2011 Barclays TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2011 BARCLAYS, THE FIRST EVENT of the FedEx Cup Playoffs is off to a weather-interrupted start at the Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey. With the rain-delayed first round still in progress, Harrison Frazar is the early leader at 7 under.

The tournament is expected to be threatened by Hurricane Irene as the storm moves up the Atlantic coastline this weekend. PGA Tour officials are mulling their options for completing the first leg of the playoffs. One is to play 36 holes on Saturday and award the trophy before Irene reaches New Jersey. Another option is to finish on Monday or Tuesday.


Purse: $8 million
Winner’s share: $1.35 million
Defending champion: Matt Kuchar (at right)

2011 Barclays Leaderboard

Field
Course
Tee times
Interviews
Tournament overview
Tournament news
Tour report
FedEx Cup guidebook


TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2011 Barclays is on Golf Channel and CBS.

Thursday, August 25
3-6 p.m. - Golf Channel

Friday, August 26
3-6 p.m. - Golf Channel

Saturday, August 27
1-2:30 p.m. - Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. - CBS

Sunday, August 28
12-1:30 p.m. - Golf Channel, 2-6 p.m. - CBS

SIRIUS-XM broadcast times


−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Let the FedEx Cup Playoffs Begin

THE FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS get underway on Thursday with The Barclays at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey. The four-event playoff series, which includes the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship, concludes in Atlanta with the Tour Championship.

After much criticism and formula tinkering, the FedEx Cup points race has slowly gained acceptance. No, it’s not the majors or the Ryder Cup. No, it can’t compete with football. But it’s far better than the days when everyone tuned out after the PGA Championship. With all that cash up for grabs, the top PGA Tour players surely welcome the playoffs and gladly play deep into the month of September. That’s good for core golf fans.

Above are PGATour.com’s top 10 shots from The Barclays. I remembered three of the shots. Four, actually. After seeing it again, I did recall Sergio Garcia’s putt in his 2008 playoff against Vijay Singh. Of course, I also remembered Vijay’s long one that he made on top of Sergio. And there was Matt Kuchar’s iron out of the rough to three feet. That was last year.

I think Heath Slocum got robbed, though. Slocum’s tournament-winning 20-footer in 2009—the biggest putt of his life and the one that beat Tiger Woods—is No. 6 on the list.

Really? Only No. 6?

That’s just wrong.

−The Armchair Golfer