Golf fans generally don’t remember the winner of the FedEx Cup Playoffs the way they do the guys who hoist the trophy at a major championship, but the players’ accountants and wives certainly do.

Up for grabs in the four playoff events is $35 million in overall prize money and bonuses, including a $10 million bonus to the overall winner. A total of 125 players start chasing golf’s pot of gold Thursday at the Northern Trust Open in Paramus, N.J.

Subsequent events are at TPC Boston, Aronimink Country Club outside Philadelphia and East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The field is reduced to 100 after the first week, then 70 and down to 30 for the Tour Championship.

Because the points offered each week are four times what they are for a regular PGA Tour event, it is possible for a player to get hot and come from deep in the pack to win. Billy Horschel rose from No. 66 to claim the $10 bonus a few years ago.

Port Neches-Groves ex Andrew Landry is in excellent position to make it to Atlanta and to seriously challenge for the Tour Championship. Landry, with a first, a second and five top 10s, finished 26th in the final point standings.

He is guaranteed to play in the first two tournaments and is a near lock to make it to the third.

Landry, whose official 2017-18 earnings to date are $2,559,109, spent last week tuning up for the playoffs in Austin. He felt good about where is game was after the PGA Championship and will arrive in New Jersey confident and well rested.

“I think I am starting to peak at the right time,” he said. “I am looking forward to playing well and having a stretch of golf that will set me up for the next few years.”

Justin Thomas, who won the $10 million Fed Ex bonus last year, starts the push to the Tour Championship at No. 2 on the points list behind Dustin Johnson. Brooks Kopeka, Bubba Watson and Jason Day round out the top five.

Enhancing interest in the playoffs, which keep being pushed up so they won’t have to battle college and pro football on TV, is onrushing Tiger Woods. Not even in the picture a few months ago, Woods has remarkably climbed all the way to No. 20.

Surprisingly, because he’s played a limited schedule to protect his surgically repaired back, Woods has committed to the first three tournaments. It was expected that he would probably skip one of them like Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler are doing.
CHIP SHOTS

Chris Stroud’s second least productive season in 12 years on the PGA Tour ended with a withdrawal after a first-round 71 in last week’s Wyndham Championship. Stroud has been bothered most of the year by nagging knee and wrist injuries.

The PNG ex finished No. 150 in FedEx points, with $565,466 in official earnings. Only in 2008, when he won $482,405, has Stroud’s bottom line been lower. He also matched his career low of one top 10.

Stroud now has seven weeks off to get healthy, sharpen his game and take care of some off-the-course chores like his move to a new home. With another year of exemptions from winning the 2017 Barracuda Championship, he still has the luxury of playing where and when he wants.

The pressure, however, will be on to bounce back strong enough to finish in the top 125 in FedEx points and guarantee his PGA Tour card for the 2019-20 season . . .

West Orange-Stark ex Michael Arnaud also saw a disappointing finish to his Web.com Tour regular season. Arnaud, seemingly a lock to earn a PGA Tour card after winning the BMW Championship in mid May, didn’t cash enough checks the rest of the way to make it into the top 25 on the Web.com money list.

Arnaud collected $126,000 for winning the BMW. It took $160,000 to finish in the top 25 and claim a 2018-19 PGA Tour card. After a tie for 64th in last week’s final regular season tournament, Arnaud was at $140,735.

He will have a second chance in the four tournament Web.com Finals that start in two weeks. The top 25 money winners in the Finals also earn a PGA Tour card.

Competition will be from among the top 125 Web.com money winners and players on the PGA Tour who were from 125 to 200 in FedEx points …

In the Monday Senior 50 Plus 2-ball at Babe Zaharias, the team of Gary Fontenot, Cap Hollier, Mike Tibbetts and Jeff Greenway won the front with minus-1. On the back, the foursome of Benny Sharpe, Don MacNeil, Raymond Darbonne and Tom LeTourneau prevailed with minus 4 …

The Super Saturday Senior 2 ball at Zaharias saw the team of Bob West, Rick Pritchett, Cole Lee and Ron Hicks take the front with minus 1. On the back, there was a tie at minus 2 between the team of Ed Holley, Joe Gongora, Harrell Guidry and a ghost player and the team of Bill Hanley, Hollier, MacNeil and Buddy Hicks …

In the Friday Senior 2 ball, the team of Sharpe, Kenny Robbins, Larry Johnson and Craig Castille finished first with minus-5. Minus-6 won on the back for James Shipley, Fontenot, Guidry and Larry Foster …

Format for the Thursday Seniors was 4-man scramble. Winning with minus-8 was the team of Ron LaSalle, Bill Jones, Carl Certa and Ben Thornton. They finished one shot clear of Pritchett, Darbonne, Stedman Tahaney and a ghost player.

Closest to the pin winners were Pritchett (No. 7, No. 15) and LaSalle (No. 12) …

The Wednesday DogFight was won with 14 points by the team of Fontenot, Foster and Keith Marshall. Teams captained by Joe Gongora and Ed Holley tied for second.

Closest to the pin winners were Earl Richard (No. 7), West (No. 12) and MacNeil (No. 15).
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