The FedEx Cup Continues

Out of nowhere Vijay Singh came on strong to win The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey in decisive fashion. After Sergio Garcia let down his PGA betting investors once again, in a playoff no less, Vijay went on to stun the golf world with a victory.

Garcia still finished second, earning a boat load of FedEx points, but Vijay was the big victor here. Coupled with his Bridgestone victory a few weeks back, Singh has vaulted to the lead in the FedEx Cup standings with 109,500 points. He’s slightly ahead of Sergio Garcia, who has proven he doesn’t have the mental resiliency to bounce back from tight losses like this. At least he wasn’t spitting in the pinhole like he used to.

This coming weekend, the four week playoff continues with the Deutsche Bank Championship, which Phil Mickelson won last year. Lefty dropped from third to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings but returns to a course at TPC Boston that he feels comfortable in. He shot a strong 68 at Ridgewood, which should carry his momentum in to the grueling rounds to come at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Kevin Sutherland, whose far from being a household name, shot from 57th overall to third in the standings, just ahead of Mickelson but short of Garcia. I don’t expect Sutherland to stay there. There are too many great golfers in the top-10 for him to keep his position. Don’t get crazy betting all over the board with Sutherland. Stick with your guns.

Anthony Kim dropped from 5th to 6th, while Kenny Perry suffered the most glaring fall from 2nd to 7th. Don’t count either of these guys out. Perry especially is playing at an elite level this year.

A tennis betting favorite in our sportsbook has been Hunter Mahan, who stormed out to a thunderous lead in Round 1 of The Barclays, but fell short. He still earned solid points, rising from 31st to 25th. Mahan, in my opinion, is still a few years behind on his development and should make some noise next year. The pressure of striking while the iron is hot is obviously too much for him at this point. I don’t expect to hear much from him in the coming weeks. Not with the pressure that the FedEx Cup provides for the tour players.

Of course, everyone’s eyes were on Padraig Harrington, who has 99,000 points after starting the playoffs with the fourth spot in the standings. He’s dropped all the way to 23rd. However, perhaps that is where he wants to be. With little expectations on him, Harrington has always made the best of it.

Does that translate in to a win in the Deutsche Bank Championship? Aside from Mickelson, I think that Harrington is the most interesting play in the coming weeks. The betting community may call him a flash in the pan, but if he is within striking distance after Saturday closes, then he will bring it home for Ireland once more. He’s a closer, plain and simple.