Print this page  |  Close Window

Check out more profiles: Nos. 11-20 | Nos. 21-30

1. TIGER WOODS
Tiger Woods moves back to the No. 1 seed entering THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola after winning the BMW Championship with a tournament record-breaking 22-under 262, his sixth title of the season. Woods has played in the season-ending event 10 times and is the all-time leading money winner in the event, with nearly $3.4 million in career earnings ($3,413,200). The No. 1 player in the world has not won the event since 1999 when it was played at Champions Golf Club in Houston. He has, however, finished runner-up at THE TOUR Championship three times (2000, 2004-05) at East Lake Golf Club. Once again Woods has had another outstanding season, leading the TOUR with six victories and 11 top-10 finishes in 15 starts.

.

No. 2 STEVE STRICKER
Steve Stricker, who went from losing his full-exempt status to being 2006 PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year, took the lead in the standings for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup after winning The Barclays for his fourth career PGA TOUR title. The victory was his first since the 2001 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Stricker dropped to second in the standings after posting a tie for ninth at the Deutsche Bank Championship and maintained that position after finishing third at the BMW Championship. He has been on fire in the Playoffs, posting 11 of 12 rounds in the 60s. He and Rory Sabbatini are the only players to finish in the top-10 in the first three playoff events. Stricker started the 2006 season ranked 337th on the Official World Golf Ranking and moved to a career-best fifth in the Ranking after winning in New York. He will be making his fourth career start in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, but it is his first since the 2001 season. In 1996, Stricker finished third at THE TOUR Championship held at Southern Hills Golf Club in Tulsa.

.

No. 3 PHIL MICKELSON
Phil Mickelson, who dropped from first to third in the FedExCup standings after the BMW Championship, is a past winner of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club. He captured the event in 2000, aided by a final-round 66 where he overtook third-round leader Tiger Woods. It is one of only three events (of 43) in Woods' PGA TOUR career in which he failed to win after holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead. The lefthander will be making his 11th start in THE TOUR Championship. Mickelson moved back into second in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the Deutsche Bank Championship, his third title in 2007. With two top-10 finishes in the first two events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, Mickelson is in position to win the Playoffs and collect the $10-million payout. In the first event, The Barclays, Mickelson finished tied for seventh. He did not play in the BMW Championship.

.

No. 4 RORY SABBATINI
Rory Sabbatini, who moved to fourth in the standings for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, is making just his third appearance at East Lake Golf Club. The South African has had a career year in 2007, with nine top-10s, including a victory and a runner-up finish at the Masters Tournament. Sabbatini won a three-way playoff over Jim Furyk and 49-year-old Bernhard Langer to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in May. He held the third-round lead at the Wachovia Championship and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational but was overtaken by Tiger Woods both times. Sabbatini comes into Atlanta on a hot streak, with three top-10 finishes in the first three FedExCup Playoffs events, a third at The Barclays, tied for sixth at the Deutsche Bank Championship and tied for 10th at the BMW Championship. He has climbed to 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest position in his career.

.

No. 5 K.J. CHOI
Last year K.J. Choi won the final full-field PGA TOUR event of the season to jump from 55th to 28th on the money list. That qualified him for the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. This year with two wins, one second and seven top-10 finishes, Choi has been a consistent performer and will be making his fifth appearance in THE TOUR Championship. The South Korean finished second in the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs at The Barclays, where he held the tournament lead several times that weekend. Choi has six TOUR wins, the most wins by an Asian-born player on the PGA TOUR. Shigeki Maruyama of Japan has three TOUR titles on his resume. Choi and Maruyama are the only Asian-born players to win multiple events on the TOUR.

.

No. 6 AARON BADDELEY
Aaron Baddeley moved from 11th to sixth in the standings for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup after finishing second last week at the BMW Championship. The Australian will be making his first trip to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Baddeley opened the 2007 season with a victory at the FBR Open, just down the road from when he lives in Scottsdale. Along with his second TOUR title, he has seven top-10 finishes in 2007, including a fifth-place showing at the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs. He also led after 54 holes at the U.S. Open and played in the final grouping Sunday. He finished tie for 13th.
THIS IS BADDELEY'S FIRST TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 7 ADAM SCOTT
Adam Scott, seventh in the standings for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, is making his fourth consecutive start at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. After going winless in 2005, Scott waited until the very end to pick up his first title of 2006 at THE TOUR Championship. He went into the final round last year at East Lake Golf Club with a three-stroke lead, shot a 4-under 66 Sunday and held off Jim Furyk by that same margin. Scott, a native of Australia, was the fourth international player since 2000 to win THE TOUR Championship. The win propelled Scott to third on the final money list ($4,978,858), his highest-ever finish. At age 26 years, 3 months, 21 days, Scott became the youngest player to win THE TOUR Championship since Tiger Woods in 1999 (Champions Golf Club) at age 23 years, 10 months, 1 day. He is the third-youngest winner in THE TOUR Championship history, behind Woods and David Duval (1997, 25 years, 11 months, 24 days). This season, Scott won the Shell Houston Open in March, his fifth career TOUR title, and had an impressive May-June run finishing tied for sixth at THE PLAYERS, tied for fifth at the Memorial Tournament and seventh at the Stanford St. Jude Championship. The No. 6-ranked player in the world is currently 11th on the season money list and is looking to finish in the top-10 on the final money list for the third time in his five-year TOUR career.

.

No. 8 JIM FURYK
Jim Furyk, who is eighth in the standings for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, is making his 10th appearance in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. The 2003 U.S. Open champion has an excellent record in the season-ending event, with five top-10 finishes, including runner-up in 1997 and 2006 and a tie for third in 1998. Furyk broke into the winner's circle in late July when he successfully defended his title at the Canadian Open presented by Franklin Templeton Investments. The week after winning in Canada he aggravated an injury to his upper back and rib area while practicing at Firestone Country Club before the start of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and had to withdraw. Furyk had come to Firestone with considerable momentum with five top-five finishes in his last seven starts, including a tie for second at the U.S. Open. Since winning he has struggled in his last four starts.

.

No. 9 VIJAY SINGH
Vijay Singh, No. 9 in the FedExCup point standings, has played in 13 TOUR Championships, including the last 12. In those 13 appearances, Singh has won once, lost in a playoff and finished inside the top 10 a total of 11 times. He is the second all-time leading money winner in THE TOUR Championship, with nearly $3.1 million in career earnings ($3,113,633). In 2007, Singh has collected two titles and finished among the top-10 six times. His 31 career PGA TOUR victories is tied for 14th on the all-time TOUR victory list with Harry Cooper and Jimmy Demaret. He is tied with Cooper for most all-time victories among international players. Singh has collected 19 wins since turning 40, making him the winningest player over age 40. Sam Snead had 17.

.

No. 10 SERGIO GARCIA
Sergio Garcia has made four trips to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in his career and has recorded only one top-10 finish. That came when he lost in a four-man playoff with Ernie Els, David Toms and winner Mike Weir in 2001 in Houston. Garcia has had another solid season in 2007, with six top-10s, including two runner-up finishes. Garcia birdied four of his final five holes on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass to post a 6-under 66 and finish second at THE PLAYERS, two strokes behind Phil Mickelson. He then held the lead after the first three rounds of the British Open, but made bogey on his 72nd hole at Carnoustie to finish in a tie with Padraig Harrington. Garcia lost in the four-hole aggregate playoff by one stroke. It was his 13th top-10 in a major, including finishing in the top five in the last three British Opens. Garcia has finished in the top 25 in the first three FedExCup playoff events -- tie fo 25th, tie for 17th and ninth, respectively.

.