	Billy Horschel	MC	T2	1	1
2013	Henrik Stenson	T43	1	T33	1
2012	Brandt Snedeker	2	6	T37	1
2011	Bill Haas	T24	T61	T16	1
2010	Jim Furyk	DNP	T37	T15	1
2009	Tiger Woods	T2	T11	1	2
2008	Vijay Singh	1	1	T44	T22
2007	Tiger Woods	N/A	T2	1	1

 

Implications of the Dell Technologies Championship 2007

In 2007, two players advanced in the Playoffs based on their play at the Dell Technologies Championship:

Player	Finish/2007 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
John Mallinger	T14	No. 63	No. 72
Bo Van Pelt	T30	No. 70	No. 71

 

2008

In 2008, 10 players were able to play their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2008 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Tim Herron	T5	No. 48	No. 99
Johnson Wagner	T15	No. 55	No. 78
Heath Slocum	T15	No. 56	No. 79
Ben Crane	T10	No. 57	No. 92
Eric Axley	MDF	No. 63	No. 72
Aaron Baddeley	MDF	No. 64	No. 73
Fredrik Jacobson	T67	No. 65	No. 74
Charley Hoffman	T33	No. 66	No. 77
Tommy Armour III	MDF	No. 69	No. 75
Angel Cabrera	T15	No. 70	No. 93

 

2009

In 2009, eight players were able to play their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2009 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Sergio Garcia	26	No. 55	No. 71
Bubba Watson	T32	No. 59	No. 72
Jeff Overton	T23	No. 61	No. 82
Stephen Ames	T23	No. 63	No. 87
Bryce Molder	T36	No. 66	No. 74
Marc Leishman	T15	No. 67	No. 93
Woody Austin	T36	No. 68	No. 75
Jason Bohn	T32	No. 69	No. 81

 

2010

In 2010, four players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2010 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Tom Gillis	T5	No. 48	No. 92
Vijay Singh	T11	No. 63	No. 86
Jason Dufner	T18	No. 65	No. 81
Andres Romero	T11	No. 68	No. 100

 

2011

In 2011, eight players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2011 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Chez Reavie	2	No. 9	No. 87
Blake Adams	T10	No. 57	No. 81
Chad Campbell	T21	No. 58	No. 73
Andres Romero	T31	No. 59	No. 72
Johnson Wagner	T25	No. 67	No. 88
Ernie Els	T16	No. 68	No. 99
Geoff Ogilvy	T25	No. 69	No. 91
Chris Stroud	T42	No. 70	No. 75

 

2012

In 2012, nine players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2012 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Jeff Overton	T7	No. 40	No. 83
Bryce Molder	9	No. 45	No. 93
D.A. Points	T20	No. 54	No. 72
Troy Matteson	T20	No. 59	No. 78
Matt Every	T35	No. 63	No. 75
Chris Kirk	T35	No. 66	No. 81
Charl Schwartzel	T47	No. 68	No. 71
Charley Hoffman	T26	No. 69	No. 86
Dicky Pride	T20	No. 70	No. 96

 

2013

In 2013, seven players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2013 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Kevin Stadler	T4	No. 32	No. 75
Brian Davis	T7	No. 43	No. 80
Ian Poulter	T9	No. 52	No. 77
Marc Leishman	T16	No. 58	No. 76
Nicholas Thompson	T22	No. 59	No. 73
Brendan Steele	T20	No. 69	No. 89
Ernie Els	T20	No. 70	No. 91

 

2014

In 2014, six players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2014 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Billy Horschel	T2	No. 20	No. 82
Geoff Ogilvy	T2	No. 24	No. 100
Chesson Hadley	T9	No. 57	No. 84
Carl Pettersson	T9	No. 66	No. 93
Morgan Hoffmann	T35	No. 68	No. 72
Ben Crane	T29	No. 69	No. 78

 

2015

In 2015, four players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2015 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Hunter Mahan	T4	No. 52	No. 91
Keegan Bradley	T25	No. 63	No. 71
Jerry Kelly	T9	No. 65	No. 94
William McGirt	T12	No. 68	No. 88

 

2016

In 2016, six players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2016 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Billy Hurley III	T8	No. 51	No. 77
David Hearn	T8	No. 59	No. 92
Hudson Swafford	T15	No. 61	No. 82
Vaughn Taylor	T24	No. 64	No. 79
Chris Kirk	T33	No. 66	No. 75
Marc Leishman	T46	No. 70	No. 71

 

2017

In 2017, three players played their way into the BMW Championship:

Player	Finish/2017 DTC	FEC Rank After DTC	Prior FEC Rank
Emiliano Grillo	22	62	77
Rafa Cabrera Bello	T18	60	80
Stewart Cink	12	57	81

 

Rookies in the FedExCup Playoffs

Eight rookies advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs and earned their first Playoffs start at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Of that group, five have now advanced to the Dell Technologies Championship: Aaron Wise (15), Austin Cook (36), Keith Mitchell (78), Peter Uihlein (83), and Satoshi Kodaira (85).

