Now the fun part starts. The major championship season may already be over with McIlroy winning the PGA Championship in dramatic fashion but now he will turn his attention to the Barclays golf tournament which is the first stop in this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs. The top 125 golfers who qualified for this event will battle it out at the famous Championship course of Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, to grab the top prize of $1.44 million and more importantly the 2,500 FedEx Cup points at stake.
Can McIlroy sustain the momentum and win his fourth-consecutive golf tournament? Read on for our analysis of this event as we dissect which golfers we believe will pose the biggest threat to the world No. 1 this week.
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2014 The Barclays Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, New Jersey
When: August 21-24
Favorites – Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott
He is the world’s number one golfer. He has won his last three tournaments including the British Open and the PGA Championship. No wonder, Rory McIlroy is the odds-on favorite to win this event. It’s amazing how McIlroy has transformed his game from one who struggled so mightily last year to this year’s version, who’s close to Tiger Woods levels in terms of dominance (old Tiger, not the current one, of course).
[sc:Golf240banner ]He showed tremendous composure in the face of a stunning charge from Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler as he shot a four-under 32 on the back nine in the final round to win the PGA Championship by a shot. The Northern Irishman was clutch when he needed it the most, making an eagle at the 10th when it seemed his title hopes were slipping away and then adding birdies on the 13th and 17th holes to seal the victory.
Rory McIlroy ranks in the top 15 in six of the top statistics at the PGA Championship, including driving distance, greens hit, fairways hit, proximity to the hole, strokes gained-putting and scrambling. His game is certainly in perfect form heading to the Barclays this week.
Adam Scott, on the other hand, returns as the defending champion of this event. Last year, he held off Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Graham DeLaet and Gary Woodland in the final round to win by a stroke. He has managed to win only once since then at the Colonial this year, but the Australian’s game is still solid enough to contend this week.
He finished in the top 15 in all four major events this year including a 15th place finish at the PGA Championship last week. He is ranked third in the PGA Tour this year in scoring with a 69.269 average, and will be one of the golfers to watch this week.
High-Value Sleepers – Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler
Phil Mickelson reminded everyone of what he is capable of accomplishing when he almost nabbed the PGA Championship last week. Playing alongside Rickie Fowler in the final round, Mickelson was lights out right from the get-go as he shot a final round 66 to finish at 15-under-par, just a shot behind champion Rory McIlroy.
The good news here is Lefty’s game is rounding into form just in time for the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup which happens at the last week of September. His driving accuracy may be down this year, as he is ranked 150th with a 57.9 percent clip, but he’s still in the top 20 in terms of scoring with an average of 70.037 this year.
Another American who impressed last week at the PGA Championship was Rickie Fowler. In fact, Fowler has been a force to be reckoned with all season, being the only golfer this year to finish in the top 5 of all four majors. He almost had his breakthrough major triumph at the PGA last week but stumbled in the final stretch to finish at 14-under-par, two back of McIlroy.
Fowler has yet to win this season, but has finished in the top 10 six times so far, including the last four tournaments he’s entered. He’s due for a victory and will contend for the title come Sunday afternoon.
Ernie Els’ last win may have come two years ago in the Open Championship but things are starting to look good for the South African heading into the Barclays next week. His golf swing seems to be in better shape now as evidenced by his seventh-place showing at the PGA last week where he shot a final round 65.
After missing the cut at the Open Championship last July, he has finished in the top 30 in his last three Tour events and will be looking to snap his two-year title drought this week.
Ian Poulter, on the other hand, has struggled this year. His best finish on the PGA Tour this year is a sixth-place showing at the St. Jude Classic and sadly that’s the highlight of a pretty disappointing season for one of the world’s best golfers. However, it is that time of the year when the Ryder Cup takes place and we know these European golfers like to step up their game every time this biennial event comes around.
This particularly applies to Poulter who loves the Ryder Cup. In fact, he single-handedly lifted the Europeans to a famous comeback victory over the Americans in the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah. He is currently 76th in the FedEx Cup rankings but don’t be surprised if he’s on the Barclays leaderboard in the final round this week.
Writer’s Prediction
Rory McIlroy will storm to his fourth consecutive victory.
