The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. tees off at 7:10 a.m. Thursday. This will be my second consecutive year covering the tournament, and I can’t say enough about how enjoyable it was to stand inside the ropes in 2009. Leading you up until my weekend coverage, here’s a primer on what you should know and who to look out for over the next four days.
About The Barclays:
The Barclays is one of four PGA TOUR playoff events for the FedExCup. The top 125 golfers on the regular season points list have a chance to win the $10 million dollar pot. Players earn points based on finishing position — points in the playoffs are worth five times the amount they were in regular TOUR events. By the third tournament, only the top 30 will remain in the hunt.
Rest of the Playoff:
Sept. 3-6: TPC Boston (Norton, MA) – Top 100 compete
Sept. 9-12: Cog Hill (Lemont, Ill.) – Top 70 compete
Sept. 23-26: East Lake C.C. (Atlanta, GA) – Top 30 compete
Recent Memory:
2009: Liberty National (Jersey City, N.J.) – Heath Slocum
2008: Ridgewood Country Club (Paramus, N.J.) – Vijay Singh
2007: Westchester Country Club (Rye, N.Y.) – Steve Stricker
Next Up:
2011: Plainfield Country Club (Plainfield, N.J.)
Top Five Best Chances to Win: (No particular order)
Zach Johnson: The 26-year-old is on an unlucky hot streak. Johnson had a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the U.S. Open, only to finish that day with an 81. Then, at the PGA Championship, he was penalized two shots for grounding his club in a supposed bunker. Had he gotten those two strokes back, Johnson would have forced a playoff for the win.
Vijay Singh: Singh loves playing in the Barclays. He’s a four-time winner, including in 2006 at Ridgewood Country Club. Singh has 22 wins since turning 40 seven years ago. Some players just get better with age.
Tiger Woods: It would be impossible to write Woods out of any tournament he plays in. With his divorce finalized, perhaps now Woods will have somewhat of a clearer mind on the course. Woods was injured in 2008 when The Barclays was in Ridgewood.
Phil Mickelson: The lefty can move into the No. 1 spot in the world with a win or a second- or third-place finish if Woods finishes out of the top four. There’s a few other scenarios, but basically the better Mickelson does, the worse Woods has to do. The Garden State loves Mickelson and he’ll feel that energy all weekend long.
Matt Kuchar: The American owns nine top 10 finishes in 2010, along with three in the top three. Kuchar has improved each year since turning pro in 2000. The Barclays, being played near the largest media market in the world, could help him open some eyes.
Top Five Pairings: (No particular order)
1. Zach Johnson, Robert Allenby, J.B. Holmes: Thursday, 12:54 p.m.; Friday, 7:54 a.m.
2. Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Jeff Overton: Thursday, 1:16 p.m.; Friday, 8:16 a.m.
3. Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar: Thursday, 8:05 a.m.; Friday, 1:05 p.m.
4. Bo Van Pelt, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas: Thursday, 7:54 a.m.; Friday, 12:54 p.m.
5. K.J. Choi, Ryan Moore, Sean O’Hair: Thursday: 7:54 a.m.; Friday, 12:54 p.m.
Follow Scott on Twitter @ScottStanchak for continuous Barclays coverage this weekend.
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