Pressure increasing by the day for FedExCup rookies

text size

NORTON, Mass. -- Bryce Molder wasn't quite sure what to think about the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup after he dropped 19 spots to 74th in the standings when he missed the cut at The Barclays last week.

RELATED

Round 1 Tee Times
Expert Picks
Sleeper Picks
Power Rankings
The TOUR Insider
Bubble Watch
FedExCup Survivors
TPC Boston records
Inside the Field
Inside the Course

"At first I was kind of like, well, c'mon, I played well all year and now I fall that much," Molder acknowledged. "But if we're going to call it the Playoffs, and it actually be a playoff, then there needs to be somewhat of an elimination.

"I got a free ride through the first week because I had a good year. And if you have a great year, you probably get a free ride through the first two. But at some point you probably have to play well to keep moving on and I like that part of it.

"And it actually is a different feel, and it is kind of neat."

Molder is one of 11 Playoffs rookies -- nine of whom survived to play in this week's Deutsche Bank Championship. One of them, Webb Simpson, played in the penultimate group on Sunday at Liberty National and finished eighth.

Like Molder, Simpson was surprised to see how much he moved in the standings -- albeit his jump from No. 85 to 41st was a more positive one. The rookie from Wake Forest actually thought there had been a mistake when he got the weekly text from the TOUR.

"But I love the format," Simpson said. "It keeps everybody on their toes, and whoever plays best in the Playoffs is going to win. I think this year's system is great compared to last year."

The points are quintupled in the Playoffs which allows for much bigger moves than in the Regular Season when a win was worth just 500 points. So Heath Slocum, who came into the Playoffs ranked No. 124 with just 355 points, shot up to No. 3 when he won The Barclays.

Molder

The possibility of elimination -- only the top 70 in the standings at the end of the Deutsche Bank Championship advance to play next week -- coupled with the large amount of points available create a sense of urgency that's different from the Regular Season.

"It feels like we've got a bit of pressure on ourselves to do well out here,'" said James Nitties, another TOUR rookie, who ranks 91st in the standings. "So at the end of the day it's sort of like a win-win, no-lose situation. ... I've got to play well this week or I've got three weeks off.

"It's different from a tournament week -- tournament week you're just trying to, not just make the cut, but play solid on Thursday and Friday and sort of attack on Saturday and Sunday. But out here, you've just got to go for everything because the points are (quintupled). So many (points) that guys from way behind you can move straight in front of you.

"Sort of the feel of attacking and see what happens."

Nitties had played with Slocum two weeks ago in Greensboro, which was the final event to earn points to make the Playoffs. He remembers Slocum missing an 18-inch putt on his final hole to miss the cut -- leading to an anxious Sunday waiting to see if he would get into the field of 125.

"Me and my caddie were talking about it (at the time), that he probably was pretty disappointed because he obviously was going to miss the Playoffs," the Aussie recalled. "And then before you know it, he's probably thinking I've done well to get in and ... then he wins the tournament. But it just goes to show you that if guys like that can do it and you can, too.

"That's the nature of the Playoffs. I think this system is awesome. The Playoffs are all about playing good in the Playoffs and not just depending on a good year. I think it's a good strategy and system and it really puts pressure on the guys that have played well all year. They can't relax. They have to do well in the Playoffs because the points are worth so much more."

One of Nitties' countrymen, Greg Chalmers, who returned to the TOUR this year after spending the last two on the Nationwide Tour, sees things slightly differently. He fell from No. 79 to 94th in the standings when he missed last week's cut.

"There's no question in one week you could change your whole perspective on the season and go from struggling to keep your card like Heath was to now he's guaranteed in majors, guaranteed top 30 and a whole a bunch of perks that go along with it," Chalmers said.

"When you have the amount of points that are available in the Playoffs it's like winning five times and that's a big bonus. That's kind of exciting for the players at my end of the scale but not so exciting for the guys who were No. 2 or 3 and worked hard all year and feel like they can only go backwards."

So Slocum admittedly was a surprise winner last week. But a leaderboard that included Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker in a tie for second was exactly the kind of climax to the season the Playoffs were designed to produce.

"Definitely last week, it felt like everything was amped up a little bit more,'" Chalmers said. "I've played in eight majors, it felt like one of those to me. I was surprised at how volatile the point system was if you played well or poorly but I guess that's what the Playoffs are all about."

"The whole point being trying to get more events where the top guys are playing well and competing against each other and I think it's doing that," Molder agreed. "I think the leaderboard was good last week. I think it was also neat to see somebody who hadn't played well for them all year, Heath, just kind of plodded along OK all year, and all of a sudden he's now at the top.

"If you qualify for the Playoffs, then you obviously have a chance of doing well."

Given that possibility, Simpson said there's a lot of "buzz" in the locker room about the volatility and do-or-die nature of the Playoffs.

"So I think it's exactly what, for a playoff situation, you guys and the fans want and us as players want," Simpson said. "... This being my first year, I don't know how it was last year, but it's a blast kind of following it and seeing what everybody is doing."