masters recap

ATLANTA – Former Augusta University standout Patrick Reed earned his first major championship title and sixth PGA TOUR victory at the Masters Tournament this past weekend, where 29 of the 30 players from the 2017 TOUR Championship field competed. Reed shot three rounds in the 60s (69-66-67) to take both the 36- and 54-hole leads and then posted a final-round 71 for a 15-under 273 total to win by one stroke over Rickie Fowler.

With his win, Reed has now posted four consecutive top-10s for the first time in his PGA TOUR career and has seven top-25 finishes in 13 starts this season. Reed also earned 600 FedExCup points for the victory and has now moved from No. 27 to No. 5 in the FedExCup standings. As the last of four FedExCup Playoffs events, the top 30 players from the FedExCup standings will return to Atlanta and historic East Lake Golf Club for the TOUR Championship, September 19-23, as the season-ending champion will be crowned.

Reed will look to improve upon his career-best, third-place finish in the FedExCup standings, which he achieved in 2016 thanks in part to his victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first FedExCup Playoffs event. Reed has qualified for the TOUR Championship on four previous occasions and has not missed the season finale since 2013. His best finish at East Lake is a tie for 13th in 2017.

In the FedExCup era, the reigning Masters champion has qualified for the TOUR Championship nine out of 11 years, with Jordan Spieth (2015) the only player to win both the Masters and the TOUR Championship in the same season. He is also the only FedExCup champion to win the Masters in the same season.

2017 FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year Justin Thomas has maintained his No. 1 spot in the FedExCup standings for the past seven weeks, thanks to five top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season, including two wins at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and The Honda Classic. Thomas, who finished T17 at the Masters last weekend (his best finish in three starts at the major championship), finished solo second at the TOUR Championship, which was enough to capture the FedExCup, capping off an incredible five-win 2016-17 season.

Defending TOUR Championship winner Xander Schauffele finished T50 in his first Masters appearance, and sits 46th in the FedExCup standings with a T3 at the CIMB Classic and a T9 at the Genesis Open representing his top results in 11 starts.

With the halfway point of the season fast approaching, here’s a look at the current top 20 in the FedExCup standings.

Players Points