Plenty on the line over the next few weeks  PGATOUR.com Contributor There is so much more at stake this time of year than ever before on the PGA TOUR.  Tiger Woods (WireImage)
You can credit the FedExCup race largely for that. In addition to the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup that are looming large on the horizon, though, there was even more to play for this week at the Canadian Open presented by Franklin Templeton Investments. The Canadian Open marked the final tournament for players to qualify for the PGA Championship. The PGA of America kept its own money list that stretched from the 2006 INTERNATIONAL through the 2007 Canadian Open. The top 70 players on that list are guaranteed spots in the PGA, which will be played at Southern Hills in two weeks. The PGA uses that money list to fill its field beyond the number 70 -- however, those alternates are not guaranteed entry. So with that in mind, the field for the PGA Championship may not be complete until all players tee off in the opening round. In addition to the PGA Championship, there was a lot of discussion about the Presidents Cup in Canada this week, too. Canada -- specifically, The Royal Montreal Golf Club -- will host the Presidents Cup for the first time in September. Players are scrambling to make their respective teams with only six weeks left to earn a spot. But the Canadian Open was particularly significant for all the players on or near the FedExCup bubble, since only the top 144 at the end of the Wyndham Championship in three weeks are eligible for the playoffs. Billy Andrade, who shot a final-round 66 on Sunday, acknowledged that position on the points list was foremost on his mind. For Billy, the opportunity to play in The Barclays, the first playoff event, is an opportunity to play in a tournament that he has won in the past. Even more prevalent in Billy's mind, though, is the desire to be in the top 120 on the points list at the end of The Barclays to be eligible for the Deutsche Bank Championship. The second playoff event is contested at the TPC Boston which is a lot closer to Billy's native Rhode Island than it is to downtown Boston. Billy hasn't played particularly well this year. He is still searching for his first top-10 finish, and for only the second time since 1988, Billy will not be in the PGA Championship. With his tie for 22nd at the Canadian Open, though, Billy has all but assured himselt a spot in the first playoff event. He plans to play the Wyndham Championhip to improve his position in the standings. Bob Tway started the Canadian Open ranked 142nd in FedExCup points. Although he is exempt into the PGA as a former champion, Bob plans to enter the Reno-Tahoe Open, which is played opposite next week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. His decision to go to Reno stems from a desire to continue the momentum generated by good play. The underlying theme, though, is his precarious position in the FedExCup standings and his desire to put himself on firmer ground heading into the playoffs. For the next two weeks, the focus of the average golf fan will once again center on Tiger Woods as he defends a pair of TOUR titles. He has won five of the last seven World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitationals. The following week he will be going for lucky No. 13 when he defends his PGA Championship at the year's final major. But this year, and particularly this time of year, there are more milestones to be reached than ever before. There was a lot of hype coming out of Ponte Vedra early in the year about the excitement that the playoffs would generate. With less than a month before The Barclays, the hype seems to be coming for a different direction. It is the players who mention the importance of earning points to secure their positions. The players, who may have been a bit temperate on the whole process early in the year, have embraced the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup and want to be a part of it. Over the next three weeks every player on TOUR will be jockeying for position. While Tiger and others try to add to their legacies, there will be others trying to add to their resumes. Other than winning a tournament, getting into and going deep into the playoffs just might make someone's career. |
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