A late birdie blitz has boosted Adam Scott’s hopes of sneaking into the PGA Tour’s lucrative end-of season FedEx Cup playoffs.
The Aussie veteran needs to come in a two-way tie for third, or better, at this week’s Wyndham Championship in North Carolina to climb into the top 70 in the standings and stay alive in the race for the US$10 million (A$15.5m) FedEx Cup prize.
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And he’s put himself in with a chance after carding a five-under 65 in round one to be tied eigth and four shots behind American leader Joel Dahmen.
Scott reeled off four straight birdies in his final fives holes to shoot up the leaderboard at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro.
Scott missed a four-foot birdie putt at the Wyndham Championship two years ago to end a 16-year streak of making the playoffs. He said heading into the event the “do-or-die” nature of the situation was motivating.
“Sometimes we, or I have fell in the trap of like there’s always next week if it doesn’t work out and that’s not the case here, so I think that’s not a pressure but more motivation,” Scott said.
Dahmen, also fighting to make the season-ending playoffs where a US$100m (A$155m) in bonuses are on offer,fired a nine-under par 61 to seize a one-shot lead. Dahmen arrived at the event ranked 101st in the tour’s FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 advance to the playoffs that start next week with the St. Jude Championship.
Dahmen attacked the challenge with 10 birdies, including three in a row to cap his round at the seventh, eighth and ninth.
“I don’t know if you ever see 61 coming, but I saw good golf coming,” Dahmen said, pointing to a stretch of some 45 holes without a bogey last week.
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A victory would move Dahmen into 48th place in the FedEx Cup standings, although the 37-year-old — who has one win on his resume — was quick to note there was a lot of golf left to be played.
“The playoffs are a bonus for me,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and try to play good golf and I guess if I play really well then I get to play another week.” Dahmen had a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren, whose eight-under round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-five fifth hole.
England’s Aaron Rai, Colombian Nico Echavarria and Americans Mark Hubbard and Cameron Young were tied for third on seven-under while Scott’s fellow Australians Karl Villips (67) and Cam Davis (68) also started with under-par rounds.
