Keegan Bradley won the very rain-delayed BMW Championship in a playoff over Justin Rose and, with that, the top 30 are headed to East Lake. However, the biggest story out of Monday might just be a name that won’t be competing at the Tour Championship.
Jordan Spieth began the week inside that coveted top 30 bubble. After a sub-par showing in Philadelphia though, he found himself odd man out on Monday. While that might not seem like a big deal given he didn’t need to make it to East Lake to qualify for any tournaments next year, his absence could end up being a big deal to his wallet.
Per the PGA Tour rulebook, a full-time PGA Tour member must compete in a minimum of 25 sanctioned events during a given season. Those events can include events that are co-sanctioned such as the majors and WGC events. Should a player not meet the 25 requirement, they are then required to add one new event that season that they had not played in in the past 4 years.
The BMW Championship was Jordan’s 23rd event of the 2017-2018 season with the Ryder Cup still to come. He didn’t add a new event this year. As a result, he is now subject to a possible fine or even a suspension from the Tour’s headquarters.
It’s similar to an event Martin Kayseri found himself in a few years back. Kaymer, however, ended up losing his Tour card for the following season. While Spieth won’t have to worry about losing his Tour card, he does know that he will likely face some sort of penalty from the commissioner.
Jordan Spieth after his round said he’s aware of his scheduling situation and he’ll accept whatever fine comes his way.
— Nick Menta (@NickMentaGC) September 10, 2018
Spieth has made 10s of millions of dollars both on and off the course over his short career so whatever fine he gets hit with won’t exactly leave him looking for more work. It’s still a situation that I’m sure he wishes he could have avoided.