FedExCup notes: THE PLAYERS day two

text size

Player: Phil Mickelson
Rank: 2nd
Points: 10,571
Obviously, at second in the FedExCup points standings, Mickelson is playing well. But his win at the Northern Trust Open obscures just how well he's playing. He is second in average points per start, and fifth in average points per start excluding wins. With the exception of his missed cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson has not been outside the top 25 in any of his 9 other starts, including a first, a second, a tied for fifth and a tie for sixth.

Player: Vijay Singh
Rank: 5th
Points: 8,652
Despite not having broken through with a win in 2008 yet, Singh is eighth in average points per start, and third (behind Woods and Cink) in points per start excluding wins. Because Singh typically plays a lot (he had 23 starts in the Regular Season last year), a high average points per start will serve him very well. Singh has had at least one victory in 10 of the last 11 years, and has averaged nearly three per year in that span. With a victory this week, Singh would move into second, 4,143 points behind Woods.

Player: Geoff Ogilvy
Rank: 6th
Points: 8,442
Geoff Ogilvy is having a very solid year. Not only did he win the World Golf champinships -- CA Championship, he is averaging over 400 points per start even excluding his 4,725-point win at Doral.

Player: Justin Leonard
Rank: 8th
Points: 7,163
Justin Leonard is eighth on the FedExCup Points List, and eighth in points per start excluding wins. Despite not having notched a victory this year, Leonard is averaging nearly 600 points per start, by virtue of three top-fives and no missed cuts in 12 starts this year.

Player: Steve Stricker / Bart Bryant
Rank: 11th / 14th
Points: 6,677 / 6,072
Steve Stricker and Bart Bryant are in a virtual tie for average points per start at 607, but Stricker has one additional start, leading to his 605-point advantage over Bryant. Bryant might pick up some points on Stricker this week, however, given that he began the day with a 4-shot advantage over him.

Player: Ryuji Imada
Rank: 16th
Points: 5,931
Imada could take over second with a victory, although any of the top-five seeds in the event (Mickelson, Cink, Kim, Singh or Ogilvy) could remain ahead of Imada, depending on their finish.

Player: Rory Sabbatini
Rank: 24th
Points: 4,942
Rory Sabbatini earned more than 90% of his FedExCup points in January, with a second, a tie for third and a 17th in three events.

Player: Sergio Garcia
Rank: 115th
Points: 1,358 points
Garcia is having a difficult year. At this point last year, he was averaging over 500 FedExCup points per start, and he finished even stronger, averaging over 700 points per start for the 2007 Regular Season. This year, the average is 170. However, with a win this week, his troubles would quickly fade. He could move as high as 14th in the FedExCup points standings, increasing his average points per start to over 700.