This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs are here! The Barclays begins the four-tournament stretch this week from Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., where the top 125 in points are vying to stay within the top 100, which advances onto Boston.
History Lesson
The Barclays uses a rotation of courses, so this stat is slightly skewed. At Liberty National in 2013, Adam Scott won by one over Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Graham DeLaet and Gary Woodland. In 2012 at Bethpage Black, Nick Watney won by three over Brandt Snedeker, and in 2011 Dustin Johnson won over Matt Kuchar. Ridgewood last hosted in 2010, where Kuchar beat Martin Laird in a playoff.
Ridgewood also played host in 2008 when Vijay Singh beat Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland in a playoff. Woods, Johnson, Laird and Sutherland are not in this week's field.
Our pick out of this batch is Snedeker who, desperate for a Ryder Cup captain's pick, has turned it up recently. He finished T12 at Firestone, T13 at the PGA Championship and T5 at the Wyndham Championship, where he was T35 in driving accuracy and 40th in strokes gained-putting.
Who's Hot
Well, obviously Rory McIlroy is hot, and so are Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. But if you're looking for a golfer surging into the playoffs, look no further than last week's winner Camilo Villegas. Yes, I know it was his first win since 2010, but if you want momentum, he's the one to look at. He finished the week
The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs are here! The Barclays begins the four-tournament stretch this week from Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., where the top 125 in points are vying to stay within the top 100, which advances onto Boston.
History Lesson
The Barclays uses a rotation of courses, so this stat is slightly skewed. At Liberty National in 2013, Adam Scott won by one over Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Graham DeLaet and Gary Woodland. In 2012 at Bethpage Black, Nick Watney won by three over Brandt Snedeker, and in 2011 Dustin Johnson won over Matt Kuchar. Ridgewood last hosted in 2010, where Kuchar beat Martin Laird in a playoff.
Ridgewood also played host in 2008 when Vijay Singh beat Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland in a playoff. Woods, Johnson, Laird and Sutherland are not in this week's field.
Our pick out of this batch is Snedeker who, desperate for a Ryder Cup captain's pick, has turned it up recently. He finished T12 at Firestone, T13 at the PGA Championship and T5 at the Wyndham Championship, where he was T35 in driving accuracy and 40th in strokes gained-putting.
Who's Hot
Well, obviously Rory McIlroy is hot, and so are Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. But if you're looking for a golfer surging into the playoffs, look no further than last week's winner Camilo Villegas. Yes, I know it was his first win since 2010, but if you want momentum, he's the one to look at. He finished the week T5 in driving accuracy, T8 in greens in regulation and 16th in strokes gained-putting.
Bubble Boys
Here's who we recommend from those on the bubble for TPC Boston:
Nick Watney - Watney, who blew another Sunday lead in the last month last week in Greensboro, is No. 94, and though his head may be all over the place in terms of closing, his game is certainly trending in the right direction and that may be all that matters to fantasy players. He was T1 in greens in regulation and 13th in strokes gained - putting last week.
Jhonattan Vegas - Vegas, who has had injury issues and basically been AWOL from leaderboards for a couple seasons, made an appearance on one last week in Greensboro, tying for eighth. At 108th in points, he will need a good week and have to rely on his iron play again, as he was T8 in greens in regulation last week.
Paul Casey - I continue to look at Casey as a golfer to watch. He's 118th in points - so he'll need a really solid week, but the trend lines continue to look positive. He finished T18 last week, ranking T11 in driving accuracy, 14th in driving distance and 23rd in strokes gained-putting.
