Establishment (Singh) vs. Youth (Simpson)

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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BY COCA-COLA: Matchups |Inside the field | Inside the Course | FedExCup Scenarios

ATLANTA, Ga. -- One of the themes for the 2011 PGA TOUR season is the competition involving the younger players and the established ones. How will the veteran players -- those with significant TOUR experience and long-standing championship pedigrees -- fare against the hungry up-and-comers who are looking to nudge their way into the TOUR's elite?

Each week, PGATOUR.COM will select two players and analyze their chances heading into the tournament. We'll then track which player has the better score for his team, and keep a running tally throughout the year.

For The TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola this week, we've selected Webb Simpson and Vijay Singh. Simpson enters the finale of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup ranked No. 1 in the standings while Singh, who clocks in at No. 23, is the only former FedExCup champ in the field. This pair is also going head-to-head in the finale of the PGA TOUR's Matchups game on Facebook.

Simpson, who has won twice in the last four tournaments, has the best chance at joining Singh, Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods as the winner of the $10 million bonus. If he wins his debut at East Lake, Simpson automatically wins the FedExCup but he has a reasonable chance with a top-five finish in the tournament on Sunday and a mathematical chance even if he finishes as low as 29th.

Singh, who is looking to break a three-year victory drought, returns to East Lake for the first time since he won the FedExCup in 2008. His mathematical possibilities hinge on a victory and Simpson finishing 15th or lower, Dustin Johnson sixth or worse, Justin Rose and Luke Donald fourth or worse and Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker third or worse.

ESTABLISHMENT AGE: 48 YEARS ON TOUR: Singh is in his 19th season on the PGA TOUR. He's won 34 times on the PGA TOUR and 22 more times around the globe. He's already been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. OVERVIEW: Singh is known as one of the TOUR's hardest workers and most prolific champions. The big man from Fiji has won three majors -- the 2000 Masters and the '98 and '04 PGA Championships. He has been a mainstay on the International Presidents Cup team, as well, although this year Singh enters the TOUR Championship looking to impress Captain Greg Norman, who makes his two picks next Tuesday. Singh made an impressive run through the Playoffs in 2008, winning both The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship on the way to the FedExCup title but he hasn't made the field at East Lake again until this week. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Singh has played in the TOUR Championship 15 times previously and has finished in the top-10 on 12 occasions. In addition to his win in 2002 before the tournament became the Playofffs finale, Singh also finished second in 1998. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Singh has battled knee and most recently, back injuries over the last several years. He had a treatment on his back in Germany prior to the PGA Championship, though, and said he is pain free. He has played well since returning, tying for fourth at the Wyndham Championship and third at The Barclays. Ranked 23rd, he faces an uphill battle at East Lake but his experience should work in Singh's favor.   YOUTH AGE: 26 YEARS ON TOUR: This is Simpson's third year on the PGA TOUR. The Raleigh, N.C. native was a three-time All-American at Wake Forest before joining the TOUR in 2008. OVERVIEW: Simpson says he was something of a late bloomer in college and he didn't really come into his own on the PGA TOUR until this season. But Simpson showed signs early that this could be his breakthrough year when he finished solo second at the Transitions Championship and lost in a playoff at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans four weeks later. Simpson finally got his first TOUR victory before family and friends in Greensboro, N.C., at the Wyndham Championship in the final event of the Regular Season. That vaulted him from 12th to third in the FedExCup standings. Simpson took over No. 1 two weeks later when he won the Deutsche Bank Championship. He also played his way onto the U.S. Presidents Cup team with his late-season surge. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Simpson has never played in the TOUR Championship. He reached the BMW Championship in his rookie year but failed to make the top 30 and was eliminated after last year's Deutsche Bank Championship. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Simpson is the hottest player on the PGA TOUR right now with top-10s in the other two Playoffs events in addition to his victory at TPC Boston. His year as a whole, though, has also been impressive. With the exception of a missed cut at the PGA Championship, Simpson has not finished outside the top 20 in his 11 starts since THE PLAYERS Championship back in May. His 10 top-10 finishes are second only to Luke Donald in that category. Look for his solid play to continue at East Lake.

Here are the results of the previous matchups this year

Score/Finish Tournament   Score/Finish   Steve Stricker 20 under (T-4th) Hyundai TOC Dustin Johnson 14 under (T-9th)   Ernie Els 4 under (T-42nd) Sony Open Jason Day 8 under (T-20th) Stewart Cink 5 under (MC) Bob Hope Classic Bubba Watson 7 under (MC) Davis Love III 5 over (MC) Farmers Insurance Open Rickie Fowler 5 under (T20) Angel Cabrera 7 under (T-49th) Waste Management Phoenix Jhonattan Vegas 2 under (MC)     Padraig Harrington 2 over (T63) AT&T Pebble Beach National Dustin Johnson Even (T55) Jim Furyk 1 under (T35) Northern Trust Open Louis Oosthuizen 3 over (T62)     Vijay Singh 9 over (MC) The Honda Classic Anthony Kim 7 over (MC) Luke Donald 11 under (T6) WGC-Cadillac Championship Jhonattan Vegas 2 under (T31)   Sergio Garcia 7 under (T15) Transitions Championship Matteo Manassero 6 under (T20)   Phil Mickelson 1 under (T24) Arnold Palmer Invitational Graeme McDowell 9 over (MC)     Fred Couples Even (T60) Shell Houston Open Gary Woodland 10 under (T13) Tiger Woods 10 under (T4) The Masters Martin Kaymer 6 over (MC)   Justin Leonard 2 under (T30) Valero Texas Open Anthony Kim 7 over (MC)     Jim Furyk 5 under (T21) The Heritage Jason Day 7 under (T9) David Toms 7 under (T18) Zurich Classic of New Orleans Brandt Snedeker 2 over (MC)   Phil Mickelson 10 under (T9) Wells Fargo Championship Bubba Watson 3 under (T48)     Tiger Woods Withdrew THE PLAYERS Championship Charl Schwartzel 6 under (T26) Paul Goydos 5 under (T10) Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Jason Day 3 under (T31)     Vijay Singh 5 over (T27) HP Byron Nelson Championship Nick Watney 1 over (T8)   Jim Furyk 8 over (MC) the Memorial Tournament Bubba Watson 1 under (T42)   David Toms 5 over (MC) FedEx St. Jude Classic Camilo Villegas 8 under (3)   Ernie Els 6 over (MC) U.S. Open Graeme McDowell 2 under (T14)   Padraig Harrington 4 under (T63) Travelers Championship Aaron Baddeley 11 under (T24) K.J. Choi 11 under (2nd) AT&T National Adam Scott 9 under (T3)   Stewart Cink 3 under (MC) John Deere Classic Louis Oosthuizen 3 under (MC)   Tom Watson 6 over (T22) British Open Bubba Watson 9 over (T30)     Mike Weir (WD) RBC Canadian Open Matt McQuillan 5 over (T31)   Davis Love III 2 over (MC) The Greenbrier Classic Jeff Overton Even (T49) Steve Stricker 7 under (14) WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Nick Watney 2 under (T23)     Tiger Woods 10 over (MC) PGA Championship Dustin Johnson 7 over (MC) Davis Love III 11 under (T12) Wyndham Championship Bill Haas 2 under (MC)   Phil Mickelson 8 under (T43) The Barclays Keegan Bradley 1 over (MC)   Ernie Els 8 under (T16) Deutsche Bank Championship William McGirt 3 under (T42)   Jim Furyk Even (T22) BMW Championship Rickie Fowler 4 over (48th)