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| In a surprising move, Lee Westwood has announced that he will take a pass on the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs and instead has decided to enjoy an extended vacation, according to Westwood's personal website. |
Our View: At the end of his most recent diary submission, filed following the PGA Championship, Westwood notes he will enjoy a holiday with his family before returning to the European Tour at the European Masters on September 4th. As a past champion on the PGA Tour, he's eligible to compete in the FedExCup Playoffs for which he currently ranks 48th on the points list. Last year, Westwood fell well short of the Top 144 and didn't play again after the PGA Championship. You'll see him back in the US at the Ryder Cup.
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| As the PGA Tour prepares for the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, commencing next week at The Barclays, several players have been identified as golfers in need of strong finishes at this week's Wyndham Championship to find a spot in that field, including Kevin Stadler , according to PGATour.com. |
Our View: As it stands today, we are unable to identify an exact benchmark of achievement for these players to insure a spot in the field, but players such as Stadler, currently ranked 145th in the FedEx Cup standings (one spot out of the 144-player field), need to find success at Sedgefield Country Club this week to improve their standing and qualify. Other golfers of note currently on the bubble include Craig Kanada (ranked 146th), Y.E. Yang (ranked 148th), and John Huston (ranked 149th). All are in the field for the Wyndham this week, and the challenge starts by simply making the cut. Fail to qualify for weekend play and there will be no hope for making the field.
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| With the majors completed, the next event of choice for the top golfers in the land will be the four-tourney playoff serving as the host for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, starting with The Barclays next week. The PGA has confirmed 110 players have confirmed spots for the 144 available spots in that field, including Anthony Kim (currently ranked in FedEx Cup standings), Padraig Harrington (ranked ), Kenny Perry (ranked ), and Phil Mickelson (ranked ), according to the official site for The Barclays. |
Our View: The Barclays, the first of four tournaments in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup, will be held from August 19th through August 24at at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. It offers a $7 million purse rewarding the winner with $1.26 million. Other top names already secured into positions in the field include Stewart Cink, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Geoff Ogilvy, and Ryuji Imada. The defending Barclays champion, Steve Stricker, will also be in the mix.
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| After yesterday's update via his own website, we have learned doctors have officially cleared Tiger Woods to commence with putting, but as he stated in an inteview with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, he has no plans to swing a golf club for several months, a plan he reiterated in an interview with the Associated Press today, according to ESPN.com. "As far as swinging a club, that's not going to happen until next year," Woods told the Associated Press. "I just don't have a choice. We simply don't know what type of swelling there would be or if there would be any residual effects the next day once you start wheeling and dealing on the knee." |
Our View: As a result of his statements, it seems wise to advise fantasy owners that Tiger would be aiming for a return at Augusta National for next year's Masters, an obvious tourney of choice as he continues his efforts to catch Jack Nicklaus for the record in the major wins. However, as it stands, we have no true knowledge on his status looking forward and to suggest we can plan on seeing Tiger at any particular tourney on the schedule next year is nothing more than speculation. We'll be keeping an eye on the situation and will update as news comes forth.
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