The Starter, Round 1: The Barclays
The first round of The Barclays is set to begin Thursday. Here's a preview:
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EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Brett Wright previews Thursday's action:
Charge your calculators -- it's time for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. The Playoffs start Thursday at the famous Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. The four-week race for the FedExCup brings new meaning to the term 'numbers game.' The key to the Playoffs is knowing who is on a bubble -- and there are more bubbles than you used to see in a duet on the Lawrence Welk show -- Wunnerful, Wunnerful. The players who can keep their position above each week's cut line will continue advancing to the next stage and ultimately to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
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For example, Jeff Maggert is ranked 100th starting this week, but Kevin Streelman is at 102 and must move into the top 100 to advance to the Deutsche Bank Championship next week. Even further back is Scott Piercy, who squeaked in the Playoffs at 125. Piercy needs to pass 25 players to continue his Playoffs run.
Also, look forward to week three at the BMW Championship, which has a field of 70. Compare Justin Leonard, ranked 70th and currently in, to Kenny Perry who at 71st is outside looking in. Watch the exciting quick projections on the scoreboards and here at PGATOUR.com to keep up with your favorite players' positions. Even Tiger Woods, at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, needs to climb into the top 100 from his current position of 112.
The golf course this week is really intriguing to me and I am sure it will receive great reviews from the field. The golf course designer of Ridgewood is A.W. Tillinghast, who constructed this layout in 1929. It's a great classical design. The field will actually play a compilation from the three nine-hole courses here at Ridgewood, including seven holes from the East nine, five holes from the Central nine and six holes from the West nine. The 17th hole, this week's Kodak Challenge hole, is actually one of Tillinghast subtle trademark holes, a double-dogleg par five.
The golf course received 2.5 inches of rain earlier this week and more rain on Wednesday. These conditions, similar to Sedgefield last week at the Wyndham Championship, will allow players to take dead aim at hole locations and have less fear of being above the hole. The greens will hold any well-struck shot and they will not be quick enough to discourage aggressive play. Look for some really low scores in Thursday's first round. One player in particular I expect to finally go low is Tiger Woods, who is in the first group off No. 1 at 7:10 a.m. ET. The greens will be receptive and perfect for the "dew sweepers," and with Woods still receiving plenty of off-course attention, he has an opportunity to squelch all critics with a vintage Tiger round.
INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER: Todd Jones, Head Instructor at THE TOUR ACADEMY at TPC Sawgrass, provides a few helpful hits while you watch the first round.. For more information about THE TOUR ACADEMY, click here.
The Barclays is the first event in the 2010 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. The event should prove to be exciting as the player's battle to position themselves to contend for the Cup. On the eve of Round 1, Tiger Woods finds himself at No. 112 in FedExCup points, needing to play his way into the top 100 in order to advance to next week's Deutsche Bank Championship. It has been well documented that Tiger has been doing some work on his game, trying to regain his winning form. Tiger is one of the very best at working on making changes and still being able to play golf. He can do this because he does not separate practice and play. For him, and those at the top level of the game, practice and play are one in the same.
For most the longest walk in golf is from the practice facility to the first tee. This is because the majorities who peruse the game at the amateur level very rarely practice like they play. As an instructor, the biggest disconnect that I see on a recurring basis is failure to have a specific target when practicing, as a matter of fact I have seen players strike shot after shot in practice without even looking up at their intended target. How can you practice to play a sport that is target oriented without having a target?
To make the transition from practice tee to golf course make practicing the game no different that playing the game. To do this try playing 9 holes right there on the practice tee. Imagine the golf course, and then play it from tee to green going through your entire routine and staying target focused. Learn from the world's best practice like you play and your hard work off the course will result in lower sores on the course.
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