2009 FedEx Cup points leaders: Slocum wins, but Tiger holds lead despite putting woes

Heath Slocum hoists the trophy after a surprising win at The Barclays,
moving up 121 spots in the FedEx Cup point standings.
(Photo: AP/Rich Schultz)

Heath Slocum came into The Barclays as the 124th-ranked player in the FedEx Cup points standings, with only two top 10s this season and his last victory in 2005 at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. He stared down names like Padraig Harrington, Steve Stricker, a hard-charging Ernie Els and, the man himself, Tiger Woods.

View photos of the final round of The Barclays tournament.

And with a 21-foot putt for par the only thing between him and a five-way playoff, Slocum did what Tiger couldn’t do on Sunday: he coolly sank the putt that would give him the Barclay’s victory by a shot, and vaulted him up from the brink of seasons end to third place on the PGA Tour’s playoff leaderboard, shooting a 67 to finish the tournament at 9-under.

Once again, it was Woods’ flatstick that did him in, as he missed two critical putts that sealed his fate in the same fashion as it did at the PGA Championship. First, at the par-3 fourth, a three-foot no-brainer for par took a 270-degree trip around the cup before lipping out, and he settled for bogey. Then, at the 18th, facing a six-foot birdie putt that he would have made 11 out of 10 times in 2008, Tiger missed by the proverbial mile and slid the ball three feet past the hole.

FEDEX CUP POINTS LEADERS See the full list at pgatour.com
1. Tiger Woods 2. Steve Stricker 3. Heath Slocum 4. Zach Johnson 5. Kenny Perry 6. Y.E. Yang 7. Nick Watney 8. Brian Gay 9. Lucas Glover 10. Phil Mickelson 11. Ernie Els 12. Geoff Ogilvy 13. David Toms 14. Padraig Harrington 15. Hunter Mahan 16. Sean O'Hair 17. Retief Goosen 18. Jim Furyk 19. Stewart Cink 20. Dustin Johnson	4,381 3,105 2,855 2,229 2,075 1,869 1,863 1,844 1,742 1,712 1,683 1,603 1,571 1,558 1,530 1,474 1,464 1,458 1,435 1,425

“Kind of the nature of these greens, a little bit tricky to misread,” Tiger told the PGA Tour after his 4-under-67. But, fortunately for him, the FedEx Cup allows for those kind of missed opportunities, as he still leads his next playoff competitor, Stricker, by 1,276 points.

Els made the biggest move of the leaders, shooting a 5-under 66 to finish in a four-way tie for 2nd place with Harrington, Woods and Stricker, who each finished the tournament at 8-under. 54-hole leaders Paul Goydos and Steve Marino each had a rough day, shooting 4- and 6-over par, respectively.

So now, heading into the Deutsche Bank and the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, does Tiger need to learn his own lesson from the PGA Championship, and change his short game approach on putts like the six-footer that would have given him a chance at the win?

“Absolutely not,” Tiger told the PGA Tour. “You never do. Every putt you hit is the same process. Go up there, be committed to what you’re doing, and hopefully it goes in.”

Big movers: Of course Slocum was the most noticeable player to rocket up the point standings with his win at the Barclays, but several other golfers also put themselves into contention with strong finishes. Harrington leapt up 52 spots to 14 with his T2 finish at Liberty National, and Fredrik Jacobson rode a sixth place finish into the top 50, going from 107th place up to 48th. And Troy Matteson, who entered the FedEx Cup playoffs in the last-place position, finished the first leg with a T-20 and moved up 42 positions to 83rd.

Outside looking in: Many of the big names are moving on to the Deutsche Bank for the second leg of the PGA Tour playoffs, but there are a few golfers that fans will recognize that failed to make the top 100. K.J. Choi, for example, has finished 10th and 5th in FedEx Cup points over the past two years, but with only one top 10 on the season, a missed cut in the Barclays sealed his playoff fate, missing the Deutsche Bank field by two points in 101st place. Other big names to fail to move on include Adam Scott, Mark Calcavecchia and Minnesotan Tim Herron.

No time like the present: Vijay Singh was one of the main contenders in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine through two rounds, before a 75 knocked him down the leaderboard. A missed cut in The Barclays moved him down further, dropping him 19 spots in the standings to 78. He’ll need a strong performance at the Deutsche Bank to move on to the field of 70. Ditto for Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson, who are each currently sitting in the low 70s, looking to advance further in the playoffs.

Like this article? Make sure to check out...