Players on the cusp at the Northern Trust
By Bill Felber
75. Andrew Putnam
In 75th position in the FedEx Cup standings, Putnam is positioned to do what he’s done twice before: romance the Tour Championship without actually culminating the relationship.
In 2018 he finished 33rd on the points list. One year later he was 34th. His runner-up at the Barracuda and T4 at the Arnold Palmer in March have set him up for another chase at the BMW and beyond.
Putnam’s recent road, though, has been bumpy. However impressive that runner-up at the Barracuda was, hey, it’s the freakin’ Barracuda. In his other four most recent starts, Putnam has missed the cut.
His progress has been marred by a disturbing tendency to toss in one clunker of a round per week. He did that with a Friday 73 at the Wyndham, a Thursday 76 at the 3M, a Saturday 75 at the Palmetto, a Friday 73 at the Schwab and a Saturday 74 at the Wells Fargo. If that trend continues, Putnam’s season will end this week.
When Putnam’s scorecard goes rogue, it’s usually his driver to blame. He ranks 191st for the season in Strokes Gained Off The Tee. He’s a competent iron player (89th in strokes gained approaching and 81st around the green) and he can be a good putter when the driver allows it.
Putnam enters the Northern Trust ranked 42nd for the season in Strokes Gained On The Green.