
At each PGA TOUR event this season, a featured pairing will be highlighted prior to the first round. Here is the featured group for Thursday and Friday at the Wyndham Championship.
|
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Two have won major championships. The other has won 12 times around the world and made three Ryder Cup appearances.
Their goals this week at the Wyndham Championship are the same, though. Padraig Harrington, Justin Leonard and Paul Casey are all trying to play their way into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
The star-studded threesome will tee off on No. 10 at 7:20 a.m. ET on Thursday morning and No. 1 at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
Harrington, who has never played in Greensboro before, was a late addition to the field. The three-time major champion committed on Friday evening after finishing his second round at the PGA Championship.
Harrington made the cut at the Atlanta Athletic Club and was 2 over for the tournament at the time. After rounds of 75 and 74 on the weekend, though, the Irishman didn't budge from his spot of No. 130 in the FedExCup standings.
Only the top 125 at the end of the Wyndham Championship are eligible for the Playoffs. Harrington trails Camilo Villegas, who is the current bubble boy, by just four points. He had been scheduled to take a Carribean vacation this week. Instead, he's in Greensboro and likely needs to finish in the top 55 to qualify for The Barclays, a tournament he won in 2005, depending on what other players do.
Leonard, who won the 1997 British Open, has even more ground to make up. He comes to Greensboro ranked 142nd in the FedExCup and trails Villegas by 42 points. He likely needs to finish in the top 25 to qualify for the Playoffs.
The Texan has a solid record in Greensboro, too. Although he has only played in the Wyndham Championship three times since 1995, he's never finished lower than a tie for 16th.
Leonard's first two appearances came when the tournament was played at Forest Oaks where he tied for 14th in 1995 and 16th in 2005. The 12-time TOUR champ should be particularly confident at Sedgefield -- he tied for third a year ago, finishing two strokes behind Arjun Atwal.
Casey made his debut in Greensboro three years ago. He was ranked 91st at the time and was hoping to improve his ranking. He finished in a tie for 29th and ended up moving one spot.
The Englishman enters the Wyndham Championship this year in a more desperate situation. He is ranked No. 147 in the standings, 62 points out of No. 125 right now. He probably needs to finish 12th or better to make the Playoffs.
| Statistical comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key stats from Casey, Harrington and Lenoard from the 2011 season (TOUR rank in parentheses) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career at the Wyndham Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|