Round 1: The Barclays

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Aug. 27, 2009
By PGATOUR.com Staff

The first groups are ready to tee off at The Barclays. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:21 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10		Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson The premiere group of the Barclays, the top three in the FedExCup standings will play together on Thursday.
1:11 p.m. ET, Hole No. 1		Kenny Perry, Lucas Glover, Phil Mickelson Ranked Nos. 4-6 in the FedExCup standings, these three will give the viewers a show in the afternoon.
8:10 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10		Y.E. Yang, Geoff Ogilvy, Brian Gay If you predicted these three would be grouped in The Barclays as top-10 players, go buy a lottery ticket.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR on-site correspondent Brett Wright previews Thursday's round:

Thursday's forecast

Partly Cloudy
Temp: 80 high/63 low
Sunshine and clouds mixed. Winds from the north at 5 to 10 mph.

There is a major championship feel to the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, The Barclays, here in Jersey City, N.J. The Liberty National Golf Club is brand new, right on the Hudson River. The prevailing wind wisps towards the Statue of Liberty, which looms over the bay and beyond to the Manhattan skyline just across the bay. The golf course is advertised as a links layout but really is more traditional than a classic links design. The fairways are quite narrow, with trouble to at least one side, in many cases a lateral hazard. There are some forced carries and a great deal of distance to cover from tee to green, especially into the wind.

One caddie told me on Wednesday that his player is concerned with segmenting these greens more so than usual. He said the player thinks scores will be fairly high this week, and he wants to stay below the hole locations and not leave himself short sided. He feels if you can stay close to par this week, you will be in contention on Sunday. Of course, weather could make things even tougher.

Tim Herron emphasized the need to boom the ball off the tee. This will help all players by having less club into some narrow undulating greens.

Rookie David Mathis, who played his way into the Playoffs last week at the Wyndham Championship, will now have to try to play his way into the top 100 to play next week. This is a very Darwinian process, survival of the fittest. Mathis looked pure on the practice area Wednesday working on his wedge game. He is playing with a lot of confidence right now.

Another rookie, perhaps the Rookie of the Year, Jeff Klauk is here this week after a solid season where he finished 60th in FedExCup standings. I would not be suprised to see Klauk have a great week here at The Barclays -- Klauk has made his last four cuts with a top-five and two top-40s.

Defending Champion Vijay Singh has made 10 of his last 11 cuts, including three top-10s. Look for Singh to stage a solid defense of his title this week.

Stat of the day

Since the Playoffs began in 2007, there have been eight events, with Camilo Villegas recording the most top-10 finishes. In eight starts, he has finished in the top 10 six times -- including two victories. Next on the list is Sergio Garcia, with five top-10s. Rory Sabbatini and Stricker each have four top-10s.

The Film Room

	Preview: 2009 Barclays The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup begin this week as the top 125 players in the FedExCup standings head to Liberty National Golf Club for the 2009 Barclays. Watch it
	Stricker and Cink visit Liberty National In preparation for the 2009 Barclays, Steve Stricker and Stewart Cink get a sneak peek at Liberty National Golf Club. Watch it
	The Playoffs come to Liberty National Liberty National Golf Club will host The 2009 Barclays, the first event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Watch it