The current PGA Tour season is coming to a close, and the field of 125 is starting to take shape for the 2015 The Barclays in New Jersey set to tee off on the 27th of August. Who among the best of the best in the world of golf will emerge victorious and move on to the next leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at the Deutsche bank Championship in Boston?
Read on as we take a look at some of the event’s prime contenders and other notable dark horses that will duke it out at the Plainfield Country Club in Edison. And if you’re in need of more coverage on the tournament, head on over to our in-depth sleeper picks piece and the five things you need to know about The Barclays.
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2015 The Barclays Betting Preview
Where: Plainfield Country Club, Edison, New Jersey
Was there any doubt that the top two golfers in the FedEx Cup standings wouldn’t be the odds-on favorites to win in Plainfield?
[sc:Golf240banner ]At this point, we do not need to shower any more praises for all of the accomplishments that Jordan Spieth has made this season. And still, we have to give proper credit to the two-time 2015 major title winner.
Spieth has held the top spot of the FedEx Cup leaderboard since winning The Masters in mid-April, his second PGA major of the year. He has a commanding lead of over 1,700 FedEx Cup points over Jason Day, the second-best golfer of the season (and the other heavy favorite to win The Barclays, who we’ll get into greater detail shortly).
Although Spieth’s unheralded bid for a third- and fourth-consecutive major victory this season did not come to fruition, he hasn’t stopped dominating other tournaments of late at all. Spieth has finished in the top-4 in five of his last six events (including his win at the US Open), with the exception being a 10th-place finish at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Similarly, Jason Day came up short at the Bridgestone Invitational (a 12th-place finish), but that hasn’t stopped him from skyrocketing up the FedEx Cup rankings. After tying for fourth at The Open Championship this past July, Day would jump from No. 16 in the rankings to become the current runner-up to Spieth with wins at the RBC Canadian Open and the recently held major, the PGA Championship.
Day was also very close to winning The Barclays last year, finishing tied for second with Stuart Appleby and Cameron Tringale. You can expect the 27-year old to put on a terrific showing and continue to steal Spieth’s thunder this late into the season.
Hunter Mahan, The Barclays’ defending champion, is not the first person you’d think of as a prime contender. He only has three finishes in the top-10 out of 21 events this 2015 season, and has not had a win since taking The Barclays crown last year at the Ridgewood Country Club.
Still, the six-time PGA tour winner has the battle-hardened tenacity that makes him such a wild card in any critical event, especially come the tail-end of the season. Mahan has a perfect FedEx Cup playoff attendance, making this year’s showing in Plainfield his 33rd FedEx cup appearance in as many tournaments. He remains the only professional golfer to hold this distinction.
Speaking of distinction, it would also be hard to dismiss The Barclays’ all-time winning golfer, Vijay Singh. The persistent 52-year old may be well beyond his prime, but you can almost sense that a shocker is in the works from the four-time The Barclays champion.
The Fiji native has not been in fine form for the longest time, though, as he only has one top ten finish this season and no title victories since 2008 (the year that he also won his last The Barclays title). But Singh excels when it comes to playing in Plainfield. He finished tied for third in this course during The Barclays tournament back in 2011.
Long Shot – Adam Scott
Adam Scott, who was a former World No. 1 just this past year, certainly has not been in his championship form this entire 2015. The Aussie only has three top-10 finishes out of 13 tournaments he partook in his season, and has not had a title victory since May of 2014 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
However, Scott’s been fond of playing at The Barclays recently, winning it all at this event back in 2013 and finishing 15th just last season. A win this coming week at Plainfield would certainly give him great momentum and a nice morale boost to start his winning ways anew before the PGA season comes to a close.
Writer’s Prediction
Jason Day continues his late season, bagging his fourth PGA title of the season win an impressive win at Plainfield.
