The FedEx Cup Playoffs Kick Off With The Barclays At Bethpage Black
In 2007, the PGA Tour introduced a new initiative to add excitement, attention and emphasis to the end of the Tour season. Prior to this, once the PGA Championship ended in August, the year was basically over. Nobody gave a shit. With the FedEx Cup playoffs — complete with tens of millions of dollars in added prizes — players were given newfound reason to play through September, and to care. A lot.
The winner of the FedEx Cup collects a fun $10 million bonus check. Tiger was, obviously, the first champ in 2007. Nobody was quite sure how he felt about it, not even him.
The playoffs weren’t perfect that first year (Tiger went into the final event essentially just having to not die to win, seemingly a much tougher feat for him now than it was then), but they’ve been tweaked year after year and have proven a massive success. Ratings are up. Attendance is up. Participation is up. And dramatics are up (who can forget Bill Haas’ up-and-down from the lake, which eventually earned him $11+ million?).
And Jimmy Furyk’s emotion after finishing off a nice sandy, with a backwards hat, in the rain?
The FedEx Cup playoffs have worked, and they start this week. The schedule looks like this:
1 — The Barclays, Bethpage Black, August 25th – 28th
2 — The Deutsche Bank, TPC Boston, September 2nd – 5th
3 — The BMW Championship, Crooked Stick, September 8th – 11th
4 — The Tour Championship, East Lake, September 22nd – 25th
So first up, The Barclays. Bethpage Black. Let’s get to it.
The Track
The Black Course is one of the most difficult golf courses in America. It’s long. It’s well-defended. It’s elevation constantly changes. It requires players to work the ball both ways. It’s tough, straightforward, and also — public. Golf Digest consistently ranks it as a top-10 public course in the country (currently no. 9, I believe).
The Black has hosted two U.S. Opens — in 2002 and 2009 — as well as The Barclays, in 2012 (also scheduled to host Barclays in 2021 and 2027, the PGA in 2019, and the Ryder Cup in 2024). A 1936 A.W. Tillinghast design, the Black is a 7,468-yard par 71 with a staggering 78.1 rating and 152 slope. Simply put, it’s just fucking hard.
Tiger won here at -3 in 2002; Lucas Glover at -4 in 2009 (wet); Nick Watney at -10 in 2012 (not U.S. Open).
Notable Holes
4th, Par 5, 517 yards
The 4th is my favorite hole on the golf course. At 517, it might not sounds particularly long for a par-5. And it’s not. But severely uphill, and with 3 separate banks of sets of bunkers (as you can see in the picture above), it’s awesome. Guys will try to get in the fairway right of that bunker off the tee and, if successful, will have a long club into the green, looking something like this:
Incredible par 5.
8th, Par 3, 210 yards
An A+ par 3. Although it tips out at over 200 yards, the 8th rarely plays that long. Because it’s downhill, yes, but also because they frequently move the tees up. Several days at the U.S. Open it was closer to the 160 range. Beautiful hole, and we like beautiful things.
15th, Par 4, 477 yards
When I think of the toughness that is Bethpage Black, I think of the 15th. At 477 yards and right out in front of you, it encompasses everything that is great about this track. There are no gimmicks. There are no tricks. There are no hazards. This hole is just 477 yards of brutal par 4. If you hit a good drive, you shouldn’t have an overly difficult time. But if you miss that fairway, good luck stopping your ball on your uphill approach, out of the Black’s thick rough, on that well-bunkered green. Just good luck.
(Tied for the lead Sunday in 2009, Phil missed the fairway here, hit some sort of fairway metal to the back edge of the green, then three-jacked for bogey to add another US Open runner-up to his record six total.)
18th, Par 4, 411 yards
Look at that thing of beauty. At 411, not very long. Especially playing downhill off the tee. But with all those bunkers and a relatively small green, the guys will commonly play for position here. And it’s just a gorgeous hole.
Add in the way you all know I feel about clubhouses and views of clubhouses and, yeah, Riggs like 18 at Bethpage Black.
The Field
It’s the playoffs. It’s one of the nation’s greatest public courses. It’s a US Open venue. The big boys are here.
Phil Mickelson, for whatever reason, is BELOVED in the New York area. With Bethpage being on Long Island, expect a roaring following for Phil and a strong showing from Lefty. He’s shown flashes of brilliance this year, earning his spot on the Ryder Cup team, but believe you me he wants to head into Minnesota firing on all cylinders. That starts this week.
Expect big names like DJ, Stenson, Day, and Rose to play well. Those guys have been on heaters this season and tough courses produce good champions. I expect to see those guys navigate their way toward contention.
Not sure what to expect from Jordan Spieth. After last year, it was damn near impossible for Jordo to match expectations. And he didn’t. He does have 2 wins on the year, a locked up Ryder Cup spot, and remains the no. 3 ranked player in the world, so he’s always a threat.
Other than that, it’s simple — it’s basically the top 125 players in the world (on the PGA Tour) playing with their seasons on the line. Some have earned insurance into next week, or the week after, but not all. Performance from this point on dictates Tour status, millions in paychecks, and Ryder Cup futures. It’s big.
Speaking of Ryder Cup, yesterday I published a detailed list of U.S. Ryder Cup guys and potential Ryder Cup guys. Check it out here to give yourself an idea of who to watch as you psyche yourself up for September 30th.
Predictions
Winning Score (-9) — As I’ve repeated, the Black Course is extremely difficult. But these guys are extremely good. Although Glover got to 4-under in US Open conditions (again, it was wet) and Watney got to 10-under here in 2012, I think it’s going to play tough. 9-under secures the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
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Winner (Dustin Johnson) — Watney, Glover, and Tiger’s stats from their wins here definitively show one thing: you must be a pure ballstriker to win here. DJ is arguably the purest striker of the golf ball in the game, squaring the shit out of that clubface with his bowed wrist and lanky bod. He hits it dead straight (maybe a slight fade). I like that — DJ wins in NY.
Feels good to be back at Bethpage!! #FedExCup pic.twitter.com/HkRngvMmle
— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) August 24, 2016
DFL — Sadly, there’s no Steven Bowditch in the field this week. He did not make the playoffs. Last week I obviously picked Stevie for DFL and he was close. Incredibly close. But Josh Broadway’s gutsy Friday 80 swooped in and stole the crown by a single shot. Absolute heartbreaker.
So we have to pick a new Steven Bowditch this week, and we’re picking Graham DeLaet. I like DeLaet, but at 144th in the world and coming off a 7-over, missed cut performance at the Wyndham — and no more playoff beard — I don’t see how the Canadian avoids DFL this week. Sorry pal.
Final Thoughts
It’s a top-tier golf course. It’s a top-tier field. They’re playing for top-tier money. And they’re just outside the city that is welcoming the world’s MOST top-tier smut company. Should be a great week — let’s hope for a wild finish.
