This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Last week we were pondering the success of golf in the Olympic games and while the jury is still out on that, and probably will be for the next four years; one thing we can agree on is this -- as we enter year 10 of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the advent of a playoff system has been an unquestionable success...depending on your expectations going in. To anyone that thought golf could overtake the NFL or even NCAA Football in the fall, the FedEx Cup Playoffs are a failure, but the playoffs were never designed to overtake anything, they were simply put in place to give some kind of structure to the end of the season, to give golf fans a reason to pay attention to what was formerly referred to as the "silly season." To that extent, it has been a success, largely due to the growing fantasy golf audience, but a success nonetheless. Why just this morning I received an invite to a FedEx Cup pool. It's a pool that I've partaken in the past few years and it's a blast. The league I run goes through the Tour Championship, as does the RotoWire league I am in, so yes, football will grab a lot of my attention over the next five weeks, but not as much as it used to. With golf in the Olympics for the foreseeable future, along with a full PGA Tour schedule each season and either the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup
Last week we were pondering the success of golf in the Olympic games and while the jury is still out on that, and probably will be for the next four years; one thing we can agree on is this -- as we enter year 10 of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the advent of a playoff system has been an unquestionable success...depending on your expectations going in. To anyone that thought golf could overtake the NFL or even NCAA Football in the fall, the FedEx Cup Playoffs are a failure, but the playoffs were never designed to overtake anything, they were simply put in place to give some kind of structure to the end of the season, to give golf fans a reason to pay attention to what was formerly referred to as the "silly season." To that extent, it has been a success, largely due to the growing fantasy golf audience, but a success nonetheless. Why just this morning I received an invite to a FedEx Cup pool. It's a pool that I've partaken in the past few years and it's a blast. The league I run goes through the Tour Championship, as does the RotoWire league I am in, so yes, football will grab a lot of my attention over the next five weeks, but not as much as it used to. With golf in the Olympics for the foreseeable future, along with a full PGA Tour schedule each season and either the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup every fall, there isn't much downtime for the average golf fan and while the FedEx Cup will never be as interesting as the Masters, the Opens, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, the Presidents…ah you get the picture. It's not at the top of any golf fan's list, but it has its place on the list...and that's all the PGA Tour ever intended.
This week: The Barclays - Bethpage Black - Farmingdale, NY
Last Year: Jason Day shot a final-round 62 on his way to a six-stroke victory over Henrik Stenson.
Players to Consider:
Dustin Johnson
The FedEx Cup Playoffs give us a chance to see who's really taken a step forward in their game as any momentum these guys had during the season is long gone. It's all about talent and mindset and DJ seems to have both in hand right now. Add to that, he finished solo-third here in 2012 when this event was last held at Bethpage Black.
Jason Day
For my money, he's still the best player in the world -- even without a major win this season. Day was on fire heading into the FedEx Cup Playoffs last season and he used that momentum to destroy the field at this event, but that was a different track. Still, he nearly put it all together at the PGA Championship a few weeks back and I expect a solid run through the playoffs again this year -- starting this week.
Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker has always been known as a streaky player and it looks like he's about ready to go on a run. Snedeker finished T3 at the Wyndham Championship last week and he's no stranger to playing well this time of the year. Snedeker won the FedEx Cup Playoffs in 2012.
Bubba Watson
You don't have to be a bomber to win at Bethpage Black, but it sure doesn't hurt. Watson is not a guy I usually think of this time of the year, but he has a knack for playing certain courses well and he finished in the top 10 here on this course in 2012.
Luke Donald
Trust me, I'm not proud of this pick, nor am I confident because Donald is not the type of guy who comes through when you expect him to, but he's in good form right now as evidenced by his runner-up last week at the Wyndham and he finished in the top 10 here in 2012.
Players to Avoid:
Rickie Fowler
Shameless plug: a little over a month from now, I'll be in attendance at the 2016 Ryder Cup and although I would love for Fowler to make the team, me wanting it, or him wanting it, doesn't mean it will happen. Quite frankly, he needs to play better and there have been few signs lately that he's about to play better because he desperately wants to make the Ryder Cup team.
Jamie Lovemark
It took the highly-touted Lovemark a few years to find some traction on the PGA Tour, but he finally figured it out this season. With that said, he hit the wall a couple months ago and odds are, he won't be able to rebound before the end of the season. Nothing against Lovemark, but those who achieve success for the first time, tend to struggle to fight back from rough stretches. He'll be back next year though, he's going to be a solid player on the PGA Tour.
Si Woo Kim
Kim was a machine last week at the Wyndham, but the test that awaits Kim this week is nothing like what he encountered last week. For starters, there's the course, no one is going to threaten 20-under this week. Second, the field is loaded, something that we couldn't say about the competition last week. Add to that, he just picked up his first PGA Tour win and a hangover is likely.
Rory McIlroy
Six top-10s in 14 starts, a top five at the Open Championship, a top 10 at the Masters, not bad for your average PGA Tour golfer, but alas, Rory McIlroy is not your average PGA Tour golfer, so 2016 can only be classified as a failure to this point. Now, McIlroy could still turn this around if he were to win the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but that seems highly unlikely at this point.
Peter Malnati
Perhaps the most obscure winner on the PGA Tour this year, Malnati has managed to parlay his win into a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but if recent history is any indication, he won't be playing far beyond this week. Malnati has missed an astounding 21 cuts this season. Take a minute to soak that in -- a golfer who's missed 21 cuts is in the playoffs.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Wesley Bryan (MC) - $0; Season - $8,832,401
This week: Emiliano Grillo - Grillo started the season off with a bang, with a win in his first start of the season way back in the fall of 2015 and although he stumbled a bit after that, he's found his footing recently and looks to bring that momentum into the playoffs.
YAHOO PICKS
Points: 4450
Rank: 17,365
This Week:
Group A: Jason Day, Bubba Watson
Group B: Brandt Snedeker, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama
Group C: Emiliano Grillo, Louis Oosthuizen
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Jon Rahm (MC); Streak - 0
This week: Louis Oosthuizen - A tough course calls for a tough player and Oosthuizen fits the bill. He played well here in 2012 on his way to a T5 and he should have little trouble making it to the weekend this year.
