Notebook: Tiger Woods Still Has Chance in FedExCup

The PGA Tour's FedExCup, a four-tournament playoff series that culminates with the Tour Championship and a boat-load of bonus money for the ultimate winner, gets under way this week with The Barclays. And the more things change the more they have remained the same.

As has been the case since the postseason competition was introduced in 2007, Tiger Woods will draw much of the focus. He has won two of the three years, giving way to Vijay Singh in 2009 only when he was missing because of knee surgery.

This year, however, the attention is being created by the very-real possibility that the playoffs will advance without the world's No. 1 ranked (at least for now) player.

The top 125 players off the current points list earned invitations this week to Ridgewood CC in Paramus, N.J. After play is completed Sunday, the top 100 advance to the second round.
"I would love to face (Tiger). Unless his game rapidly improves ... I think anyone in the European team would fancy their chances against him."
-- Rory McIlroy, On facing Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup
At present, Woods rests at a far-from-imposing 112th, and is in need of a strong performance to keep his PGA Tour season alive. He also needs to prove himself to Corey Pavin as a worthy Ryder Cup team captain's pick.

And then there's the whole finalized divorce that was made public earlier this week.

"I don't look at it as being at our expense," Kevin Streelman said of the single-player focus. "If you look at any facet of business or sport, there's superstars in every realm. They help our fan base. They help the golf economy. They help global awareness of our sport. And to that we're indebted to them.

"So I have zero -- I don't know what the word would be -- disdain towards anything in that regard. I think this is really turning out to be an exciting playoff situation where you've got Tiger kind of starting to feel his game a little better and kind of come from behind and then you've got some of the other guys that are up front kind of in better positions. But it will be fun to watch."

It's not totally impossible for Woods to still be a factor. Points earned in the playoffs are worth five times the amount offered in a standard tour event -- the winner earning 2,500 compared to the typical 500.

Any player who wins this week will jump into the points lead. Nevertheless, only seven players who began last year's playoffs outside the top 30 made it into the season-ending 30-player Tour Championship field. One of them who did is this week's defending champ, Heath Slocum. He began the 2009 playoffs No. 124 but moved up to third after winning The Barclays and eventually finished eighth.

The action begins with Ernie Els holding the top seed. He's followed by Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose.

The key is to make it into the top five going into the Tour Championship, a position that allows a player to control his own destiny.

Mickelson won the Tour Championship, but still could not catch Woods after going into the final event 14th in points. Had Lefty been among the top five, his victory would also have secured the FedExCup title.

The Barclays field has drawn 123 of the 125 golfers eligible. Only Sergio Garcia (No. 101) and Corey Pavin (No. 110) are the only players who qualified but will not compete.

BUBBA MOVES ON

Bubba Watson isn't dwelling on his water ball on the third-playoff hole of the PGA two weeks ago that opened the door for Martin Kaymer's victory.

Actually, Watson arrived at Barclays with a refreshing attitude.

"Because hitting away at a golf ball is not really that important when you think about it," Watson said. "When you seriously think about it, it's something I do, I love to do. But when it comes down to a missed putt, a missed shot, a shot that goes in the water to lose, it doesn't matter.

"And that's where you bring the game being more fun. You enjoy it more. You enjoy your time away. It gets me thinking about something else and then what's going on with my family."

Immediately after the PGA, Watson returned to Pensacola, Fla., to visit his father who is battling cancer. He also found time to visit Pensacola Air Force Base where he hosted a golf clinic to promote the First Tee and Birdies for the Brave.

"Met some of the guys that fly the Blue Angels," he said. "Then I did a clinic. I joined them because my dad was a Special Forces Green Beret. I joined with the foundation to help raise some money for their cause and hopefully do some great things with them, and so it was fun."

MONTIE'S DECISION

With only one European Tour event remaining to play -- the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland -- before nine players automatically qualify for Europe's Ryder Cup team, captain Colin Montgomerie's job isn't getting any easier.

Montgomerie has three captain's picks and five players ranked among the world's top 25 who do not presently qualify for the team: Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Edoardo Molinari and Justin Rose.

Casey, ranked No. 9 in the world, Luke Donald (10th), Padraig Harrington (18th) and Justin Rose (22nd) are scheduled to play this week's Barclays, the first of four FedExCup playoff events. The tournament provides no points for the European Ryder Cup team, meaning there is no chance they can qualify.

"It's a headache and it's a nice headache to have," Montie said. "It's the first time that a European captain has had such a strong team that (hasn't) quite qualified yet. ... It's most unfortunate this particular year that I'm going to have to leave out winners this year, and that is possibly the first time any European captain has had to do that."

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I would love to face him. Unless his game rapidly improves ... I think anyone in the European team would fancy their chances against him."

-- Northern Ireland's 21-year-old Rory McIlroy on the possibility of facing Tiger Woods in Ryder Cup play.

LEARN THE RULES

After a 30-minute backup on one hole during LPGA play last week, veteran Juli Inkster slipped a weighted metal donut on a club and took some swings to stay loose.

A television viewer saw it, e-mailed in and she was disqualified. In turn, the Rules of Golf again came under fire as ridiculous, too complicated and pretty much stupid.

That's short sighted.

The mistake was Inkster's. The rule has been in place longer than she's been playing golf and that's some 30 years as a professional.

It's a player's responsibility to know the rules.

MICKELSON'S GOODNESS

Phil and Amy Mickelson continued their back-to-school program for under-privileged kids, helping 1,500 San Diego-area students with school supplies and shoes.

Since starting the program six years ago, the Mickelson has aided more than 8,000 kids since starting the program six years ago.

"It's a very special day for our whole family," Mickelson told the San Diego Union Tribune. "The only thing we ask in return is that they try hard in school."

MENTIONABLES

• After India's Arjun Atwal won Sunday in Greensboro, N.C., international players have won 13 of the last 19 events played on the PGA Tour and 19th foreign champ in 37 events this year.

• David Toms and Justin Leonard, both past major championship winner, recorded just their first top-10 finish of this season at Greensboro.

• Last week's experiment at Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, where fans were allowed to bring in cell phones, went without incident.