Two Different Players with Similar Goals

At first you might think Tiger Woods and Brooke Henderson have little in common... but at this point in their careers, they actually do.

Both are in a do-or-die situation concerning the rest of the 2015 season.



Tiger's situation has been well publicized: Win or go home. He needs a win this week at the Wyndham Championship in order to qualify for next week's Barclays, the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. (Technically, a win will likely qualify him for the next two weeks while a solo second would likely get him into next week's event, given how rare it has been for players to move into the Top125 in past seasons.)

And as you likely know by now, in what most would consider a shocking performance, Tiger is in position to do just that. Although we'll have to wait and see if he can close it out, Tiger's first two rounds tied him for the lead and, in the past, he's 5 for 5 when shooting two rounds of 65 or better. (Tiger posted 64-65.)

Brooke's situation is similar. Although she's qualified for the CME Group Tour Championship by virtue of being a winner as a non-LPGA member, the remainder of this year will qualify as her rookie season... and currently it's going to be an extremely short one. After this week's CP Women's Open, she is qualified only for the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the Evian Championship (the final major). After the break for the Solheim Cup -- which doesn't include Canada -- she isn't qualified for any of the six tournaments leading into the Tour Championship:

• Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia (Malaysia)
• LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship (South Korea)
• Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship (Taiwan)
• Blue Bay LPGA (China)
• TOTO JAPAN CLASSIC (Japan)
• Lorena Ochoa Invitational (Mexico)

The Asian Swing and Lorena's event are all invitationals, and invitees must reach a minimum level on the season-long Official Money List. Unfortunately, although Brooke has earned $661,264 this year -- which would put her #14 on that list -- it's all unofficial money since she wasn't an LPGA member.

As a result, Brooke has only three events -- including this week -- to get into the Top62 on the list, which currently sits at $162,213 but will likely change by the end of the Evian. Like Tiger, she has a steep hill to climb.

Unlike Tiger, she made the cut right on the number at the CP. Leader Candie Kung is at -11 while Brooke sits at +1 (T58). It's understandable after all the hoopla surrounding her win last week and subsequently being granted LPGA membership, but that doesn't make her task any easier.

Fortunately she'll make at least some money this week and then get a week off between Yokohama and Evian to recharge her batteries. The winner's share in these events is near $350k for the CP, $200k for the Yokohama and $500k for the Evian. She'll need good finishes but it is doable.

Tiger Woods and Brooke Henderson, both scrambling to keep their seasons alive. Who woulda thunk it? But you gotta love great theater like this!