With The Barclays just around the corner, the end of the 2015 PGA Tour’s season is fast approaching just the same. The world’s best golfers are set to take to the greens of Plainfield Country Club to contend for the next leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
But just what exactly is in store for the players and golf fans alike this coming week? Read on as we cite five facts about the tournament and the course that will set the stage itself. For more in-depth The Barclays coverage, simply head on over to our complete preview of the event and our sleeper picks right after this.
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Five Things to Know about The Barclays 2015
Let the Real Games Begin
[sc:Golf240banner ]The FedEx Cup playoff format was first introduced in 2007 as a way to determine a clear-cut victor at the end of a particular PGA season. As such, The Barclays has since been the opening tournament of the FedEx Cup playoffs, pitting the top 125 golfers – based on FedEx Cup points amassed by players throughout a season – to compete for a shot at a berth at the Tour Championship in Atlanta in September.
Apart from earning additional FedEx Cup points to continue to bolster one player’s rankings in the FedEx Cup leaderboard, the top 100 points leaders at the end of The Barclays tournament will move on to compete in the next round of FedEx Cup eliminations at the Deutsche Bank Championship in TPC Boston.
Donald Ross’ Seal of Excellence
This year, the Plainfield Country Club will play host to The Barclays for the first time since 2011, and what a scenic and riveting course it truly is. Little do we know that this course from the quaint recesses of Edison, New Jersey is actually designed by one of if not the most notable golf course designers in the world in Donald Ross.
Ross was the same architect behind some of golf’s most renowned courses such as Pinehurst No. 2 (host of three previous U.S. Open tournaments), Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York, and the East Lake Golf Club (the home of the PGA’s Tour Championship since 2004).
It’s no wonder anymore then as for why Plainfield Country Club always manages to make it into several greatest golf courses polls on a consistent basis, and why it’s an optimal destination for a prestigious event such as The Barclays.
This Tournament is Sponsored By…
If “The Barclays” doesn’t ring a bell to you, then maybe you’ll know this tournament for what it was previously known as. In fact, unlike the majority of the PGA’s other tournaments, The Barclays has had six different names since its inception.
The tournament was first dubbed as the Westchester Classic from 1967 to 1975. Corporate sponsorships would vie for the naming rights of the event soon after, with the likes of companies such as American Express, Manufacturers Hanover and Buick all getting a crack at renaming the tournament; Barclays being the latest and current sponsor to date. But if you’re a pro or one of the sports’ purists, you’ll still refer to this early fall tournament simply as “The Westchester”.
Come On, Hurricane Irene
As mentioned earlier, the last (and only) time that the Plainfield Country Club played host to The Barclays was back in 2011, and it surely was an intriguing tournament, even at the expense of the length of the competition itself.
Hurricane Irene was on the verge of landing the shores of New Jersey, and The Barclays had yet to conclude. After 54 holes of play, the PGA announced on the Saturday of that tournament that the event will be cut short due to the impending arrival of the natural disaster. True to its claim, Hurricane Irene would indeed hit the course just hours after the announcement.
Dustin Johnson ended up as the tournament’s champion that year as he was the points-leader upon announcing the sudden end of the event. You can bet that Johnson himself would want to prove that his abrupt win at The Barclays in 2011 was no fluke at all and that his redemption match is coming this week.
Not Out of the Woods Yet
What’s a PGA event without Tiger Woods? Well to be honest, we’ve gotten rather accustomed to Tiger’s decline already and his lack of involvement as a top-flight competitor. But boy, does he sure know how to pack some drama in the golfing world just with his mere presence.
Woods failed to make the cut for The Barclays last season (and ultimately from the FedEx Cup playoffs entirely). This year has not been kind to him yet either, but the 79-time PGA Tour winner still has one last lifeline before we can rule him out of Plainfield this coming Thursday. Woods must finish first or second at worst at the Wyndham Championhsip in North Carolina this week just to qualify as one of the top 125 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings.
As of this writing, the 39-year old Woods is hanging in there tooth and nail. He’s tied at second place with fellow American Scott Brown and Sweden’s Jonas Blixt after three rounds of play at -13 under par, and trails current leader Jason Gore by just two strokes. Woods has not won any PGA tournament since 2013.
High on Tiger Woods or any of the PGA’s other superstars? Create a betting account now to start wagering on The Barclays and the rest of the PGA Tour’s events this season.
