Backspin: Five favorites to take the FedExCup

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After nearly eight months and 37 events, the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are here, and there's still plenty to be determined over the next month, including who will be Player of the Year and, of course, the FedExCup champion.

I'll have a prediction on the latter toward the end of the column, but first here's a breakdown of the favorites going into The Barclays, being played this year at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J.

Steve Stricker: He enters the Playoffs second in the standings and has an impeccable record this time of year with 10 career top-10s, including three wins, in the postseason. Stricker also comes into this year's Playoffs with two wins and hasn't finished outside the top 20 since February.

Luke Donald: No one has more top-10s this year than Donald, who has just one win but is also in the midst of a career couple of years as the top-ranked player in the world. He was also a runner-up at the Deutsche Bank Championship and THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola a year ago.

Nick Watney: Like Donald, he's having a career year. Watney, who enters the Playoffs No. 1 in the standings, has two wins at two pretty big events and a half-dozen other top-10s. The reason I didn't rank him higher is that he hasn't been great in the Playoffs with just two career top-10s -- one in each of the last two years -- and will need to perform better if he's going to win the FedExCup.

Phil Mickelson: It's been a wildly inconsistent year for Mickelson, but that's typical. He's also performed well in the Playoffs in the past with four top-10s, including a couple of wins. In a year in which he felt was going to be a big one, winning the FedExCup would certainly be a huge feather in Mickelson's cap.

Adam Scott: He has a half-dozen finishes in the top 20 in Playoffs events and more importantly comes into this year's playing arguably better than he ever has and with a ton of confidence. Scott also of course has a pretty experienced caddie on the bag in Steve Williams and the stars seem to be aligning for the Aussie this year.

Stock up

Webb Simpson: The way Simpson has played all year it was only a matter of time before he won. He finished outside the top-20 just once since May and his victory Sunday in Greensboro was also his seventh top-10 of the year. FedExCup rank: 3 (12 last week) Davis Love III: The U.S. Ryder Cup Captain is making a strong push to make his own team -- at least if he continues playing like he has been. In his last 10 starts, Love has a half-dozen finishes in the top 16, including a tie for 12th at the Wyndham Championship. FedExCup rank: 88 (81 last week). Charles Howell III: In four of his last seven starts he's finished in the top 5, which includes a tie for fourth at the Wyndham Championship. Howell hasn't been great in Playoffs events, but he's playing his best golf of the season right now. FedExCup rank: 26 (28 last week)

Stock down

Paul Casey: Things started out so well last week for Casey, who opened with a 65 only to finish in a tie for 47thand out of the Playoffs in what's been an injury-riddled year. Casey had just three top-25s this year. FedExCup rank: 144(147 last week). Matt Jones: A year after five top-10s and finishing 63rd in the FedExCup standings, Jones picked a bad time to miss his eighth cut in his last nine starts. Jones dropped five spots and out of the Playoffs as a result. Two years ago, the Aussie finished 126th. Ouch. FedExCup rank: 127 (122 last week). Angel Cabrera: I know he only played 15 events on TOUR and underwent some rather uncomfortable surgery in May, but ending his season with five missed cuts in his final six starts was a rough way to go out. Those missed cuts, by the way, included the final three majors. FedExCup rank: 154 (150 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Webb Simpson's victory was more than just the first in what looks like will be a very fine career for the Wake Forest product, it was also another endorsement of the unconventional putter. It used to be that older players used belly or long putters to aid a bad back. Now guys like Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, among others, are proving that it's more than just a Band-Aid. Real success is being had with belly or long putters.

"For me I just like it better," said Simpson, who has used a belly putter for seven years. "I putt differently with it and I've never really found anything I like better." And it showed in the statistics: Simpson finished first in Strokes Gained-Putting last week, gaining 8.411 strokes on the field.

2. Stat of the Week I: Simpson, who played Sedgefield a lot while in college, is the seventh different winner of the Wyndham Championship from an ACC school. The last was Carl Pettersson in 2008 (N.C. State). Simpson is also the third Wake Forest graduate to win the Wyndham Championship (Lanny Wadkins in 1983 and Scott Hoch in 2001 were the others).

3. Jim Furyk ended his longest streak without a top-10 at 13 with his tie for ninth last week. It was his longest drought since 1995, his second season on TOUR. Still, the defending FedExCup champion has some work to do if he wants to repeat. He'll enter the Playoffs 60th in the standings.

4. Justin Leonard, on the other hand, won't be in the Playoffs. A year ago, he entered the final week before the Playoffs 122nd in the FedExCup standings and responded with a tie for third. This time around, he was 122nd he missed a par putt on the final hole that dropped him to a tie for 17th in the tournament -- and to 126th in the FedExCup standings. As a result, Leonard will miss the Playoffs for the first time in his career after not registering a single top-10 in 2011.

5. Speaking of the Playoffs, the agronomy staff at Plainfield CC will have its work cut out this week after a deluge of rain in the area over the past week.

6. Stat of the Week II: No player outside the Playoffs bubble entering the Wyndham Championship has successfully negotiated his way to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

7. The U.S. Amateur will be played this week at Erin Hills, which will also host the U.S. Open in 2017 and which also will play to 7,760 yards this week. My, that's long. So is it safe to assume that by the time 2017 rolls around, it will be stretched to 8,000 yards? I hope not.

8. Mike Weir underwent surgery on his shredded right elbow -- specifically to repair a tendon -- by the renowned Dr. James Andrews last week. He'll be out 3-6 months, according to his management company IMG.

9. Mr. September, again: Steve Stricker. I think Stricker will win a Playoffs event or two and in the process capture the FedExCup and win Player of the Year honors in the process, edging out rookie Keegan Bradley, who will easily win PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year.

Forward Spin

The Playoffs are here and they'll begin at The Barclays, which has a new venue this year in Plainfield CC, which is a classic Donald Ross course that you won't hear any complaints about. Matt Kuchar is the defending champion, but he's been more up-and-down of late with two missed cuts in his last four starts. Look for someone like Luke Donald or Steve Steve Stricker to be in contention come Sunday.

Kodak Challenge

THIS WEEK: The Barclays HOLE: When played from the forward tee, long hitters can attempt to drive the elevated green, a mere 285 yards away. The green complex is undulating and guarded by severe bunkers and fescue grasses, which will certainly add to the excitement of this memorable finishing hole. Take a tour | Kodak Challenge standings