TOUR Insider: Warren on Playoffs, baby watch
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- One is trying to move into the top 125 in the standings for the FedExCup. The other is trying to maintain his position there so he, too, can participate in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
Even though they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, Charles Warren and Martin Laird have the same goals this week at the Wyndham Championship.
Each has to play well to make it happen.
Only the top 87 players in the FedExCup standings entering the final Regular Season event are automatically guaranteed a spot in The Barclays, which is the first event in the Playoffs, next week. So there will be a lot of jockeying for position at Sedgefield.
A total of 34 of the 37 players who rank Nos. 88-125 are entered in the Wyndham Championship, as are 59 of the 74 from Nos. 126-200. There are 500 points available for a win on Sunday, and everyone who makes the cut has a chance at moving up.
Warren, who is No. 124 in the standings, became the bubble boy after Andres Romero decided not to play after missing his last three cuts. Laird, on the other hand, is on the outside looking in at No. 146 and needs a big week to get to play at Liberty National.
And not unlike J.J. Henry last year, Warren has other concerns with his wife due to deliver their second child Tuesday. Henry played his way into the first Playoff event with a tie for fourth at Greensboro, went home for the birth and then played at The Barclays.
Warren said he doesn't expect any surprises -- although he noted that Ryan Palmer, whose wife was due to deliver on the same day, had to withdraw on Tuesday due to their child's early arrival. Palmer was No. 127 on the FedExCup standings.
"My wife is hopefully taking it easy," Warren said with a smile. "Being close to home, I can get home fairly quickly if I needed to."
Warren, who lives in Greenville, S.C., plans to drive home Sunday night and -- if he stays in the top 125 -- head to New Jersey for The Barclays on Wednesday after the birth. He played Liberty National last Monday so he would be sure of getting in a practice round.
"It's pretty amazing what they've done with the golf course that close to downtown New York City and the Statute of Liberty," Warren said. "All in all it's exciting. I look forward to hopefully being there next week."
The Clemson grad, who hopes to make his third foray into the Playoffs, is coming off top-20 finishes in his last two starts, so he's confident, too. Warren not only wants to preserve his position in the top 125, he hopes to move up the standings to have a better chance of advancing further into the Playoffs.
The field is cut after each of the four Playoff events. The top 100 qualify for the Deustche Bank Championship, the top 70 for the BMW Championship and the top 30 for the all-important TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola where the winner of the $10 million bonus will be decided.
"All in all my game is in good shape and obviously being on -- being one of the guys on the hot seat is something that -- it's an exciting sidebar this week kind of for media and television," Warren said. "I'm excited about it.
"I look forward to going out and playing well this week, trying to get in contention and not only try to get in the first playoff event but hopefully kind of work my way up to where I'm in good position to get in Boston after New York."
A year ago, Laird was 164th in FedExCup points at this juncture and used a tie for fourth at Sedgefield to become one of five to play his way into The Barclays. Laird says that he can only draw confidence from the fact that he was able to play his way into the Playoffs last year.
"It's actually a good thing to keep in my mind this year because last year I did it," the Scotsman said. "So I know it's possible. But I'm trying not to think about it. I'm not someone that will sit and work out exactly where I have to finish because it doesn't do me any good.
"I just want to do what I did last year -- just play and see. I've been playing great the last couple of months. If I just keep doing what I've been doing the last couple of months I should be OK."
Laird started the season slowly this year, missing the cut in eight of his first nine tournaments. He's playing better of late, though, picking up a career-high tie for second in his last start at the Reno-Tahoe Open and 16th at the RBC Canadian Open.
There are fewer players eligible for the Playoffs this year, though. Only 125 make the field for The Barclays compared with 144 last year. Laird figures he needs to finish among the top five on Sunday to have a chance.
"Last year, I didn't want to do the math in terms of exactly what I had to do," Laird said. "I didn't want to know I had to make par on the last or whatever to make it for sure. ... It all worked out well last year so hopefully it will again this year.
"I really like this golf course for some reason. Last year right away I liked it right away. I'm looking forward to playing. You never want to be on the outside looking in but it means when you do play your way in, it's a big bonus."
Laird opened with a course-record tying 63 at Greensboro last year, but cooled off considerably in the second with a pedestrian 74. He vaulted up the leaderboard on Sunday, though, with another 63 and his mindset changed considerably.
"Towards the end of the tournament, it was kind of switched away from trying to get into the FedExCup to lets try and win this week or finish as high as I can," Laird said. "When I'm out there it's not like I'm thinking I need a birdie here to get in the FedExCup. You're just trying to win the tournament. That's the mentality I got in last year.
"I teed off a good hour and a half, two hours in front of the leaders so I was just trying to get as low as I could and post a number. So this year hopefully I'm in one of the last groups and I won't be thinking of FedExCup, I'll be thinking about trying to win. And if you win, you've taken care of your business."
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