Johnson Wagner could return to the
top of the FedExCup standings this week at Bay Hill.
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By Chris Dunham, PGATOUR.COM The top spot in the FedExCup
standings is up for grabs this week at Bay Hill. Nine players have
the opportunity to unseat Rory McIlroy atop the FedExCup standings
with a victory or strong finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational
presented by MasterCard. Closest to McIlroy is January Player of
the Month and former No. 1 Johnson Wagner. Just 95 points behind
McIlroy, who is idle this week, Wagner could return to No. 1 with a
solo-6th or better at Bay Hill. Mark Wilson and Phil Mickelson also
could unseat McIlroy with a solo-3rd or better. Justin Rose, 2011
FedExCup champion Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker are
close enough to catch McIlroy with a runner-up finish while Golf
Boys Bubba Watson and Ben Crane would need a victory to take over
the top spot in the FedExCup race. Should someone unseat McIlroy
this week at Bay Hill, his stay at the pinnacle of the FedExCup
standings would match his stint atop the Official World Golf
Ranking -- two weeks. With 24 Regular Season events including THE
PLAYERS and four majors on the horizon, however, no FedExCup lead
will be safe.
THIS WEEK: Including the nine players who could
move to No. 1, this week’s field boasts 21 of the top 30 in
the FedExCup standings. Nine of this season’s 13 winners are
in the field. Six-time champion Tiger Woods (31st in the FedExCup
standings) is also scheduled to tee it up.
SWING FOR SUCCESS: This week’s champion will
join McIlroy, Justin Rose and Luke Donald to complete a group of
four players to watch throughout the FedExCup season. In the last
three seasons, winners on the Florida Swing have performed very
well in the FedExCup race. None of the winners have finished
outside the final top 35 with half of the Florida Swing winners
finishing inside the top 10 and two -- Woods 2009/Arnold Palmer,
Furyk 2010/Transitions -- taking home the FedExCup at
season’s end.