FedExCup Watch: Bridgestone Invitational, Reno-Tahoe Open  PGA TOUR staff With three weeks and four tournaments remaining in the regular season, the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are starting to take shape. The top 74 in the current standings can now make their travel arrangements to play in The Barclays, the first of four events in the inaugural Playoff series. The Barclays will be played at Westchester Country Club Aug. 23-26 in Harrison, N.Y.  Charles Howell III is one of seven players to clinch a Top 30 spot. (Getty Images) A total of 144 players will start the first playoff event. Only the top 120 in the standings when The Barclays is over, though, are eligible for the second, the Deustche Bank Championship. The field for the BMW Championship will be similarly reduced to the top 70 while only the top 30 are eligible for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, where the FedExCup and its $10 million first prize will be decided. So seedings, which will be set after the Wyndham Championship in two weeks, are all important. And several other players have clinched positions in key areas as the Playoffs loom large on the horizon. The top three players have clinched a spot in the Top 15. By virtue of their strong finishes at the Canadian Open presented by Franklin Templeton Investments, both Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk are assured of starting the Playoffs among the Top 15 seeds. Woods' lead, which was 4,529 points last week, has shrunk to 1,829 over Singh and 4,208 over Furyk. Either or both could overtake him this week, although the Bridgestone Invitational is an event Tiger has dominated in the past.
Seven players have clinched a Top 30 spot now. Phil Mickelson, K.J. Choi, Zach Johnson, and Charles Howell III join Woods, Singh and Furyk with guaranteed spots in the Top 30 going into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. A total of 74 players have locked up the opportunity to have at least one start in the Playoffs, and several players significantly improved their position with good finishes at the Canadian Open. George McNeill, Bob Heintz, Ryan Palmer and Glen Day all moved into the Top 144, and all four are in the field at this week's Reno-Tahoe Open. Nearly everyone in the points chase is teeing it up this week. Only seven players in the top 50 are sitting out this week -- 38 are in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational field, and five are playing in the Reno-Tahoe Open. Jeff Quinney, at 34th, and Anthony Kim, at 36th, have the most points of anyone in the Reno-Tahoe Open, but they will have to play very well to move up in the standings, since most of the people ahead of them, and several of those behind them, are playing for over twice as many points in Akron. Further down in the standings, players are also feeling the heat -- 40 of the first 50 players outside the top 144 are in the field at one of the events this week. Any of them would move securely into the Top 144 with a win; most would move inside the Top 100. In addition to the 144th position, another critical cut line is 70th. While getting into the Top 70 is no guarantee of staying there, it would put a player in the position of being able to play in each of the first three Playoff events if he plays moderately well in the first two. This week, there are 48 players in the Reno-Tahoe Open field ranked between 71st and 144th; of those, 36 could move into the Top 70 with a victory. Will MacKenzie, the winner at Reno-Tahoe a year ago, could move into the Top 40 with a repeat victory. MacKenzie, in his current position of 77th in the points standings, is a virtual lock to make the field of The Barclays and a very good bet to be in the Deutsche Bank Championship as well. However, moving into the Top 40 with only two weeks to go in the regular season would be a very big leg up toward collecting an invitation to the no-cut BMW Championship, in addition to putting him in strong position to compete for a spot in THE TOUR Championship. The Bridgestone Invitational is a battle to see if anyone new can crack the Top 15. There are 30 players in the field of 84 who would overtake Aaron Baddeley's current 15th place point total with a win, although Baddeley will earn some points as long as he plays since the Bridgestone Invitational is a no-cut event. Also, moving up in this tournament will be a struggle, since all of the top 15 and 27 of the top 30 are in the field. Nonetheless, this could be a very big week for someone in Akron. Chris DiMarco, who has struggled so far this year, could move into the top 30 by winning. Similarly, Darren Clarke, currently mired in 229th place, could rise as high as 53rd with a victory. For either of those stars, a win at the Bridgestone Invitational would be not only a return to form at exactly the right time in the season, but also an enormous lift in the standings. Pairings I'd like to see (This week we have pairings with a connection): World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational: Reno-Tahoe Open: |
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