 

Best rookie performances by year in the FedExCup Playoffs:

Year 2017	Rookie Xander Schauffele	Finish 3
2016	Emiliano Grillo/Si Woo Kim	10
2015	Daniel Berger	11
2014	Chesson Hadley	49
2013	Jordan Spieth	7
2012	John Huh	29
2011	Keegan Bradley	20
2010	Rickie Fowler	32
2009	Marc Leishman	20
2008	Andres Romero	28
2007	Brandt Snedeker	20

 

Miscellaneous Dell Technologies Championship notes

Tiger Woods, the 2006 champion, is making his first return to TPC Boston since 2013. In nine career starts at TPC Boston, Woods has made nine cuts with five top-10s including a victory in 2006 and T2 finishes in 2004 and 2007. Woods, the 2007 and 2009 FedExCup Champion, is the only player in PGA TOUR history to win the FedExCup multiple times. He enters the Dell Technologies Championship at No. 25 in the FedExCup standings and in search of his 80^th career PGA TOUR victory. With a victory this week, Woods would tie Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy for the most victories in the FedExCup Playoffs all-time with four.

Rory McIlroy owns the largest come-from-behind victory in tournament history, coming from six shots back in 2016 for his second career victory at the Dell Technologies Championship. McIlroy did not play in last week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST.

In 2014, Billy Horschel arrived to TPC Boston at No. 82 in the FedExCup standings and used a T2 at the Dell Technologies Championship to propel him on to the BMW Championship. He then followed with victories at the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship in subsequent weeks to take home the 2014 FedExCup title. Horschel arrives in Boston on the heels of a T3 finish at last week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST, which moved him up 27 spots to No. 14 in the FedExCup standings. Horschel has missed the cut the last two years in Boston.

Adam Scott (2003) and Phil Mickelson (2007) are the only players to win the Dell Technologies Championship in their first start at TPC Boston.

The 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win five of 15 times at the Dell Technologies Championship (Adam Scott/2003, Vijay Singh/2004, Olin Browne/2005, Steve Stricker/2009, Justin Thomas/2017).

Six players in their 20s have won the Dell Technologies Championship (seven times): Adam Scott (2003), Webb Simpson (2011), Rory McIlroy (2012, 2016), Chris Kirk (2014), Rickie Fowler (2015), Justin Thomas (2017)

The three hole-in-ones recorded at the Dell Technologies Championship last year– Kevin Tway (No. 11/1^st round), Lucas Glover (No. 16/2^nd round) and Grayson Murray (No. 8/2^nd round) – was the most hole-in-ones in one tournament in tournament history.

Phil Mickelson and Charley Hoffman are the only players on the PGA TOUR who have advanced through Boston and on to the BMW Championship every year of the FedExCup Playoffs. Hoffman was in danger last week of not advancing to Boston for the first time in his career, but he moved up from No. 98 to No. 75 in the FedExCup standings with a T20 finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST.

Vijay Singh (2008) and Charley Hoffman (2010) hold the largest margin of victory at the Dell Technologies Championship with five-shot victories. Hoffman trailed by four entering the final round during his victory but recorded a 9-under 62 in the final round to win by five.

Justin Rose, No. 6 in the FedExCup standings, broke a streak of 18 consecutive made cuts with a missed cut last week at THE NORTHERN TRUST.

Patrick Reed has three consecutive top-10s at the Dell Technologies Championship – T4 (2015), T5 (2016) and T6 (2017).

Marc Leishman, the 54-hole co-leader in 2017, posted the best finish of his career at the Dell Technologies Championship with a solo-third finish in his ninth appearance at TPC Boston and then went on to win the BMW Championship the next week by five shots.

The only playoff in Dell Technologies Championship history came in 2011 when Webb Simpson outlasted Chez Reavie.

Ryan Palmer made the largest jump in the FedExCup standings at THE NORTHERN TRUST last week, jumping 50 spots with a T5 finish to move up to No. 50 entering this week.

Adam Scott posted his second consecutive top-five finish with a T5 at THE NORTHERN TRUST after recording a solo-third at the PGA Championship.

The Dell Technologies Championship Preview is via PGA TOUR