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The final 72-hole leaderboard for the 2015 Barclays at Plainfield Country Club is in. Jason Day shot a final round 62 (!) to win his third event in his last four starts (congratulations) by 6 strokes over runner-up Henrik Stenson. Here are my thoughts on the champion and some notable golfers near the top of the leaderboard:
Winner: Jason Day (-17) – Amazed, but not necessarily surprised. Look at these stats: 21 birdies for the week, 1 eagle, only 4 bogeys, 63-62 on the weekend. This guy is f
inally realizing his potential as one of the greatest golfers to ever play. Not only is he winning, but he’s doing it by fairly large margins too, like Tiger used to do. Right now, at this moment,
he’s the best player in the world. Years of hard work have finally gotten him to this point. You can be sure that he’s a very serious threat to win the Tour Championship and take the FedExCup.
Henrik Stenson (-13) – A distant 6 shots back of the winner and yet 3 shots ahead of third place. He played well this week — he seems to have a knack for doing well in the playoffs. Prior to this tournament, he’d only had 1 top-10 finish in his last 8 starts — not very good for someone with his talent. Nonetheless, and I think it’
s only a matter of time before he wins again.
Bubba Watson (-11) – This season, he’s had 2 wins, 3 second place finishes, 2 third place finishes and a couple of other top-15’s. That’s pretty darn good, if you ask me. At 36, he’s a bit of a late bloomer, and I’d say he’s one of the top 5 golfers in the world now. He’s also third in the FedExCup standings, so look out for him to challenge the Cup in a few weeks.
Ryan Palmer (-9) – Here’s a fact that you’ll probably find really shocking — both his close friend and his father died in car crashes (father just recently and his friend in 2013). That’s awful and I feel terrible for the guy. It turns out he is using golf to “get away” and find some peace, which is nice to hear. I mean, at least he has a way to cope. I’ll be honest: when I heard the news, I didn’t think I would see him back on Tour for a while. A week later, here he is finishing T6. In fact, this is actually his best finish on Tour since the Valero Texas Open back in March, and I recall him playing well after his friend died as well — it’s almost as if his hardships and suffering help clear his mind out on the golf course.
Jordan Spieth (MC) – A bad tournament this week. It’s inevitable and happens to even the best. He said he’s searching for answers right now — I’m sure he’ll bounce back quickly, like he has in the past. Will he contend in any of the remaining playoff events? Maybe not, but there’s little doubt he will contend again soon.
Have any thoughts or congratulations for Jason, or any other thoughts about this year’s Barclays? Discuss in the comments below!
