1. Jordan Spieth, United States — The newest No. 1 player in the World Golf Rankings is the favorite everywhere he plays these days after a regular season in which he won four times, including the Masters and U.S. Open, and finished second four other times among his 14 top-10 finishes. Spieth is an even bigger pick this week in the playoff opener, the Barclays, with No. 2 Rory McIlroy staying home to rest a left ankle injury that knocked him out of his title defense in the Open Championship. Spieth, who has a huge lead in the FedEx Cup standings, is making his third start in the Barclays, having tied for 19th in 2013 and tied for 22nd last year.
2. Dustin Johnson, United States — In spite of more heartbreak in the majors, it was another solid season for Johnson, and he can salvage even more from it in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He ranks seventh in the point standings and he won the Barclays in 2011, the only other time it was held at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J. The tournament was limited to three rounds that year with Hurricane Irene bearing down on the Northeast, and Johnson reeled off scores of 66-63-65 in the soft conditions to win by two strokes over Matt Kuchar. Johnson has two other top-10 finishes in the Barclays, including a tie for third three years ago in his title defense at Bethpage Black, and a tie for ninth in 2010 at Ridgewood Country Club.
3. Jason Day, Australia — If not for Jordan Spieth, Day probably would be the Player of the Year on the PGA Tour, as he has three victories among his eight top-10 finishes this season. He should be well-rested after taking two weeks off following his major breakthrough in the PGA Championships at Whistling Straits, but he still should have plenty of momentum after winning two of his past three times out. The Aussie finished 12th or better in each of his past five starts, three of them majors, and he has played well in the Barclays. In fact, he could have won it last year at Ridgewood, where he finished 64-68-68, only to end up in a tie for second, one stroke behind Hunter Mahan. Day tied for 13th four years ago at Plainfield.
4. Bubba Watson, United States — Another player enjoying a superb season, with two victories, three runner-up finishes and a third-place result under his belt, Watson opens the playoffs trailing only Jordan Spieth and Jason Day in the FedEx Cup standings. So with a little more luck, or had a few more made putts, it could have been a monster year. Watson, who has never won in the playoffs, could make a run at the FedEx Cup if he can maintain that form. However, he has not had much success in the Barclays. A tie for 10th in 2012 was his best result, and he missed the cut four times in nine appearances — including when the tournament was last played at Plainfield four years ago.
5. Justin Rose, England — Despite playing well enough this season to rank fifth in the FedEx Cup standings, Rose has been overshadowed by the brilliant seasons of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Bubba Watson. He can make up for that in the playoffs, starting this week in the Barclays, in which he tied for second two years ago, one stroke behind Adam Scott of Australia. Rose also tied for sixth four years ago at Plainfield, this week’s venue. His only victory this year came in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but he has been very close several other times, especially lately — finishing in the top six in each of his past four tournaments and losing in a playoff at the Memorial two events before starting that streak.
6. Rickie Fowler, United States — One year after finishing in the top five in all four majors, Fowler didn’t play nearly as well in the Grand Slam events this season, with his best result a tie for 12th in the Masters. However, he claimed the biggest victory of his career in a playoff at the Players Championship, and he also capture the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, giving him two victories in his past nine starts. Fowler, who also came close when he finished second in the Travelers Championship and tied for third in the WGC-HSBC Champions, is 15th in the FedEx Cup standings heading to the Barclays, in which he tied for ninth each of the past two years. He tied for 52nd four years ago at Plainfield.
7. Matt Kuchar, United States — Although he didn’t have his normal quota of top-10 finishes his season, managing only five, Kuchar seemed to heat up as the summer went along by tying for 12th in the U.S. Open, tying for seventh in the RBC Canadian Open and most recently earning another tie for seventh in the PGA Championship. He is 26th in the FedEx Cup standings and must play well early in the playoffs to ensure he will be in the top 30 who qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. The Barclays would seem to be a good place for Kuchar to start, as he won the tournament in 2010 at Ridgewood, finished second the next year at Plainfield and tied for fifth last year at Ridgewood.
8. Brooks Koepka, Unites States — Even though he is on quite a run, the rookie is flying under the radar a bit because of the great seasons by Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Bubba Watson. Koepka, who claimed his first PGA Tour victory in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, finished in the top 25 in his past eight tournaments around the world, including no worse than a tie for sixth in the past three. Included in that run are 16 sub-70 scores in his past 18 rounds dating to his tie for 10th in the Open Championship at St. Andrews. Koepka ranks 12th in the FedEx Cup standings heading into his first run at the playoffs and is in great shape to make it all the way to the Tour Championship.
9. Brandt Snedeker, Unites States — It has been a long climb back after a couple of mediocre seasons caused at least in part by injuries, but Snedeker is up 30 spots to No. 28 in the World Golf Rankings this year. He captured the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February, finished eighth in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay and tied for 12th in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, helping him enter the playoffs at No. 12 in the FedEx Cup rankings. Snedeker kick-started his run to the 2012 FedEx Cup title by finishing second in the Barclays, three strokes behind Nick Watney at Bethpage Black. He tied for third a year earlier at Plainfield, this year’s venue, closing with a 61.
10. Adam Scott, Australia — If Scott is going to salvage anything from a largely lost season, the time to start is this week in the Barclays at the beginning of the FedEx Cup playoffs. He won the tournament two years ago at Liberty National, closing with a 66 to beat Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Graham DeLaet and Gary Woodland by a stroke. Two years earlier, when the tournament was shortened to 54 holes at Plainfield, he was in the hunt with scores of 66-67 before closing with a 76 to wind up in a tie for 67th. Scott seemed to be turning this season around when he tied for fourth in the U.S. Open and tied for 10th in the Open Championship, but he hasn’t been in the top 40 in his past three events.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
