The Barclays field contains strong international flavor

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Marc Feldman/Getty Images
Rory Sabbatini won the HP Byron Nelson Championship in May. No tournament has been won by an international player since then.
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Jul. 7, 2009

With his victory over the weekend at the AT&T National, his third of the 2009 season, Tiger Woods notched the sixth-consecutive PGA TOUR victory by an American. The last international-born player to win on the PGA TOUR in 2009 was South African Rory Sabbatini in May at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Despite the recent trend of Americans in the winner's circle, there will be plenty of international stars beginning their quest for the FedExCup when the PGA TOUR Playoffs kickoff at The Barclays, August 25-30, at Liberty National in Jersey City, N.J.

On the strength of a blistering start to the 2009 season that saw him win twice in the year's first eight events, Australian Geoff Ogilvy remains the highest-ranked international player in the FedExCup standings at No. 6. Ogilvy claimed the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in January and followed that victory with his second career World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship triumph in February. He is one of seven international winners on the PGA TOUR in 2009.

The current FedExCup standings through the AT&T National reflect 12 international players in the top 35. With The Open Championship and a World Golf Championships event to be played over the next five weeks, events with traditionally more international fields, there is an opportunity for foreign-born players to improve their position in the FedExCup standings. If the field were finalized today, 35 international players would qualify for The Barclays.

In 2008, six international players finished in the top 10 at The Barclays, including winner Vijay Singh (Fiji) and runner-up Sergio Garcia (Spain). They were joined by Australia's Matthew Goggin (T4), England's Paul Casey (T7), Scotland's Martin Laird (T7) and Canada's Mike Weir (T7).

The 2009 field at The Barclays will feature the top 125 players on the FedExCup points list following the Wyndham Championship (August 17-23), as opposed to a field of 144 in 2008. Here is a brief summary of several other changes to the structure of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup:

  • The top 125 players on the final Regular Season FedExCup points list qualify for The Barclays.
  • The top 100 players on the FedExCup points list following The Barclays qualify for the Deutsche Bank Championship.
  • The top 70 players on the FedExCup points list following the Deutsche Bank Championship qualify for the BMW Championhip.
  • Each Playoff event offers 2,500 FedExCup points to the winner (quintuple the Regular Season).
  • A points reset will take place following the BMW Championship giving all 30 players in the field at THE TOUR Championship a mathematical chance to win the FedExCup.
  • Tickets to The Barclays are available at www.thebarclaysgolf.com. Daily galleries will be limited to 25,000 spectators. Daily and Weekly tickets are available starting Tuesday of tournament week, August 25.

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