Both Louis Oosthuizen and Dylan Frittelli saw their FedExCup projections trending negatively after slow starts at Medinah.
Oosthuizen started Thursday’s opening round of the BMW Championship, the final playoff event before the TOUR Championship at East Lake, inside the top 30 but will start the second round in 37th place after dropping nine places.
His 70 leaves him five off the pace and could’ve been a whole lot better. Oosthuizen hit 11 of 18 greens and made just a single bogey.
Birdies at both of the front nine’s par 5s left him perfectly poised to make a move. He opened his outward nine – the par 5 10th – with a birdie to move to three under. With no bogeys and eight holes left to make a move including another par 5, the signs were promising.
A wayward drive on 12 left him unable to find the green in regulation and a dropped shot followed. Oosthuizen was unable to rectify that mistake on the par 5 14 despite a 300+ yard tee shot. His approach found the greenside bunker which spoilt his chance of restoring his score.
Frittelli has even more work to do but granted his chances of making it into the top 30 were slim from the outset.
He matched Oosthuizen’s GIR tally and settled for par after opening with a birdie but dropping shots at 12 and 18. The John Deere Classic winner is now projected at 65, down five.
There’s obviously a long way to go and Medinah can offer up chances – both good and bad – but the prospects of a South African flag in attendance at East Lake appears slim.
