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The Barclays tees off the second year of the FedExCup, the PGA Tour’s four-tournament playoff system. This year, there will be more points, less Tiger and the same $10 million winner’s check.
Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., will host The Barclays. The 7,304-yard, Par-71 layout will test 144 of the top golfers on Tour as they compete for a $7 million total purse, a $1.26 million winner’s share and a chance to advance in the tournament-style playoff format of the FedExCup.
Just like the playoffs in other major sports, the field in the FedExCup will shrink in numbers following each round — starting with 144 players at The Barclays, then cutting down to 120 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, 70 at the BMW Championship and the final 30 at The Tour Championship.
Last year at The Barclays, Steve Stricker defeated K.J. Choi by shooting a 16-under 268 for a two-shot victory in a Tiger-less tournament. As a result, Stricker briefly took over first place in the FedExCup standings before Woods returned to action for the last three events to claim the inaugural FedExCup title.
Woods was not the only high profile player to skip at least one of the four playoff events. Ernie Els missed the second event, while Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington did not participate in the third tournament of a four-week grind. This year’s schedule has been revised, however, in an attempt to avoid similar no-shows.
FedExCup Schedule:
• The Barclays (Aug. 21-Aug. 24, Ridgewood CC, Paramus, N.J.)
• Deutsche Bank Championship (Aug. 29-Sept. 1, TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.)
• BMW Championship (Sept. 4-Sept. 7, Bellerive CC, St. Louis, Mo.)
• The Tour Championship (Sept. 25-28, East Lake GC, Atlanta, Ga.)
Heading into The Barclays, Tiger remains the top-ranked golfer in the FedExCup points standings, but Woods will not be able to defend his title due to ongoing rehabilitation on his left knee, which was surgically repaired following a win at the U.S. Open. Without Tiger in the field, reigning British Open and PGA Champion Padraig Harrington should be considered the man to beat, with World No. 2-ranked Phil Mickelson close behind.
“In its second year, there’s a bit better understanding of what the FedExCup is and what it entails and how to win and who can win,” said Mickelson, who as a Barclays spokesman rang the opening bell at the NYSE on Tuesday.
“Although, I don’t think anybody really understands the points fully. We just know that if you play well, you’re going to do well, and that’s all that really matters. So I think the FedExCup is gaining a lot of traction with the players.
“What’s cool is we have a guy like Padraig Harrington, who just won the last two majors and would love to take a bunch of time off, but he cares about the playoffs. He’s here. I think that speaks to how credible these events have quickly become.”
Top 15 – FedExCup Standings
Player, Country (FedExCup points)
1. Tiger Woods, USA (100,000)
2. Kenny Perry, USA (99,500)
3. Phil Mickelson, USA (99,250)
4. Padraig Harrington, Ireland (99,000)
5. Anthony Kim, USA (98,750)
6. Stewart Cink, USA (98,625)
7. Vijay Singh, Fiji (98,500)
8. Justin Leonard, USA (98,375)
9. Ryuji Imada, Japan (98,250)
10. Geoff Ogilvy, Australia (98,125)
11. Robert Allenby, Australia (98,050)
12. Sergio Garcia, Spain (97,975)
13. Carl Pettersson, Sweden (97,900)
14. Boo Weekley, USA (97,825)
15. Jim Furyk, USA (97,750)
The Barclays will be televised by GOLF Channel (2:00-6:00 p.m. ET) on Thursday and Friday before CBS (2:00-6:00 p.m. ET) takes over the weekend coverage.
