After Valhalla, players look to THE TOUR Championship
By PGATOUR.COM staff
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- There is no rest for the weary as 10 players on the U.S. Ryder Cup team and one European will be competing at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in Atlanta this week.
The victorious Americans -- including the game's No. 2 player, Phil Mickelson, and Ryder Cup rookie Rambo Anthony Kim -- make up a third of the 30-man field at East Lake for the final event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Sergio Garcia is the lone representative from the European Team.
Given the quality of the golf at the matches at Valhalla, any of the 11 players who competed in the Ryder Cup could be a major factor in the $7 million event that offers $1.26 million to the winner.
Of course, no one will walk away from Atlanta any richer than Vijay Singh, who needs only to complete 72 holes at East Lake to win the second FedExCup and it's $10 million prize. The big man from Fiji won the first two events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup to all-but earn the coveted Cup in just 14 days.
Singh will get his chance at the Americans -- who knocked off Europe by a decisive 16 1/2- 11 1/2 margin, a year from now at The Presidents Cup. This week, though, the International Team stalwart will try to beat Chad Campbell, Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker at East Lake.
Furyk, who clinched the Ryder Cup for the Americans when he parred the 17th hole to beat Miguel Angel Jimenez 2 & 1, contributed 2 1/2 points for Team USA. Furyk, who had eight top-10s this year but is still seeking his first victory of 2008, has two runner-up finishes at THE TOUR Championship - including one at East Lake in 2006.
The leading point-getter on Team USA was the 26-year-old Mahan, who won two matches and halved three, including a hard-fought Singles with Paul Casey. The American rookie, winner of the 2007 Travelers Championship, tied for fifth at East Lake in his debut last year.
Kim got Sunday's Singles off to a rousing start for the Americans when he took down the heart and soul of the European Team, Sergio Garcia, by a decisive 5 & 4 margin. The 23-year-old, who already has two wins in 2008, could cap a stellar sophomore season with a win at Bobby Jones' home course.
Kim will be making his TOUR Championship debut, just as he played in his first Ryder Cup last week.
Kim and Furyk join Justin Leonard and Kenny Perry, a three-time winner this year who thrilled the home fans by going 2-1-1 at the Ryder Cup, in adding 2 1/2 points to the American cause. Mickelson added two points, which is more than he produced in the last two Ryder Cups combined, and brought the youngsters Kim and Mahan along in the team competition.
Garcia, on the other hand, added just one point and, in a major upset, failed to win a match for Europe. He had played extremely well entering the Ryder Cup, finishing second to Padraig Harrington at the PGA, losing to Singh in a playoff at The Barclays, tying for fifth at the Deutsche Bank Championship and tying for 20th at the BMW Championship.
Garcia tied for second at THE TOUR Championship in 2001 at Champions Golf Club in Houston and finished fourth last year at East Lake.
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