E-notes: Rookies in Playoffs, new course for Barclays...

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The Barclays at the Ridgewood CC in Paramus, NJ, this week will be the first co-sponsored PGA TOUR event in New Jersey since the 1968 Thunderbird Classic.

Woods

The field at The Barclays includes every PGA TOUR winner from 2008 with the exception of the injured Tiger Woods.

The Barclays field includes nine rookies?Chez Reavie (No. 35), Michael Letzig (No. 88), Brad Adamonis (No. 93), Kevin Streelman (No. 102), Matt Jones (No. 106), Tim Wilkinson (No. 110), Dustin Johnson (No. 117), Jason Day (No. 127) and Martin Laird (No. 128).

The field for the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup will feature players from 16 different countries.

Last week's Wyndham Championship was kind to the rookie class with four first-year players finishing in the top 10. Scotland's Martin Laird had his second consecutive tie for fourth, and he was followed by Kevin Streelman (tied for sixth) and Michael Letzig and Bob Sowards, each of whom finished tied for ninth.

Laird

More on Laird: Following the RBC Canadian Open, the rookie was 182nd on the FedExCup points list, but his tie for fourth at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open and tie for fourth at the Wyndham Championship vaulted him into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup in 128th place.

Last week's winner, Carl Pettersson, tied the PGA TOUR 36-hole scoring record with his 64-61?125 total at the halfway point. The 125 effort tied the mark set previously by Tiger Woods, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin. His 72-hole total of 259 marked just the 16th time in TOUR history that a player broke the 260 barrier for 72 holes.

The Barclays will play at a rotation of golf courses in the greater New York area over the next few years. From 40 years at historic Westchester Country Club to the well-received move this year to Ridgewood Country Club to playing in the shadow of the New York City skyline next year at Liberty National, each course provides a different challenge to the game's best players. The sites also offer an opportunity for Metropolitan New York/New Jersey to experience this one-of-a-kind event, the first in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. The rotation for The Barclays for 2010 and beyond will be announced at a later time, although under the terms of the contract with Westchester Country Club, The Barclays will return at least once by 2012.

Stricker

In 2007, Steve Stricker won his first PGA TOUR event since 2001 at the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Stricker birdied four of the final five holes in the final round to overtake K.J. Choi. Stricker jumped to No. 1 in the FedExCup points standings with the victory and ultimately finished second to Tiger Woods in the FedExCup. The victory came in his 148th start since his last victory at the 2001 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Padraig Harrington, who won the British Open and PGA Championship within a three-week period, is a former Barclays champion. At the 2005 Barclays, the Irishman made a 61-foot eagle-putt on the final hole of regulation to beat Jim Furyk for his second PGA TOUR victory. To date, Harrington has five PGA TOUR victories and 16 international wins.