Each week on the PGA Tour, there are players who do better than expected and those who fall short of what was expected of them. Here at Pro Golf Now, we call them winners and losers. Here are the winners and losers from the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude.
Winners
Abraham Ancer – Ancer earned his first PGA Tour victory, in a playoff, in his 121st career start. His 62 in the second round got him into position, then his birdie on the second playoff hole earned him the victory.
Sam Burns – The young standout continues to show that he can hang with anyone on the PGA Tour. Burns, who won for the first time earlier this season, lipped out a putt on the second playoff hole to tie for second. He moved into 10th in the FedEx Cup standings.
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Hideki Matsuyama – After a disappointing finish in the Olympics in his home country, Matsuyama made up for it this week. His 63 on Sunday got him into the playoff before he settled for a T2.
Ian Poulter – Despite shooting 72 on Sunday, Poulter rose 11 spots in the FedEx Cup standings with his T10 this week. It was a big move that could pay bigger dividends down the road for Poulter.
Jordan Spieth – He started poorly but rallied to finish T12. More importantly, he held on to second place in the FedEx Cup standings with one week left in the regular season.
Losers
Harris English – The tournament was his to lose, and that’s exactly what he did. English could have headed into the final week of the season with the FedEx Cup lead. Instead, he shot 5-over par on the back nine to miss the playoff by a shot. A wasted opportunity for sure.
Bryson DeChambeau – Like English, DeChambeau had a huge chance to win this week and to take the FedEx Cup lead. And like English, he failed to do so after a dreadful back nine. For Bryson, it was a 41 on the back side that kept him from winning.
Tommy Fleetwood – Needing to make something happen just to make the FedEx Cup playoffs, Fleetwood fell flat this week. He shot a pair of 69s but a 72 on Sunday left him well back in the field and, at this point, still outside of the Top 125.
Justin Rose – Like his countryman Fleetwood, Rose needed to make something happen this week. And like his countryman, he didn’t. Rose shot three rounds of 69 before slipping to a 75 on Sunday. He’s also on the outside looking in at the playoffs at this point.
Brooks Koepka – He was seen as the favorite this week, having played very well here before. And, he entered the week on a hot streak. And he wasn’t bad through three days, but he fell apart on Sunday, shooting a 76 to fall well back in the field.