The top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings are teeing up this week at Plainfield Country Club, New Jersey, for The Barclays, the first of four play-off events.
After this week, the top 100 players in the standings will progress to next week's Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC Boston, before the top 70 compete in the BMW Championship in Illinois, where there will be no halfway cut. The top 30 then move to East Lake, Georgia, for the Tour Championship and the chance to win the $10m first prize that goes with the FedEx Cup.
Plainfield is a new venue for the Tour and early reports suggest it will place an emphasis on shot-making and distance control. At just 6,964 yards, the bigger hitters will be hitting wedges into the greens often, and the driveable par-4 18th offers up the chance of an eagle. They will have to find the short grass first, though, as recent heavy rain has left the rough well up and some bad weather at the weekend, when the wind is expected to provide a serious challenge, will also help to inflate the scores.
My Three Against The Field:-
Steve Stricker @ 16/1 bet365
The course sets up beautifully for world No.1 Luke Donald and the Englishman, who has been a model of consistency this season with 10 top-10s on Tour, including in his last two starts, is a worthy favourite at 12/1. He could easily win this week but I just prefer the chances of Stricker at a slightly more generous 16/1. The man from Wisconsin is another who rarely throws in a bad week and lines up here on the back of 11 consecutive top-20s, including two victories. It was a little disappointing to see him fade out of contention in the USPGA on his latest start after an opening 63, but this course affords him an excellent opportunity to bounce back to winning ways.
Charles Howell III @ 40/1 William Hill
It's a while since the American has got his head in front but he's been knocking heavily on the door of late, and each-way backers have been doing very nicely, thanks to four top-five finishes in seven starts. And I don't think it's a case of going to the well too often this week as he has the perfect game for this layout, lying as he does in the top-25 for both GIR and putting (24th in the all-round), and it can't be a coincidence that two of his top fives came on Donald Ross-designed tracks (Aronimink and Sedgefield) like this one.
Chez Reavie @ 150/1 Totesport
I toyed with the idea of putting up Robert Karlsson as my third and final pick (so he'll probably win then) as the Swede has been in grand form of late with three top fives in his last seven starts, including a tied fourth at the USPGA. However, the lure of backing a similarly in-form player at 150/1 was just too good to resist. Reavie might not be as well known has been quietly going about his business with five top-20s in his last six starts and his tidy game (sits inside the top 20 for both fairways hit and GIR) could see him post his third top five of the season, thus ensuring a tasty profit for each-way backers.
Recommended Bets:-
Steve Sticker 2pts each-way @ 16/1 bet365
Charles Howell III 1pt each-way @ 40/1 William Hill
Chez Reavie 0.5pt each-way @ 150/1 Totesport
