Backspin: Playoffs looming, and they're still wide open

text size

CROMWELL, Conn. -- There were some pretty monumental achievements over the weekend -- Fredrik Jacobson winning for the first time on the PGA TOUR, double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton winning on the Nationwide Tour and Sergio Garcia getting a moral victory in a playoff loss in Europe.

I'll get to those, but with 10 events left before the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, there's a lot still left to be decided.

Like who will be the favorite to win the FedExCup for one.

Jim Furyk is the reigning champion, but as noted below he's not exactly in peak form.

The 2009 and 2007 FedExCup champion, Tiger Woods, is on the sideline because of injury, while Father Time may be catching up to 2008 winner Vijay Singh (although he still ranks 30th in FedExCup points going into this week's AT&T National).

Much like the rest of the season, during which we've had just two repeat winners, the Playoffs picture is just as wide open. Even other races like Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year have no clear-cut favorite.

A couple of big names, Ernie Els and Paul Casey, are both currently outside the top 125, while the biggest -- Woods -- is flirting with missing the postseason at 114th in the standings. Of course, his is a matter of health more than anything.

And as well as Luke Donald and Bubba Watson have played this year, what will they do come the Playoffs, where they don't exactly have strong track records?

In other words, some pretty important golf to come over these next two months.

Stock up

Bo Van Pelt: It's been two years since Van Pelt has won, but that might be about to change given how he's playing right now. He's finished in the top 13 in each of his last four starts, which included a third-place finish at Colonial Country Club. Van Pelt usually plays pretty well in the summer too, and this year is no exception. FedExCup Rank: 39 (43 last week) Kevin Streelman: A little bit lost in the birdiefest at TPC River Highlands was Streelman, who had a third-round 63 on his way to a tie for sixth. That gives Streelman three top-10s in his last four starts. He has also played well at the AT&T National and John Deere Classic in the past, so if I was in a fantasy league I'd be buying. FedExCup Rank: 57 (76 last week) Nick Watney: He missed the cut at the U.S. Open, but that's about the only blemish for Watney in the last month or so. His last three starts excluding the U.S. Open: T13 at the Travelers, T8 at the HP Byron Nelson and a T4 at THE PLAYERS. For the year, Watney has seven top-10s in 13 starts, including a win. FedExCup rank: 5 (6 last week).

Stock down

Jim Furyk: The reigning FedExCup champ has now missed four of his last five cuts. He'd been tinkering with his irons and some different putters before going back to the Srixon irons which he used last year a couple weeks ago. Maybe that will help turn things around. FedExCup rank: 73 (67 last week) Justin Leonard: TPC River Highlands isn't exactly long by TOUR standards, and the course was playing extremely soft, yet Leonard missed his seventh cut in his last 10 starts. Leonard hasn't finished in the top 50 since mid-April and he hasn't had a single top-10 all year. Just two years ago he had six. FedExCup rank: 124 (125 last week) Chris Baryla: In the Nationwide Tour vs. q-school argument for a TOUR card, Baryla would be Exhibit A for the former. His second-round 61 at q-school carried him to a tie for 11th there and secured his card for this season. In 11 starts on TOUR this season, however, he's yet to make a cut and has just two sub-70 rounds. FedExCup rank: N/A

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. The best story of the week: Erik Compton. Wow. His win at the Nationwide Tour's Mexico Open moves him to second on the money list and all but assures that he'll have a PGA TOUR card next season, but it obviously means so much more than that to the double heart transplant recipient.

"To win this is everything to me," Compton told reporters. "I never thought I'd play golf again, at least not at this level, and I proved to myself I'm more than just a guy with two heart transplants."

An amazing story that just keeps getting better for one of the nicest guys in the game.

2. How many times does a guy hovering near the lead go out and shoot 63 and lose? That's what happened to Ryan Moore at the Travelers Championship. It would have been a 62, of course, if Moore had made that 4-footer for par on the final hole. "That 18th hole is going to sting a little bit," he said.

3. Last week's Travelers marked the fifth event in the six tournaments that make up a mini-money list in which the top two money winners not previously exempt earn a spot in the British Open. Fredrik Jacobson tops the list at just over $1.26 million, while Harrison Frazar is second at $1.058 million -- meaning Paul Goydos, who has $646,000, has some ground to make up at Aronimink.

4. How good is Patrick Cantlay, the 19-year-old amateur who broke the TPC River Highlands course record with a second-round 60? Probably somewhere between that and the scores he shot on the weekend, 72 and 70, which is to say pretty good. And it's exactly why Cantlay will and should stay in school for now.

His UCLA coach Derek Freeman summed it up the best, telling me, "I think he could be a very, very special player. He has the internal makeup and isn't scared to shoot low numbers and not scared to be in the lead. Obviously he can play a couple of rounds at this level; he's not doing [it] for a living yet it's just golf for him. But he's still a young guy. He's a 30-year-old golfer and an 18-year-old personality."

5. There was a point not all that long ago -- as in earlier this season -- when it looked like Sergio Garcia might not make it into the U.S. Open or the British Open. However, after finishing second at the BMW International Open in Germany over the weekend, where he lost to Pablo Larrazabal on the fifth hole of a sudden-death playoff, he'll be in the field at Royal St. George's. Don't be surprised if he contends, either. I still think Garcia has a major in him and the British Open is where he's had the most success.

6. You never know what will light a spark in someone. Case in point: James Driscoll. Over the winter he worked with a coach, but other than that he'd mostly either been on his own or listened to too many people throughout the years. Then his caddie, Bill Harkey, who is a longtime friend of Sean Foley's, suggested he visit with Foley. The two spent 90 minutes together at the Quail Hollow Championship, where Foley simply changed Driscoll's ball position and adjusted his weight distribution on his setup. Driscoll had been overthinking his swing fixes when all he needed, for the most part, were two minor fixes. The result? A tie for eighth at the HP Byron Nelson Championship a week later and a fifth-place finish at the Travelers Championship two starts later.

7. We'll know more about the extent of Tiger Woods' ongoing knee and Achilles injuries when he has a press conference Tuesday at the AT&T National. But based on history, it doesn't sound like he'll be ready for the British Open. For one, he's still in a boot and hasn't worked with swing coach Sean Foley since THE PLAYERS Championship. For another, Woods doesn't typically like to enter a major championship not having played.

8. How cool is it that Rory McIlroy is offering the public a chance to play with him in the pro-am of the Irish Open? Buy a ticket to the tournament, and you'll have a chance to win. It's that simple. Well, simple if you live in Ireland, I suppose, but it's still a neat idea and speaks volumes about McIlroy.

9. Are we entering a new era in golf? It sure seems like it, with 25 different winners, including eight first-timers, this year. Get used to it too, because no one is going to dominate the way Tiger did for over a decade.

Forward Spin

Tiger Woods will be at the AT&T National this week, but he won't be playing. His knee and Achilles still have him sidelined and his doctors have advised against teeing it up. Instead, Woods will be on hand for some charitable endeavors for his foundation. He'll also hold a press conference Tuesday, so expect more news then. As for who is playing, Justin Rose is the defending champion, but he hasn't been in his best form lately with missed cuts in three of his last five starts. Also keep an eye on Ryan Moore. He's coming off a good week in Hartford and was a runner-up to Rose last year.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: AT&T National HOLE: The par-3, 212-yard 17th at Aronimink Golf Club ABOUT THE HOLE: Named the "Seneca" by architect Donald Ross, the 17th is a downhill par-3. Any errant shot will trickle down the steep bank into the lake guarding the large green. The lead could easily change hands here on the final day, making for an interesting finish. Kodak Challenge standings