The Barclays is the opening event of the PGA Tour's mega-money FedEx Cup playoffs that will culminate with the crowning of the FedExCup champion at next month's Tour Championship.
There is a progressive cut for each tournament, with only the top 100 players in FedExCup points after play has concluded on Sunday advancing to the next stage, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.
This week's venue, the par-71 Ridgewood Country Club, was last used for this event in 2008 when Heath Slocum ran out the winner. As then, ball strikers who love to shape the ball should go well, with driving accuracy all but irrelevant.
My Three Off The Tee:-
Camilo Villegas @ 55/1 Totesport
Despite missing the cut here in 2008, the Colombian tends to play well on old-fashioned tracks like this one and he's coming off a tied-8th finish at Whistling Straits, his first top-10 finish in a major since the 2008 USPGA. That suggests he's finding some form again after a quietish spell since winning the Honda Classic back in early Match and as a former winner at East Lake, which hosts the decisive Tour Championship, he will be looking forward to the next few weeks with added relish.
Sean O'Hair @ 55/1 Skybet
O'Hair is quite simply one of the best ball strikers on Tour right now so I'm prepared to forgive him his missed cut at the USPGA and concentrate instead on his previous form, which yielded five top-15 finishes from six starts, including in tip-top company at the Open and Bridgestone Invitational. Admittedly, his final round performance at the latter event was pretty tame but bookmakers look to have overreacted and the 55/1 looks more than fair
Michael Sim @ 125/1 Totesport
In the 2008 renewal, 30 players finished within five shots of the lead, including a plethora of outsiders, and the Aussie makes most appeal of those at three figure odds - snap them up fast, though, as he's as low as 70/1 in places. The reason for backing him is simple: he's in cracking form with third place finishes on his last two starts at Turning Stone and Sedgefield, where he closed with a superb 62. Not many players cold claim to be peaking at this stage of the season but that appears to be the case with Sim.
Bubbling Under: Bubba Watson (50/1 Ladbrokes)
You've just got to love Bubba and it was tough leaving him out this week. After his break-through win in the Travelers Championship, it didn't take him long to contend again - at the USPGA no less - and he placed tied-12th here in 2008.
Punters Beware: Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson
The world No.1 is as big as 13/1 this week and rightly so as he has far too much non-golf baggage to carry this week to be a contender, while Mickelson is easily swerved after no top-10s in his last four starts.
Recommended Bets:-
Camilo Villegas 1.5pts each-way @ 55/1 Totesport
Sean O'Hair 1.5pts each-way @ 55/1 Skybet
Michael Sim 1pt each-way @ 125/1 Totesport