The top 30 in FedExCup points are headed to East Lake for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Here’s a look at Rickie Fowler, one of the 30 players who will contend for the FedExCup title.

SCENARIOS TO WIN FEDEXCUP:
For Fowler to win the FedExCup, he MUST win the TOUR Championship and have the following scenarios fall into place:
> Rory McIlroy (No. 1) finishes 23rd* or worse
> Tiger Woods (No. 2) finishes T-6 or worse
> Nick Watney (No. 3) finishes T-4 or worse
> Phil Mickelson (No. 4) finishes T-3 or worse
> Brandt Snedeker (No. 5) finishes in a 3-way tie for 2nd or worse
> Louis Oosthuizen (No. 6) finishes T-2 or worse
> *Tie for the FedExCup
Click here for scenarios of every player

SEASON IN REVIEW: The first five months of the season were extremely memorable for Fowler. He picked up his first PGA TOUR victory in May when he beat Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points in a playoff at the Wells Fargo Championship. It was the second in a string of four straight top-10 finishes that also included a tie for second at THE PLAYERS. In his last eight starts, though, Fowler hasn't finished higher than 24th and he was bypassed with Davis Love III made his Captain's Picks for the Ryder Cup. – Helen Ross

PATH TO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Here’s a look at Fowler’s results in the first three events of the 2012 FedExCup Playoffs:
Click here for Playoffs Tracker of every player

Tournament
Tournament finish	T-24	T-74	T-41
FEC ranking after event	19th	24th	27th

PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES: Here is how Fowler has finished in previous Playoffs appearances:

	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
FedExCup finish	43rd	32nd	-	-	-

EAST LAKE HISTORY: This is Fowler’s first PGA TOUR start at East Lake.

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Fred Albers, on-course correspondent for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, provides a quick look at Fowler:
Full disclosure: I have known Rickie since his college days at Oklahoma State and have personally enjoyed his success. Has gone back and forth between conventional grip and left hand low. Might be the best "feel" player on TOUR.

WATCH: Fowler breaks through at the Wells Fargo Championship

PLAYER PAGE: Click here for more on Rickie Fowler

Now it’s your turn. How do you think Fowler will fare at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola?

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

NORTON, Mass. – After Monday’s finish of the Deutsche Bank Championship, the waiting game began for American players hoping to get one of the four captain’s picks from U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III.

Love will announce his four picks at 10:15 a.m. ET on Tuesday ( the announcement will be carried live on RyderCup.com .) But Phil Mickelson seemed to indicate that the picks are fairly well set. He said he has spoken to Love recently.

Indications are that Love would make his phone calls Monday night instead of waiting until Tuesday morning.

“Davis has got such a tough job on his hands,” said Deutsche Bank winner Rory McIlroy, who will be an interested spectator Tuesday as a member of the opposing European team. “He’s got six or seven guys to choose from for four spots. … I really wouldn’t want to be in Davis’ position tonight trying to decide who to pick.”

Here’s a look at seven of the primary candidates after Monday’s finish of the Deutsche Bank Championship:

BRANDT SNEDEKER: If Love wants a hot hand, here’s one of the hottest. Snedeker followed up his second at The Barclays with a sixth-place finish at the Deutsche Bank, shooting 65-67 on the weekend.

The pressure of hearing about a potential Ryder Cup pick forced Snedeker to turn his phone off, just so he wouldn’t have to keep talking about it.

“Just got tired of hearing about it,” he said. “I did a pretty good job of staying in the tournament and not thinking about it. I was obviously really very nervous today on the golf course. Today was a very big day. If I played bad today, it might sway him one way or the other.”

Snedeker said he would be disappointed if he doesn’t get a pick, but that he would only have himself to blame.

“I had two years to qualify, or (win) the PGA (Championship),” he said. “I played bad at the PGA. Anybody that’s got a problem with that needs to re-evaluate their goals the last two years. “

DUSTIN JOHNSON: The only other candidate besides Snedeker with top-10 finishes in both FedExCup Playoff events, Johnson backed up his tie for third at The Barclays with a tie for fourth at the Deutsche Bank, shooting 65-70 on the weekend.

