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Golf Betting Update; The Barclays with the bookmakers making Mickelson their 10/1 favourite
Added: (Tue Aug 19 2008)
You can bank on Phil Mickelson trying his damnedest in The Barclays this week as the world No.2 was signed up by the sponsors earlier this year to represent them worldwide. The tournament is the first of the four FedEx Cup Play-off events which involves the top 144 players in the Cup standings after the Wyndham.
The field is further reduced to 120 for next week's Deutsche Bank Championship and once again down to 70 for the BMW Championship, before the final 30 advance to the Tour Championship.
The Barclays makes its debut at the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey having spent the previous 40 years at the Westchester Club in Rye, New York, although it will return to the latter course at least once before 2012.
For all the golfers taking part it will be a trip into unknown territory when they arrive at the track in Paramus, although Mickelson did play there a couple of months ago as part of his sponsorship deal.
Rough Ridgewood
Ridgewood is a typical A W Tiillinghast-designed layout, very much like Baltusrol, Bethpage and Winged Foot, with rough-lined fairways, diabolical putting surfaces and deep bunkers. However, it's not new to staging major tournaments as the 1935 Ryder Cup was held there, as was the 1990 US Senior Open and the 2001 Senior PGA Championship. That sets the scene for the Barclays, now down to the nitty gritty of trying to pick the winner.
The first place to start is probably with Padraig Harrington who has proved the major star in the absence of Tiger Woods. The Irish golfer was not the obvious player to step into the world No.1's shoes but he's playing better than most and is hitting the ball as sweetly now than at any other time in his career.
Harrington has decent form in this tournament as well having finished runner-up in 2004 before going one better the following year. He's had a nice break in North Carolina since his USPGA win and should arrive fully refreshed. It will be a brave man to back against him not being in the mix once again.
Go for Garcia
Sergio Garcia finished ahead of Harrington in this event four years ago and also took the title home in 2001. It's only been his last two completed starts that have been disappointing, finishing 25th 12 months ago and 22nd in 2005 (he withdrew in 2006 after the first round).
The Spaniard must be sick to death of the sight of Harrington planting a kiss on the winner's trophy as the latter outgunned him once again at Oakland Hills in the USPGA having pipped him for the Open last year. But he remains one of the game's best ball-strikers and his shaky putting seems to be getting a little more solid, so maybe it's time for Harrington to have a rear view of Garcia.
As already mentioned Phil Mickelson is probably the only player in the field to have actively gone round Ridgewood and he will fancy his chances of finishing a rather disappointing, by his standards, season on a high and capturing the FedEx Cup. He's never actually won this tournament but he has four top-25s to his credit and a seventh in 2007. Although he'll be determined to capture the first prize he'll also have his eye on making it through to the next event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, where he has a far better record.
Momentum is a useful thing to have in the world of professional golf so that's why Harrington will be many punters idea of the winner but it also makes Carl Pettersson a danger, who arrives on the back of his victory in the Wyndham on Sunday. However, as always it's tough trying to win successive events on the PGA tour and a 30th place finish five years ago does not inspire confidence that he will be a factor this week.
Rick beaming
The other performance that caught the eye at Sedgefield Country Club was that of Rich Beem, whose third place finish came from out of nowhere. Up until then his best results on the tour had been a 20th in the FBR Open and a 23rd in the PODS Championship. He was in a similar position last year when just scraping into the play-offs and it was thanks to two consecutive rounds of 63 which saw him leap 52 places up the FedEx Cup standings and a trip to New Jersey.
Beem's name is probably not the first on everyone's lips when asked to name the major winners of the last 10 years but he did land the 2002 USPGA title so knows how to mix it with the big boys. He might be worth taking a chance on with his confidence having been rebuilt courtesy of his third place in Greensboro.
Apart from Garcia and Harrington, the other challengers from this side of the Atlantic who could make a splash are Brian Davis, Martin Laird and Ian Poulter.
After a decent opening round of 69 at the Wyndham, Davis withdrew with a sick note, which was a shame as he had hinted when runner-up in the Reno-Tahoe Open that he was about to hit winning form. If he's recovered from whatever ailed him there he could be one of the surprise packages in this week's tournament and even catch the eye of Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo.
Glasgow-born Laird led after the first round in Greensboro with a 63 and following a disastrous 74 on the second day hauled himself back into contention with a 64 before rounding off his Wyndham challenge with another 63 and fourth place. That was his second consecutive top five having occupied the same finishing position in Reno.
Poulter pointer
Poulter has one of the best records in the Barclays having finished tied for ninth in each of the last two years. He took a big step forward in his career when second in the Open at Royal Birkdale last month and two subsequent outings have been solid, if unspectacular. He currently lies third in the scoring average chart for this tournament with 69.13 and it's probably about time that he started making a name for himself with his golf rather than his often flashy attire.
Golfers in their 20s have proved a dominant force this year on the PGA tour thanks mainly to the exploits of Anthony Kim, and if the other Americans fail to fire this week he could be the one to lead the home challenge.
He has posted six top-10s in 2008, highlighted by two wins, and he plays with the same kind of intensity and enthusiasm that reminds one of Woods, the player he most admires, and he doesn't appear to be afraid of a challenge, another trait of the world No.1.
Others in with a shout in a wide-open contest are Tim Clark Ben Curtis, Jim Furyk and Chris DiMarco.
Clark clicking
Clark has finished inside the top-20 in the Barclays on three occasions, the latest being a 17th in 2007, while his performances when sixth in the Wyndham and 20th in the Bridgestone suggested his finding his form at just the right time. After a disappointing US Open campaign, Curtis bounced back with a seventh at Royal Birkdale and a second in the USPGA last time out, where his game looked in good shape.
It's been a largely poor season so far for Furyk but he has a grinder's mentality, keeps the ball in play and holds his nerve well on the greens. All of which should augur well for a decent week.
DiMarco has had a pretty torrid time in the last couple of years, mainly through various injuries, but there have been some encouraging signs this term and he could be about to turn things round.
On paper it looks as though the top players should hold the call in The Barclays, but you can't bank on it as there have plenty of upsets in the past with five winners starting at 100-1 or over. So it might be best to tread warily.
Barclays Bankers: Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter
Ridgewood Riders: Rich Beem and Brian Davis
• All prices correct at time of writing.
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