A lot at stake for players as they enter the PGA TOUR Playoffs
By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Just as Bobby Jones once said there's a major difference between tournament golf and recreational golf, there's also quite a distinction between the regular PGA TOUR season and the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
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A bad week on the PGA TOUR usually just has a player stewing for a few days before he can tee it up again. A bad week in the Playoffs, however, and you may have a month-long break and it can have a profound effect on what tournaments you're eligible for next season.
Some won't have to wait long to see the impact of the next four weeks. Tiger Woods, who has won the Playoffs twice in its three-year existence, is spotting the field plenty by starting from the 112th position. If he doesn't make the cut at The Barclays this week, his Playoffs almost assuredly will be over and his Ryder Cup captain's selection becomes less of a lock.
At the top of the standings, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson -- both cinch Hall of Famers -- have the inside track on earning their first PGA TOUR Player of the Year award with strong showings in the Playoffs. Els won twice early in the season and has been leading the FedExCup standings since this spring. Mickelson (No. 4) has just one win in 2010, but it was his feel-good Masters championship, so that keeps him in contention considering the other major winners -- Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer -- aren't eligible for the Playoffs because either aren't PGA TOUR members, or joined too late in the season.
Four other two-time winners in 2010 -- Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan -- also can make a late run at Player of the Year honors with a big finish in the Playoffs.
The Playoffs also should decide Rookie of the Year between Rickie Fowler (No. 19) and Rory McIlroy (No. 22). McIlroy has the edge based on his win at the Wells Fargo Championship (where he closed with a 62) and T3s at the British Open and PGA Championship. But don't forget, a year ago Fowler was in college before making it through Q-School. Fowler seems to be the truer "rookie," considering McIlroy played more than 20 pro events last year before becoming a PGA TOUR member.
The Ryder Cup will also be on the mind of last year's U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, as well as several others, during the next month. Glover fell out of the automatic eight U.S. roster spots at the PGA Championship, but when he took the lead Sunday in the Wyndham Championship, one had to know U.S. captain Corey Pavin was taking notice.
Alas, Glover shot a closing 67, but not the way you want to shoot a 67 -- with a 29 on the front and a 38 on the back. He went from six birdies and no bogeys on the front to close with three bogeys and no birdies on a vulnerable Sedgefield CC layout. That finish won't help him make his first Ryder Cup team (although he has played in two Presidents Cups), and Glover knows it.
"Didn't play good," a dejected Glover said afterward. "Didn't make any putts. Just missed too many fairways and greens. I didn't make anything coming in. Three-over on the back ... don't win doing that."
Other Ryder Cup hopefuls who need to play well the next month to catch Pavin's eye include Anthony Kim (who's ranked 14th, but needs to prove he's fully healed from thumb surgery earlier this year; he has missed both of his cuts since returning); Zach Johnson (No. 16, although I think he's a lock for the team); and long-hitting Bo Van Pelt (No. 13) and J.B. Holmes (No 18)
You can go all the way to the 50s to find guys with Ryder Cup aspirations: Stewart Cink (No. 54) and Padraig Harrington (No. 55).
Vijay Singh (No. 65), the only person not named Tiger Woods to win the Playoffs, probably needs two wins -- as he did in 2008 -- to have any hopes of contending. At 47, Singh knows his days of being a threat in the Playoffs are winding down.
RBC Canadian Open winner Carl Pettersson (No. 20) may have already locked up Comeback Player of the Year (he was 154th in the FedExCup standings last year). Another strong week or two in the Playoffs could clinch his bounce-back recognition.
Of course, there are several other reasons for players up and down the standings to play well. Finishing in the top 30 earns them spots in the majors, while top 70 gets them into invitationals such as Jack Nicklaus' and Arnold Palmer's tournaments.
But the most basic motivation for playing well during the next month is simply to keep playing. It's competitive and, at times, chaotic. A bad nine, and chances are you're headed home, done for the Playoffs for another year.
Everybody has something to play for in the Playoffs -- just some more for others.
Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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