News

Tiger Woods Wins FedEx Cup

Published

19 years ago

Sep 17, 2007

Tiger Woods had little trouble dominating the thirty man field at the Tour Championship, capturing the title by eight shots over his nearest competitor.

It should come as little surprise that the world’s best golfer was able to so easily breeze his way through the four week playoff stretch, notching two victories and a second place finish in the three tournaments he played in. In the end, his play and the end of his season was simply incredible, evoking comparisons to 2000 when he so easily distanced himself from the rest of golfing’s elite. Although 2007 can’t compare to the 2000 season in terms of victories and majors, Woods did become the first player to put his name on the FedEx Cup. "I think that overall the FedExCup was a success. I think that there need to be tweaks, yes, there needs to be some tweaks, but I think overall it provided a lot of drama towards the end of the season, especially post-PGA when most of the guys shut it down," said Woods.

Although the prize for the FedEx Cup was the biggest ever in PGA Tour history, Woods seemed less enamored with the money than with the fact that he had won the tournament, "For me I don’t look at what the purse is or prize money. You play, and when you play, you play to win, period. You know, that’s how my dad raised me is you go out there and win." Clearly Tiger’s game was hitting on all cylinders. Near perfect ball striking combined with some of the best putting of his career has once again established Woods in a class by himself. "Just when you think he’s going to make a bogey or something, he ends up holing out of the bunker or making a 30- or 40-footer, whatever. He’s just tough. You know, hats off to him. He’s a great player," said Steve Stricker.

The initial fears concerning East Lake’s bent grass greens turned out to be much better than expected. Soft conditions from rain combined with slightly slower green speeds led to some of the lowest scores ever at East Lake. Zach Johnson’s Saturday 60 established a new scoring record for the tournament, and Tiger Woods total of 257 established a new four round scoring record. Zach Johnson said, "It’s all about approach shots into the greens. When you don’t have to think about release or where it’s going to bounce — when the greens are firm and fast, it just brings everything in significantly. But when you can hit a high, towering 4-iron and it plugs, that just makes things easier."

In the end, the FedEx Cup became nothing more than a battle for second place, and although not as compelling, Steve Stricker was barely able to nudge Phil Mickelson to claim the second place and cash in a three million dollar second place check. The playoff series has also been quite a coming out party for Steve Stricker, who just two years ago was barely a blip in the golfing public’s radar – Stricker is now the fifth ranked golfer in the world and is realizing the potential and achievements so many expected from him earlier in his career. Stricker said, "The run that I’ve been on, heading all the way back to the U.S. Open, really, each week it seems like I’ve gotten in contention, had a lot of opportunities maybe… It’s been so much fun. I’ve enjoyed it. You know, I feel like I’ve grown as a player and I’ve learned a lot again. It’s been great."

But what of the FedEx Cup system as a whole? The Tour and fans seem divided over it’s effectiveness. Tiger Woods himself seemed utterly detached from the whole race, skipping the first event and basically ignoring the points race in favor of simply winning tournaments. Phil Mickelson skipped the crucial third event, the BMW in Chicago, stating a desire to be with his family and rest before the final event. Jim Furyk was critical of the number of players who entered the playoff system, "I think in our sport, ‘playoff’ is a very loosely used word. I’ll give you ‘playoff,’ but it’s not like it would be in other sports, like a head-to-head elimination or something like that. In football, there’s 32 teams in the NFL and if I’m correct, 12 teams go to the playoffs. This year, 125 guy also keep their tour card and 144 people are going to the playoffs. So that’s roughly 110 percent of the league. In baseball, what do we have eight teams that go to the playoffs? And everybody complains in hockey and basketball that half the league gets in at 16.

Everyone complains and they are 50 percent and we are 110." Phil Mickelson was critical not of the FedEx Cup as a whole, but of the rush of tournaments at the end of the season, "For me it’s 10 out of 13 weeks in a row that start back at the AT & T National in D.C…. I have another couple outings so I have four days off before I have a four-week stretch with the FedEx Cup, and then we have the Presidents Cup a week later. So it’s not just the four weeks that’s the problem. I’m playing 10 events in 13 weeks, which is half of my schedule last year, in a three-month span."

Furyk and others were expressing some frustration over playing four weeks in a row. Steve Stricker said, "I was starting to feel a little physically tired the last few days. But it’s just a mental grind every day… I was getting at the end of my rope out here, too. It was becoming a long deal, but I had to stay focused and try to play good coming in."

Although Commissioner Tim Finchem wasn’t necessarily candid about his plans for the future in the FedEx Cup, he did say that changes were likely although forcing players to play in all events would likely not be an option, "There are some ideas, but it’s too early to make conclusions. We really haven’t, you know, gone around and sat down with the players and said, tell us more about your thinking. So it’s too early to make those kinds of conclusions. I would say that generally mandating players to do something in our sport is something we would always shy away from. I don’t particularly want to go down that path."

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

18 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

4 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

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