Tops in points, Tiger ready for FedExCup playoffs
Tiger Woods, the only player with multiple FedExCup titles, begins his quest for No. 3 this week in The Barclays, the first of four tournaments in the PGA Tour’s season-ending FedExCup series.
The field consists of 123 players from the final FedExCup point standings (Jason Dufner and Spencer Levin will not compete), and the event will be played on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. Tiger is well acquainted with the 1936 A.W. Tillinghast design, having won the U.S. Open there in 2002.
“This is all the golf course you want,” Woods said Wednesday of the 7,468-yard layout. “It’s a great venue, great for fans and just a great environment to compete in.”
The top 100 finishers and ties in the standings advance to next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. From there, the top 70 and ties in the standings move on to the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club, Sept. 6-9, in Carmel, Ind.
The top 30 in points then qualify for the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club, Sept. 20-23, in Atlanta. Each of the four playoff events features an $8 million purse. The overall winner of the FedExCup wins $10 million.
“They’ve changed the format over the years,” Woods said. “Right now, I think we’re all playing for position, which is different, going into the reset, going to the last event, the TOUR Championship. Before, it was just trying to accumulate whatever you can and keep it rolling. Well, now you’re playing for a reset and anything can happen.”
Woods, who’s ranked first in the FedExCup point standings and on the PGA Tour money list, enters as the third-ranked player in the world. He is the only player with three PGA Tour wins in 2012 and will play the first two rounds with Rory McIlroy and Zach Johnson.
“It’s going to be fun for both of us,” Tiger said of the McIlroy pairing. “I enjoy playing with Rory, and I hope he feels the same about being in the same group as me. He’s a great kid and an amazing talent.”
McIlroy welcomes the pairing.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said the 23-year-old Northern Irishman, who is coming off an eight-stroke victory at the PGA Championship. “I really enjoy his company. I know we’ll have a good time out there.”
Earlier this year, the two played a practice round together in Abu Dhabi.
“It really focuses you from the get-go,” McIlroy said. “I feel every time I’ve played with Tiger, he’s sort of brought out the best of me.”
Woods, 36, remembers being McIlroy’s age and hopes fans and the media give him some space and patience.
“I just hope that everyone just lets him grow and develop as a player because it’s going to be fun to see over the next 20 years how this kid’s career is going to pan out,” Woods said.
What Tiger really appreciates about McIlroy is that he never backs off.
“Once [McIlroy] gets rolling, he just makes birdie after birdie after birdie,” he said. “Not afraid to keep trying to push it, to try to shoot lower scores. Some guys have a little governor on them and they’ll back off, but there are a few players that just don’t have that.”
Woods, McIlroy and Johnson begin first-round play Thursday on the 10th tee at 8:16 a.m. ET. They are scheduled to start the second round on the first tee Friday at 1:06 p.m.
