Quicken Loans National Preview 2016

Quicken Loans National Preview 2016
Dates: June 23-26, 2016
Where: Congressional CC (Blue) Bethesda, Maryland
Par/Yards: 71/7,569 yards
Field: 120
2015 Champion: Troy Merritt
Purse: $6,900,000/$1,242,000
FedExCup Points: 500 points to the winner
Twitter: @QLNational

A look back at the 2015 Quicken Loans National

• After entering the week with five consecutive missed cuts, Troy Merritt carded a final-round 4-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Rickie Fowler and his first career win on the PGA TOUR. At 18-under 266, Merritt recorded a new 72-hole scoring record at the Quicken Loans National, topping the 267 totals by Tiger Woods in 2009 and Nick Watney in 2011.
• Merritt became the first player to win his first TOUR title at the Quicken Loans National.
• With a 61 in the third round, Merritt set a new 18-hole tournament record.
• A 61 was posted nine times during the 2014-15 PGA TOUR Season. Merritt did it twice: RBC Heritage (R2) and Quicken Loans National (R3).
• Merritt and Kevin Chappell set a new 54-hole tournament record (199).
• Merritt was one of 11 first-time winners in 2014-15. The record for most is 18 (2002).

A glance at the field

• Nineteen of the top 50 in the FedExCup standings including No. 7 Patrick Reed, No. 10 Kevin Chappell and No. 11 Justin Thomas.
• Top-30 in the Official World Golf Ranking players Rickie Fowler (5), Patrick Reed (11) and Byeong Hun An (27).
• Four players with double-digit TOUR wins: Vijay Singh (34), Davis Love III (21), Ernie Els (19) and Jim Furyk (17)
• Past champions in the field: Troy Merritt (2015), Bill Haas (2013) and K.J. Choi (2007).
• Five players who finished in the top 10 at the 2015 Quicken Loans National will return: Troy Merritt (1st), Rickie Fowler (2), Bill Haas (T4), Carl Pettersson (T4) and Justin Thomas (T4).

Notable players

• Quicken Loans player ambassador Rickie Fowler will compete in the event for the fifth time, following his runner-up finish in 2015 (T21/2013, T13/2011 and MC/2010). In last year’s first round, Fowler recorded a walk-off ace on his final hole (No. 9), his second career ace on the PGA TOUR. Fowler has six top-10s this season in 15 starts.
• Patrick Reed will make his third start at the Quicken Loans National. He finished T11 in 2014 and T34 in 2013, both at Congressional. Reed currently leads the TOUR in most top-10s this season with nine.
• 2013 Quicken Loans National champion Bill Haas will make his eighth start as he looks to join Tiger Woods and Justin Rose as a multiple winner of the event. In 2015, Haas finished T4 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Haas has four top-10s this season, but none since a T9 finish at the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play in March.
• Ernie Els returns to the site of his 1997 U.S. Open win at Congressional Country Club. Since his win in 1997, Els has returned to Congressional three times: 2005 Booz Allen Classic (T7), 2011 U.S. Open (MC) and 2014 Quicken Loans National (MC). Els will make his third start and third consecutive at the Quicken Loans National following a T46 in 2015.
• Coming off his runner-up at last week’s U.S. Open, Jim Furyk will make his sixth start of the season since returning to competition after a wrist injury. Furyk made consecutive starts at the Quicken Loans National from 2007-13, posting a pair of T3s in his first two appearances and T7 in 2009, his three top-10s in the event. Furyk finished T5 at the 1997 U.S. Open held at Congressional.
• Davis Love III will make his eighth start at the Quicken Loans National. He has four top-20 finishes at Congressional, highlighted by a runner-up at the 2005 Booz Allen Classic. His others: 2011 U.S. Open (T11), 1997 U.S. Open (T16) and 2009 Quicken Loans National (T16). Love is returning to competition for the first time since withdrawing from the Memorial Tournament before the second round due to a hip issue.
• Leading the 2015-16 PGA TOUR rookie class is Smylie Kaufman, who will make his first start at the Quicken Loans National. Kaufman is the highest ranked rookie in the FedExCup Standings and has three top-10s, including his win at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
• Oklahoma State product Jordan Niebrugge will make his professional debut at the Quicken Loans National. Niebrugge made history in 2015 when he finished T6 at The Open Championship, marking the lowest total score by an amateur at The Open Championship and the first top-10 finish by an amateur at The Open Championship since Chris Wood (5th, 2008) and Justin Rose (4th, 1998). The 2015 Open Championship was one of three PGA TOUR starts for Niebrugge. He previously competed in the 2014 Masters Tournament (MC) and 2014 John Deere Classic (T27).
• Two-time Ben Hogan Award winner at Arizona State, Jon Rahm makes his professional debut after being the only amateur to make the cut at last week’s U.S. Open. Rahm has made five previous starts on the PGA TOUR, highlighted by his T5 finish at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open to become the first amateur to finish in the top five of a PGA TOUR event since Chris Wood at the 2008 Open Championship (5th).

