n Day has arrived in Atlanta and declared himself fit to play the $8 million Tour Championship at East Lake starting tomorrow, despite withdrawing from last week's BMW Championship because of a back injury.
The Australian, who is the highest-ranked of his countrymen who have made it to the PGA Tour's closing tournament of the season, said a scan on his back showed some wear and tear but no serious damage. "It was a bit tight,'' he told reporters after a practice round.
Day has been bothered by injuries all season, restricted to just 14 starts including three tournaments that he did not complete. In particular he had a hand/wrist injury early in the season that took longer than he expected to manage. In between he has played some brilliant golf, rising to a career-high No. 3 in the world after he won the Accenture Matchplay, part of the World Golf Championship.
Day is 10th on the Fedex Cup standings and remains the best-placed of the four Australians in this week's 29-player field to win the $10 million bonus on offer for the player who finishes on top of the points table. But he has to win the Tour Championship first, then rely upon others who are ahead of him on the Fedex points list to underperform.
The calculations are these:
Day has to win AND:
#Top-ranked Chris Kirk of the United States must finish fifth or worse.
#Second-ranked Billy Horschel must finish in a three-way tie for third or worse.
#Third-ranked Bubba Watson must finish in in a three-way tie for second or worse and…
#Fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy must finish tied for second or worse.
Similarly the 12th-ranked Adam Scott needs to win the tournament and then will rely on the points leaders to have a tough week, although Scott remains in consistent form. The Queenslander has had an amazingly consistent run of tournaments, with nine consecutive top-20 finishes — and only one outside the top 15 — starting with his win in the Crowne Plaza Invitational in May. Scott remains the No. 2 ranked player in the world behind Rory McIlroy, who is the favorite for the Fedex Cup.
The other Australians in the field are John Senden and Geoff Ogilvy, with Australia having the most representatives from any country other than the United States. No Australian has ever won the Fedex Cup, which in recent years has usually been won by the same player who wins the Tour Championship. The last four winners of the Tour Championship also won the Fedex Cup, including Henrik Stenson last year.
The field is set at 29 because Dustin Johnson is not playing because of personal issues
ADAM SCOTT'S RUN
Won Crown Plaza Invitational
T4 The Memorial
T9 US Open
T5 Open championship
T8 WGC Bridgestone Invitational
T15 PGA Championship
T15 The Barclays
T16 Deutsche Bank International
T8 BMW Championship
FEDEX CUP POINTS
1 Chris Kirk
2 Billy Horschel
3 Bubba Watson
4 Rory McIlroy
5 Hunter Mahan
6 Jimmy Walker
7 Jim Furyk
8 Matt Kucher
9 Rickie Fowler
10 Jason Day
Others:
12 Adam Scott
17 John Senden
25 Geoff Ogilvy
HOW IT WORKS
The Tour Championship is for the top 30 players on the points list (Dustin Johnson has withdrawn) and runs as a normal tournament, worth $8 million.
Fedex Points are reset so that the top five players are guaranteed to also win the Fedex Cup, with the $10 million bonus, if they win the Tour Championship. Outside the top five, a player who wins the Tour Championship also needs other results to fall into place.