Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Monday Mar 24 – Sunday Mar 30, 2008

FedExCup update: Round 4 of the Zurich Classic

text size
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Email This Story Print This Story RSS
Mar. 30, 2008
By Steve Dennis, PGA TOUR Staff

• Six of the top 10 players in the FedExCup Points Standings who were in the field this week missed the cut.

• All but one of the top 13 players on the leaderboard as of 10 a.m. Sunday are outside the Top 30 in the FedExCup Points Standings.

Daniel Chopra, 13th, 5,044 pts

notes1.jpg
Chopra

• Paced by his victory at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, Daniel Chopra has already exceeded his FedExCup points total for all of last year. Since his season-opening win, however, he has fallen off the pace, over 1,200 points behind what he scored last year in the same events.

• Chopra is a perfect example of the value of the Fall Series in the competition for the FedExCup. Even though his win at the Ginn sur Mer Classic didn't earn any FedExCup points, it qualified him for the Mercedes-Benz Championship, which he also won. That's 4,500 of his 5,044 total points he wouldn't have without the Fall Series.

• A win here would put Chopra 2nd in the FedExCup standings. (He is already in the Masters field).

John Senden, 31st, 2,671 pts

• John Senden was the 48 seed in the Playoffs last year, with a T2 at the PODS Championship his best finish. He wasn't able to move up in the Playoffs, and wasn't eligible for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, which takes only the top 30. He finished T2 at the PODS Championship again this year, and added a T8 at the Buick Invitational. With another top 10 finish this week, he would move well into the top 30 in the FedExCup Standings.

Steve Elkington, 39th, 2,407 pts

• Elkington was the 90th seed in the Playoffs last year, but is well ahead of that pace this year. At this point last year, he was 119th in the FedExCup standings.

Cliff Kresge, 40th, 2,338 pts

• Cliff Kresge has quietly gotten into solid position in the FedExCup Points Standings, with two top 5 finishes this year, putting him 40th in the standings. He could move into the top 25 with another top 5 finish this week, and as high as fifth with a win.

Padraig Harrington, 46th, 2,076 pts

• Padraig is right on pace with last year's FedExCup points total despite playing two fewer events so far, but has a chance to get ahead of that, since he didn't play the 2007 Zurich Classic.

Woody Austin, 50th, 2,044 pts

• Woody Austin earned over 10,000 points and was a 14 seed last year on the strength of a great second half of the season -- a win at Stanford St. Jude Championship and seconds at the Buick Open and the PGA Championship.

John Merrick, 53rd, 1.922 pts

• Merrick will easily pass last year's FedExCup point total of 2,358 with a top 10 this week. With a win, he could move into the top 5. Last year, he was the 124th seed, and was not eligible for the final 3 playoff events.

Nick Watney, 73rd, 1,520 pts

• Watney's victory here last year propelled him from 76th to 12th in the FedExCup points standings. A repeat victory this year would mean a very similar move -- from 73rd to 8th.

Briny Baird, 74th, 1,494 pts

• With a top 3 finish this week, Baird will surpass his point total from last year, when he was seeded 102nd going into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Chez Reavie, 82nd, 1,288 pts

• Chez Reavie has a chance to move into first place among rookies in the FedExCup Points Standings with a top 5 finish, since he is less than 900 points behind Matt Jones, who is leading the rookies.

Parker McLachlin, 89th, 1,101 pts

• Parker McLachlin finished the Regular Season in 158th place last year, and missed the playoffs. With a top 10 finish this week, he'd move to about 60th in the FedExCup standings, and a win could take him to 11th.

Peter Lonard, 107th, 818 pts

• Lonard earned 1,155 points for his T4 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational last year, his best points tournament of the year. If he can equal that total here, we will jump 53 spots in the FedExCup Standings, to 54th. With a win, he could move to as high as 12th.

Jay Williamson, 128th, 563 pts

• Jay Williamson was not a member of the PGA TOUR last year, but if he had been, he would have been the 98th seed in the Playoffs, despite making only one start prior to the 25th week of the 33 week Regular Season.

• If Williamson finishes in the top 3 this week, he will move into the top 50 in the FedExCup Points Standings.

Email This Story   Print This Story   RSS   Bookmark and Share
SHOP.PGATOUR.COM

Get the best deals on the best equipment all at the SHOP.PGATOUR.COM.

FANTASY GOLF

Fantasy
© 1995-2008 PGA TOUR, Inc. | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour and the swinging golfer logo are registered trademarks.
A Turner Entertainment New Media Network