It is the first of four huge weeks in America to decide the winner of the FedEx Cup as the playoffs begin in New York this week. The top 125 players in the points list after the regular season are eligible for this week but by the end of it only the top 100 will survive to Boston next week so there is much to play for as the exciting finale gets underway with The Barclays.
With this being the business end of the season many, if not all, of the best players in the world will be on the tee but for the Americans it isn’t just about the FedEx Cup. The automatic qualification for their Ryder Cup team ends at the end of this week.
Recent Winners
2015 – Jason Day
2014 – Hunter Mahan
2013 – Adam Scott
2012 – Nick Watney
2011 – Dustin Johnson
2010 – Matt Kuchar
2009 – Heath Slocum
2008 – Vijay Singh
2007 – Steve Stricker
2006 – Vijay Singh
The Course
The tournament now alternates which course it uses and this year it is the turn of the Black Course and Bethpage Park to play host to the event. This course has hosted major championships in the past and last hosted this tournament in 2012 when Nick Watney triumphed with a 10 under par total.
This is a true ball strikers course. The fairways aren’t especially wide, the greens are tight and undulating and there is a real major championship feel to the place. The rough is usually deep enough to cause problems as well. The best way to score around here is greens in regulation and to do that you need to be on the fairways.
Although for a par 71 which measures 7,468 yards it doesn’t really suit the bombers although those who can get it out there without losing their accuracy are the ones most likely to prevail on this golf course.
The Field
All the heavyweights are out this week as they look to improve their positions in the FedEx Cup standings. The top nine in the world are all on show in the 120 man field which should make this one of the best non-major events in the year.
Jason Day defends the title with Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler all trying to prize it from him. Two big names who didn’t commit to the event are Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett.
Market Leaders
Jason Day will go into the tournament as the 15/2 favourite to defend his title. He remains the best player in the world in the world rankings but whether he is currently the best around I’m not so sure. If he keeps the ball in play off the tee he’ll take some stopping though.
Dustin Johnson holds stronger claims for the number one player currently and he’ll tee it up as the 10/1 second favourite to win the tournament for a second time. The US Open champion showed he can tame major style courses when he won at Oakmont and a repeat of that effort will have him going very close here.
Rory McIlroy is the third favourite but he hasn’t shown much in the way of form recently and all the kerfuffle over the decision from Nike to stop their manufacturing of golf clubs probably isn’t going to help him. He needs a big week early in these playoffs if he is to make East Lake which could just focus the mind.
Henrik Stenson is the other man who can claim he is the best golfer in the world right now. The Open champion should fit this track nicely and if 12/1 is your thing there is plenty to like about the Swede.
Jordan Spieth doesn’t go into many tournaments as the fifth favourite but he does this one. You can get the two time major champion and the current FedEx Cup champion at 18/1 to begin the playoffs with a win.
It is 25/1 bar those named but this looks a wide open event despite the stacked field and if you do find the winner there is a chance you’ll be nicely rewarded.
Betting
I’m taking two main bets this week and then I’m going to throw some darts at a few at bigger prices given that everyone is playing for something other than just the tournament win.
My first main bet is the man who has really hit form in recent weeks and who should be all over a course like this. That is Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese star is a tee to green machine which is perfect for this track and if his putter cooperates he should be bang in contention.
Matsuyama arrives here off the back of big weeks in the USPGA and the Wyndham Championship so he’s in good form and having won a decent sized event earlier in the year in Phoenix he’ll have no troubles getting over the line. At 25/1 he’s an obvious pick this week.
Another man who went well last week is Brandt Snedeker and he is my other main pick. He was the runner up to Nick Watney around here in 2012 and arrives here this year off the back of some fine form. Snedeker has top five finishes in his last two regular PGA Tour events and his tied for third last week should serve him well.
He knows this track really well, he’s putting somewhere near his best again which is key and his tee to green game is in fine shape. All of that combined makes Snedeker very dangerous as he looks to secure his place on the Ryder Cup team next month.
Outsiders
I’ve backed Emiliano Grillo regularly this year and this is a course which should suit this fine ball striker really well. Whether he can find enough putts to contend is probably going to decide whether he wins or gets into contention or whether he doesn’t but he won’t lack for scoring chances and on a tough track that could be significant. He’s a price which is acceptable to back.
Jason Dufner is one of the purest ball strikers there has been on the tour and while we all know that his putting is very much a weakness if the season as a whole is anything to go by he’ll be rolling much shorter putts than the majority of the field. The greens will be tricky for all so it might be that nobody holes a lot. If that is the case Dufner should be right there.
Lucas Glover knows how to win around here. The 2009 US Open champion won his major title on this very golf course and he heads there this year leading the PGA Tour in greens in regulation and that is certainly something that is significant this week. If he can finding his putting boots for the week then he too is going to be right in the mix again.
The course might be a shade too long for Steve Stricker but we’ve said that before this season only to see him right in contention and at a three figure price we can afford to pay to see how well he goes again. We know he’ll find the fairways. If he can find the greens nobody will go better on them so he is worthy of support this week.
Tips
Back H.Matsuyama to win The Barclays (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back B.Snedeker to win The Barclays (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
PLACED – Back E.Grillo to win The Barclays (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back J.Dufner to win The Barclays (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-6)
Back him here:
Back L.Glover to win The Barclays (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Skybet (1/4 1-6)
Back S.Stricker to win The Barclays (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Skybet (1/4 1-6)
Back them here:
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Nice call on Grillo Kev, unlucky in the end.