Playoffs roundtable: Our experts discuss who'll win, who'll surprise
By PGATOUR.COM staff
The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are finally upon us. All the best players are competing, hoping to stave off elimination and have a chance at the $10 million bonus that will be awarded at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. No matter what the sport, every playoff has its Cinderfella team so PGATOUR.COM decided to poll its experts to see who this year's Heath Slocum might be.
HELEN ROSS, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents: I'll get things started with my pick. Kevin Streelman. He should go to Ridgewood Country Club with a sense of urgency since he's 102nd in FedExCup points and only the top 100 survive to play the following week in Boston. But Streelman has lots of history there -- not only did his grandparents live nearby, the Duke grad tied for fourth two years ago when The Barclays last visited the Alister MacKenzie creation. And those opening rounds of 64-65 in Greensboro had to be a confidence boost.
STAN AWTREY, PGATOUR.COM correspondent: It may sound crazy, but my pick is Tiger Woods.Can he be a Cinderfella? In the past we've been more concerned with whether he would play the first three events. Now we're wondering if he'll even be in position to play after the first week. He starts at No. 112, which means he needs to play well just in order to reach the second event. He looked better at Whistling Straits and he's had another week to get even better. It may be tough for Tiger to win the FedExCup -- although that would hardly be a shock. We'll get a good look at that famous Tiger pride.
CRAIG DOLCH, PGATOUR.COM correspondent: Two weeks ago, Justin Leonard wasn't sure if he was going to even make the Playoffs. He hadn't had a top-10 finish all season. Then he almost gets a back-door win Sunday at the Wyndham Championship, settling for a third-place tie. Just like Heath Slocum did last year, Leonard -- whose resume includes a British Open and THE PLAYERS Championship -- is going to keep riding the wave of last week's performance as long as he can in the Playoffs.
MELANIE HAUSER, PGATOUR.COM correspondent: For me, it came down to Nick Watney or Rory McIlroy. Watney's more of a where's-my-glass-spikes kind of guy, but Rors has that go-low factor. A couple of low 60s at the right times and he's cruising up the list.
BRIAN WACKER, PGATOUR.COM producer: My pick for this year's Heath Slocum is bubble boy Scott Piercy. It's purely about momentum here. He got into the Playoffs with three straight top-25s, including a tie for eighth at the Wyndham, and I could see him getting another top-10 this week or next.
ROSS: Not sure that McIlroy or Woods fit the classic Cinderfella image but I will let my esteemed colleagues slide. Let's get on with the next question -- and that's who will be the Playoffs' Mr. Consistency. My choice is Matt Kuchar. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win one of the four Playoffs, and his record this season speaks for itself. Six of his nine top-10s have come in his last eight starts. Ranked ninth entering the Playoffs, he'll be around for all four.
AWTREY: Good call on Kuchar. He's been awfully reliable all year and didn't seem to get caught up in the Ryder Cup fever, but he didn't exactly handle the weekend of the PGA Championship with aplomb. I don't think we saw the real Nick Watney on the final day at Whistling Straits. He's normally a very consistent player, which makes that 81 so hard to fathom. Look for Nick to continue his exceptional play through the playoffs and wind up at East Lake. Wouldn't be surprising to see him pick up a playoff victory, either..
HAUSER: Stan, I gotcha. If he wins this week, he's off and running. Ya think he wants to miss East Lake? But honestly, I'm not sure that's going to happen. He hasn't played this course and . . . . So i'm going with Steve Stricker. High enough in the standings to have a so-so week during the four-week run. Has won The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank.
WACKER: I like Furyk and Kuchar, but can't argue with Stricker. Mr. September has seven top-10s in 12 career Playoffs events. He's like Mariano Rivera, clutch in the postseason.
DOLCH: Bubba Watson was kind of a curiosity on the PGA TOUR until he finally figured things out. First, he wins the Travelers Championship, then has the lead before finally losing to Martin Kaymer in a playoff at the PGA Championship. Watson is loaded with confidence and that means you're going to be seeing a lot more of his pink driver during the next month. He'll be a threat to contend at least three of the four weeks.
ROSS: This time I can't argue with any of the picks. So... who do you think will win the FedExCup? I'm going out on a limb -- NOT -- with the current leader, Ernie Els. He's got the motivation and a possible Player of the Year award on the line. Two wins and six top-10s aren't anything to sneeze at, and he's got top-10s at two of the Playoff venues to add confidence.
WACKER: Am I the only one who thinks Phil Mickelson has the best chance to win it all? He's the defending champ at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and he has a penchant for playing well in and around New York City (see, 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol) and Boston (2007 Deutsche Bank).
HAUSER: Brian, I seriously thought about Phil, but went with Stricker. Will be interesting now that Tiger's divorce is final, to see how he plays.
WACKER: Well, Tiger did finish second in his first start after getting engaged and second again in his first start after getting married ...
HAUSER: Golf writers... we're all about that mental lint, aren't we? Fun facts, but telling, too.
DOLCH: Starting the Playoffs in the top 10 doesn't appear to make a player a surprise pick -- except when you take into account Jeff Overton (No. 6) has yet to win a PGA TOUR event and had just one top-20 finish in his first 10 tournaments this season. With the exception of a 71st at the PGA Championship, Overton has been one of the most consistent performers the last four months, with five top-three finishes. I realize he's going to have to likely win one of the four events in the Playoffs to claim the FedExCup, but he's done just about everything else lately but win.
WACKER: I do like Overton's chances of playing well. The only thing that scares me about Overton is that old Yogi Berra saying about 50 percent of the game being 90 percent mental. He needs to control the space between his ears a little better.
AWTREY: Phil Mickelson will the guy holding the FedExCup trophy at East Lake. He'll win one of the first three Playoff events (he loves it in Boston) and will be the man to beat at THE TOUR Championship. If he's in the running in Atlanta, he'll step on the gas and win it all. Something about East Lake suits his eye; he's won there twice. Wouldn't be surprised to see him win the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup at the same time.
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