Tournament records

• The best 18-hole score in tournament history is 61 by Troy Merritt in 2015.
• The best 36-hole score in tournament history is 130 by Tiger Woods in 2009.
• The best 54-hole score in tournament history is 199 by Troy Merritt and Kevin Chappell in 2015.
• The best 72-hole score in tournament history is 266 by Troy Merritt in 2015.
• The best come-from-behind win at the Quicken Loans National is three shots by Anthony Kim (2008) and Justin Rose (2014).
• Justin Rose (2010, 2014) and Tiger Woods (2009, 2012) are the only multiple winners of the Quicken Loans national.
• The event has only produced on playoff which occurred in 2014 when Justin Rose defeated Shawn Stefani on the first extra hole.

Quicken Loans National and the FedExCup

• The Quicken Loans National began the same year as the FedExCup in 2007. Since the inception of the FedExCup, all but one (Troy Merritt/2015) Quicken Loans National winner has advanced to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Tiger Woods won the 2009 Quicken Loans National en route to his second FedExCup title.
• Open Qualifying Series
• The Quicken Loans National will once again be part of The Open Qualifying Series. The leading four players, not otherwise exempt, in the top 12 and ties, will earn positions in the field at the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon.
• A total of nine spots in The Open Championship field are available on the PGA TOUR. Other PGA TOUR events involved in The Open Qualifying Series in 2016 were the Quicken Loans National (top four players not previously exempt among top 12 and ties – Steve Stricker, Brian Gay, Seung Yul Noh and Russell Henley) and The Greenbrier Classic (top player not previously exempt among the top five and ties).
• Additionally, the top five players and ties, not otherwise exempt, from among the top 20 players in the 2015-16 FedExCup standings through the Quicken Loans National will earn invitations to Royal Troon.
• A total of 44 places in The 145th Open at Royal Troon are available through The Open Qualifying Series (TOQS), which gives players the opportunity to qualify at events around the world on the PGA TOUR, the European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Asian Tour, the Japan Golf Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
  Quicken Loans Hole-in-One Sweepstakes
• Quicken Loans will reward one person $1 million if a PGA TOUR player (first player to do so) aces the 10th hole at Congressional Country Club during tournament play from July 20-26. An additional $25,000 will be donated to the charity of the professional golfer’s choice. To enter the Quicken Loans Hole-In-One Sweepstakes, visit www.pgatour.com/QuickenLoans. Each person can enter the contest once. All qualified sweepstakes entrants are eligible to win the $1 million grand prize.
• Beyond the $1 million hole, Quicken Loans will continue to reward one-year mortgages to selected winners for each aces made during the PGA TOUR season.
  Tournament venues
• The Quicken Loans National will be held at TPC Potomac in 2017 and will return to Congressional Country Club in 2018 and 2020. The site of the 2019 Quicken Loans National has yet to be determined.

SOURCE: PGA TOUR