The Champions Tour is on hold for Michael Allen until after the Playoffs.
Aug. 26, 2009
The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are under way, and the fight begins to make the field for the THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. The Playoffs field will be shaved down to 100 players for next week's Deutsche Bank Championship.
As we go into this week's event -- The Barclays -- here is a quick look at the players on the bubble just above and below the 100th spot.
| Bubble Watch |
| Just on the inside |
| 95 |
George McNeill |
This one-time TOUR winner started the season with a top-10 at the Sony Open -- and is still waiting for another. His iron play is down considerably this year -- he's gone from ranking 13th in Greens in Regulation in 2008 to 156th this year. |
| 96 |
Cameron Beckman |
Beckman made the Playoffs mainly because he scored back-to-back top-10s at the AT&T National and John Deere Classic in July. Beckman is a good finisher of tournaments -- his final-round scoring average is lower than his first-round scoring average, which is impressive. |
| 97 |
Matt Bettencourt |
Like Beckman, most of Bettencourt's points came via back-to-back top-10s (The Memorial, U.S. Open). This rookie has struggled since then, but he's had a successful year no matter what happens in the Playoffs. |
| 98 |
Rod Pampling |
This Aussie doesn't do anything to hurt himself -- he's not wild off the tee, and his iron play is among the best on TOUR, but he will need to get the putter going this week at Liberty National. He played well last week at the Wyndham Championship before tailing off with a final-round 71. |
| 99 |
Greg Owen |
Owen is one of the best ball-strikers on TOUR -- but putting holds him back. He's 192nd in Putts per Round, but part of that is because Owen hits so many greens (third in Greens in Regulation). Because Liberty National is expected to place a premium on tee-to-green play, Owen has a good shot at advancing. |
| 100 |
Daniel Chopra |
Chopra is one of the longer hitters on TOUR -- and one of the best putters. This combination makes him dangerous anytime he tees it up, but he's been inconsistent this year. He likes to take advantage of par-5s, and there's only three of them at Liberty National. |
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| Just on the outside |
| 101 |
Michael Allen |
One of the best stories on TOUR this year. He's 50, but he's only gotten stronger as the season has worn on. He's a straight hitter with some pop (or a long hitter who hits it straight, your choice). He hasn't missed a cut since mid-June. |
| 102 |
Robert Garrigus |
At 312 yards a poke, Garrigus is the new longest hitter on TOUR supplanting Bubba Watson. And he's not that bad of a putter, either. He's missed only six cuts all year, and he broke 70 every round last week in Greensboro. If he can keep it in the fairway this week, he will advance. |
| 103 |
Aaron Baddeley |
This Aussie is in a deep slump as the Playoffs get under way. He hasn't played the weekend since finishing tied for ninth in the John Deere Classic, which is also the last time he broke 70. Wild driving (181st in Driving Accuracy Percentage) has hurt him all season. |
| 104 |
James Driscoll |
The fittest player on TOUR has struggled since a magical 10-day stretch in May in which he finished tied for second at the Valero Texas Open and then opened with rounds of 66-67 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Merely making the Playoffs is a huge career step for Driscoll, who is close to securing his card for 2010. |
| 105 |
Jeff Quinney |
Making the Playoffs seemed like a distant reality for Quinney, who had just one top-25 as late as mid-July. Since then, he finished in the top five at both Milwaukee and Reno, and he's made five cuts in a row. He has 15 rounds in the 60s in the last five weeks. |
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