Wyndham marks the sprint stage toward the Playoffs
By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
What has been a marathon becomes a sprint.
What has been 32 events, seven and a half months and 147 rounds of golf (counting the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship) becomes a four-day, 72-hole dash to the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
Who's in for a shot to become at the $10 million first prize that goes with being the season-long FedExCup champ? Who'll improve his position entering The Barclays, the first Playoffs event? And who's fall out and have to wait until next year?
Who knows?
What we do know is this week's Wyndham Championship essentlially has become a playoff event for multiple-major winners such as Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera. All three are currently not in the top 125 in the FedExCup standings -- Els is 126th, Harrrington 130th and Cabrera 150th -- so they have to make this week's cut at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., just to have a shot at next week's playoff opener.
Harrington even interrupted a planned family vacation to put the Wyndham Championship on his schedule at the last minute, as did Els and two-time major champion Retief Goosen (No. 106).
"I really don't want to miss out on those big events and a chance to tee it up in the TOUR Championship," Els wrote in his blog, "so that's why I decided at the weekend to add this week's Wyndham Championship to my schedule. This really is last-chance saloon, as they say.
"There is little point going into the various calculations and permutations here -- that could take a while! The simple fact is if I play well I'm in and if I play poorly I'm more than likely not. It's in my hands basically." (Click here to read complete Els blog)
Based on last year's points, Els would need a 13th place finish this week to move inside the top 125. Harrington needs a 12th place finish and Cabrera would need to finish third or higher.
Also needing strong weeks this week to keep their playoff hopes alive are three players who were once ranked among the world's top 10: Camilo Villegas (No. 125), Justin Leonard (No 142) and Paul Casey (No. 147). That's the beauty of golf -- the sport only cares how good you are, not how good you were.
We also know Tiger Woods, who won two of the first three FedExCups, won't have a shot at a third. Woods, who is 129th in the standings and couldn't play this week because of a family commitment. Woods was unable to make a move in his two starts since coming back from injury, and his failure to make the cut at the PGA Championship sealed his fate.
Last year's British Open champion, Louis Oosthuizen (No. 145), is among the few prominent players not in the top 125 to skip Wyndham.
But this week isn't about who isn't here. It's time to concentrate on who has his fate in his own hands. Two FedExCup champions are in the field (Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh), as are many other notable names -- such as Davis Love III, Anthony Kim, Trevor Immelman and Ian Poulter-- who need to improve their points position.
This, in fact, may be the best field the Wyndham Championship has attracted in its late-season spot. It says something that former British Open champion Todd Hamilton is currently first alternate.
It was just six years ago when this tournament seem to need a boost. The combination of luring Wyndham as a sponsor; moving the tournament from Forest Oaks Country Club back to Sedgefield C.C., where the tournament was held from 1961-76; and the efforts of Bobby Long, a wealthy local businessman who's now the chairman of the Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation, which runs the event, provided the necessary jolt.
"This tournament is on the move," Long told the Greensboro News & Record last week.
Now it's many of the players who need to make a move. The PGA TOUR showed its depth last week when Keegan Bradley, playing in his first major championship, outdueled unheralded Jason Dufner down the stretch to win the 93rd PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. Bradley's unexpected victory continues the year's theme of the younger generation making the most noise on the PGA TOUR.
Bradley (No. 4) is among six rookies ranked inside the top 50 in the FedExCup standings; he's joined by Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (No. 21), Scott Stallings (No. 30), Jhonattan Vegas (No. 34), Brendan Steele (No. 39) and Kyle Stanley (No. 47). Each of these youngsters is just one top playoff finish away from qualifying for the playoff-ending the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and all the perks that go along with it.
Heath Slocum showed two years ago that all you have to do is finish in the top 125 to have a chance. He barely qualified at No. 124, but then won The Barclays and shot up to No. 8 on the final standings.
Just three men have won the FedExCup. The Playoffs start next week but the stakes are extremely high this week.
Harrington had it correct. A vacation can wait. It's time for a shot at history.
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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