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Considering the crapshoot nature of this year on the PGA Tour, which unfortunately included the disclosure of its demigod's deepest and dirtiest sexual desires, predicting the outcome of the FedEx Cup Playoffs is a fool's errand.
One hundred and twenty-two golfers earned their way into The Barclays, the first leg of the PGA Tour's postseason, by virtue of regular season performance. Only 100 will survive and advance to the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston on Labor Day Weekend.
Among the group fighting for their FedEx Cup lives is Tiger Woods, who arrived at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey buried at 112 in the standings. Should Woods' be eliminated from the Playoffs this week and elect not to play in the Fall Series, it will mark the first time the world's No. 1 golfer has finished a season without a PGA Tour victory since 1995. That year, he competed in only four events as an amateur.
Woods has won 67 percent of the FedEx Cup championships handed out by the Tour; he captured the inaugural event in 2007 and took home the title in 2009. Vijay Singh was the winner in 2008 when a host of leg injuries ended Woods season early.
His status for next week in jeopardy, Woods must feel like a mid-major waiting for the NCAA tournament brackets to be revealed. To ensure that his bubble doesn't burst, he needs to first make the cut, and then finish in the 50-55 range according to PGA Tour Director of Research and Development Kin Lo.
That statistical scenario is easily understood, but the same can't be said for the entirety of the FedEx Cup system. For starters, players are awarded point values relative to their finish in each event during the year. Once the Playoffs begin, those values are worth five times as much, meaning you might be able to sneak into the first tournament and immediately propel yourself to the top of the heap with a victory.
Heath Slocum was a beneficiary of the volatile nature of the points system last year. He entered The Barclays ranked 124th in the standings, but capitalized on his chance by draining a crucial birdie putt on the 18th hole to hold off Woods and a slew of elite contenders. The victory catapulted him to the No. 3 position, and he eventually finished eighth.
Unlikely winners have been the order of the day on Tour in 2010, especially in major championships. International players have dominated the scene, with Graeme McDowell, little-known Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer winning the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship respectively. Slocum expects that trend to continue during the playoff.
"I think that there's been a lot of good golf played by a lot of different people," he said. "It's definitely going to be very compelling for the playoffs. Anybody can win.
"I think I kind of proved that last year, that anywhere in this field somebody could have that week and come out on top. So I hope that trend continues through these playoffs - that we see a bunch of good stories. I think it's good for our sport right now."
Still, as a recent New York Times article suggested, drama isn't always enough to sell viewers on golf. Should Woods and Phil Mickelson fail to make a serious run at the FedEx Cup, will anyone be there to watch the champion hoist the trophy? According to Nielsen, Sunday viewership is down 16 percent through the month of August.
Does the average Tour player despair that he can't move the needle with the same ferocity as Woods and Mickelson? Kevin Streelman doesn't think so.
"I don't look at it as being at our expense," Streelman said. "If you look at any facet of business or sport, there's superstars in every realm. They help our fan base. They help the golf economy. They help global awareness of our sport. And for that we're indebted to them. So I have zero disdain toward anything in that regard.
"I think this is really turning out to be an exciting playoff situation. You've got Tiger starting to feel his game a little better and coming from behind. And then you've got some of the other guys that are up front, kind of in a better position. It will be fun to watch."
Final Field for The Barclays
Aug. 26-29, 2010
Ridgewood Country Club
Paramus, New Jersey
Blake Adams
Robert Allenby
Stephen Ames
Stuart Appleby
Woody Austin
Aaron Baddeley
Briny Baird
Ricky Barnes
Cameron Beckman
Matt Bettencourt
Kris Blanks
Jason Bohn
Jonathan Byrd
Angel Cabrera
Chad Campbell
Paul Casey
Alex Cejka
Greg Chalmers
K.J. Choi
Stewart Cink
Tim Clark
Chad Collins
Chris Couch
Ben Crane
Ben Curtis
Brian Davis
Jason Day
Brendon de Jonge
Graham DeLaet
Luke Donald
David Duval
Steve Elkington
Ernie Els
Bob Estes
Rickie Fowler
Jim Furyk
Robert Garrigus
Brian Gay
Tom Gillis
Lucas Glover
Retief Goosen
Nathan Green
Bill Haas
Padraig Harrington
J.P. Hayes
J.J. Henry
Charley Hoffman
J.B. Holmes
Charles Howell III
Ryuji Imada
Fredrik Jacobson
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Matt Jones
Jerry Kelly
Anthony Kim
Matt Kuchar
Martin Laird
Derek Lamely
Marc Leishman
Justin Leonard
Michael Letzig
Spencer Levin
Davis Love III
Bill Lunde
Jeff Maggert
Hunter Mahan
Steve Marino
Troy Matteson
Rory McIlroy
John Merrick
Shaun Micheel
Phil Mickelson
Bryce Molder
Ryan Moore
Kevin Na
Sean O'Hair
Joe Ogilvie
Geoff Ogilvy
Jeff Overton
Ryan Palmer
Pat Perez
Kenny Perry
Tim Petrovic
Carl Pettersson
Scott Piercy
D.A. Points
Ian Poulter
Alex Prugh
Chris Riley
John Rollins
Andres Romero
Justin Rose
Rory Sabbatini
Adam Scott
John Senden
Michael Sim
Webb Simpson
Vijay Singh
Heath Slocum
Brandt Snedeker
Kevin Stadler
Kevin Streelman
Steve Stricker
Kevin Sutherland
Vaughn Taylor
Josh Teater
David Toms
D.J. Trahan
Bo Van Pelt
Scott Verplank
Camilo Villegas
Jimmy Walker
Nick Watney
Bubba Watson
Boo Weekley
Charlie Wi
Garrett Willis
Dean Wilson
Tiger Woods
Y.E. Yang
Thursday Tee Times and Groupings
Ridgewood Country Club No. 1 Tee
7:10 a.m.