“I’ve had a good past two weeks, so I think I’ve made my case pretty solid,” Johnson said. “… I really think that I can help the team, and it’s something that I really enjoy doing.”

JIM FURYK: The veteran went undefeated last year at the Presidents Cup and has partnered with Tiger Woods in the past. He tied for 13th at the Deutsche Bank, shooting a third-round 65 to move up the leaderboard.  He missed the cut last week at The Barclays but put himself in position to win two big events earlier this year – the U.S. Open and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

“Last week didn’t help my cause,” Furyk said. “… but I feel like I played solid this week.

“I know they want some hot players, they want some guys that are playing well, and I guess guys like Strick (Steve Stricker) and I are going to be hopeful they also want some battled veterans and guys that have been there before.”

STEVE STRICKER: As Furyk mentioned, Stricker also could provide a veteran presence and has been successful with Woods as a partner. And he also finished tied for 13th at TPC Boston with four consistent rounds.

A week ago, Stricker finished tied for 54th at The Barclays , but had three top-10 finishes in his previous four starts.

HUNTER MAHAN: Won twice earlier this year but has cooled off lately. His tie for 39th at the Deutsche Bank was his best result on American soil since a tie for 8th at the AT&T National.

“You want to make the team,”  Mahan said after shooting a final-round 71. “It’s plain and simple.”

RICKIE FOWLER: Shot a 5-over 76 in Monday’s final round to finish tied for 74th; just two players finished below him on the leaderboard. Fowler hasn’t had a top-10 finish since a tie for firth in May at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He was on the Ryder Cup team two years ago and played with Mickelson.

NICK WATNEY: Entered the conversation after winning The Barclays last week and backed it up with a tie for 20th at the Deutsche Bank.

Now it’s your turn. Which players do you think will become the four captain’s picks?

WATCH TUESDAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT LIVE ON RYDERCUP.COM AT 10:15 A.M. ET

NORTON, Mass. -- Rickie Fowler has always been one of the PGA TOUR's most avid and amusing tweeters, and Friday’s first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship was no exception.

Here's what the 23-year-old sent out on Twitter prior to his 12:46 p.m. date with 40-somethings Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.

"Off to the tee with Phil and Ernie today #twoandahalfmen #GOTIME"

You can follow their round on ShotTracker by clicking here.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

FARMINGDALE N.Y. -- It wasn't your normal birdie streak.

Rickie Fowler started the run with a 9-foot birdie putt at the 13th hole, then fueled it with an 18-footer at the next. He chipped the next two in, though, from 53 feet at No. 15 and 28 feet at the 16th hole -- and all of a sudden, Fowler was 4 under and just three shots off Padraig Harrington's lead.

"I got off to a nice start, just was hitting the ball solid and just didn't really get anything going, made some good up and downs and finally caught a little fire there and made a couple birdies, chipped a couple in, and nice way to finish the round," Fowler said.

The two chip-ins contributed to a round of 67 where Fowler used just 25 putts. He said it's been a long time since he'd holed quite so many.
   
"Been putting well, just not hitting it close enough, having long putts, and obviously that adds up on the scorecard very quickly, so nice to see some go in," Fowler said.

Of course, he wasn't exactly surprised to see the tide turn. He played a practice round with Keegan Bradley at The Bear's Club in Jupiter, Fla., last week and experienced an equally dramatic turnaround.

"Shot a couple under on the front nine, didn't really get anything going, and I made six in a row," Fowler recalled. "That alone and seeing myself make some birdies late in the round and just being patient, waiting for things to happen, especially today, it definitely paid off."

Fowler hopes his play over the next two weeks, coupled with his entire body of work, will pay off with a Captain's Pick when Davis Love III completes his U.S. Ryder Cup team on Sept. 4. He was a member of the 2010 team and dearly wants to get the nod again -- not that it makes competing in the FedExCup Playoffs any easier.

"Well, you can try and block it out as much as possible," Fowler said. "That's what everyone tells you to do. But to be honest, that's obviously where I want to be in a few weeks, and keep focusing on my game and playing well. I got some good work in last week and just focusing on playing well this week and let the game do its thing and see where that puts us."