Tiger Woods
Cameron Beckman
Troy Matteson
7:21 a.m.
Chad Collins
Chris Riley
Josh Teater
7:32 a.m.
Jason Dufner
J.J. Henry
Shaun Micheel
7:43 a.m.
Fredrik Jacobson
Vaughn Taylor
Geoff Ogilvy
7:54 a.m.
K.J. Choi
Ryan Moore
Sean O'Hair
8:05 a.m.
Jason Day
Nick Watney
Stuart Appleby
8:16 a.m.
Luke Donald
Ryan Palmer
Retief Goosen
8:27 a.m.
Steve Marino
John Rollins
Rory Sabbatini
8:38 a.m.
Angel Cabrera
Garrett Willis
Blake Adams
8:49 a.m.
J.P. Hayes
Dean Wilson
Bob Estes
Ridgewood Country Club No. 10 Tee
7:10 a.m.
Kevin Stadler
Woody Austin
Graham DeLaet
7:21 a.m.
Martin Laird
Davis Love III
Matt Bettencourt
7:32 a.m.
Kenny Perry
Jimmy Walker
Kris Blanks
7:43 a.m.
Charles Howell III
Lucas Glover
Marc Leishman
7:54 a.m.
Bo Van Pelt
Anthony Kim
Camilo Villegas
8:05 a.m.
Hunter Mahan
Bubba Watson
Matt Kuchar
8:16 a.m.
Ernie Els
Steve Stricker
Jim Furyk
8:27 a.m.
Ian Poulter
Heath Slocum
Brian Gay
8:38 a.m.
Tom Gillis
Chad Campbell
Stephen Ames
8:49 a.m.
Chris Couch
John Senden
Jeff Maggert
Ridgewood Country Club No. 1 Tee
12:10 p.m.
Michael Letzig
Nathan Green
David Duval
12:21 p.m.
Derek Lamely
Aaron Baddeley
Webb Simpson
12:32 p.m.
Steve Elkington
Greg Chalmers
Justin Leonard
12:43 p.m.
Brian Davis
David Toms
Bryce Molder
12:54 p.m.
Zach Johnson
Robert Allenby
J.B. Holmes
1:05 p.m.
Tim Clark
Dustin Johnsone
Ben Crane
1:16 p.m.
Phil Mickelson
Justin Rose
Jeff Overton
1:27 p.m.
Charlie Wi
Y.E. Yang
Stewart Cink
1:38 p.m.
Charley Hoffman
D.A. Points
Pat Perez
1:49 p.m.
Kevin Streelman
Briny Baird
Joe Ogilvie
2:00 p.m.
Robert Garrigus
Scott Piercy
Ridgewood Country Club No. 10 Tee
12:10 p.m.
Andres Romero
Ben Curtis
Jonathan Byrd
12:21 p.m.
Kevin Sutherland
Jerry Kelly
Alex Cejka
12:32 p.m.
Vijay Singh
D.J. Trahan
Michael Sim
12:43 p.m.
Brandt Snedeker
Kevin Na
Scott Verplank
12:54 p.m.
Ricky Barnes
Adam Scott
Jason Bohn
1:05 p.m.
Brendon de Jonge
Bill Haas
Paul Casey
1:16 p.m.
Rickie Fowler
Carl Pettersson
Rory McIlroy
1:27 p.m.
Padraig Harrington
Matt Jones
Spencer Levin
1:38 p.m.
Tim Petrovic
Alex Prugh
Boo Weekley
1:49 p.m.
John Merrick
Bill Lunde
Ryuji Imada
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