Top 5 Players Who Can Win the FedEx Cup

Rory McIlroy has won two of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events
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The FedEx Cup Playoffs are taking a week off prior to the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta.

Rory McIlroy has made it crystal clear who the most dominant golfer in the world is right now. 

By winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island and following that up with wins at the Deutsche Bank, as well as the BMW Championship, he has set himself apart from the rest of the field. 

He has increased his hold on the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking by more than three points over Tiger Woods.

He will also be the No. 1-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings when play resumes at the Tour Championship next week.  His two playoff wins had given him a 3,200-point lead over second place, Tiger Woods.

Points are reset for the Tour Championship, however, and Rory will only have a 250-point advantage over Woods.

A player currently in the top 10 could win the FedEx Cup filled with the $10 million that goes to the champion by winning the Tour Championship.  In reality, however, the FedEx Cup champion will probably come from one of the top five in the current standings.

5. Brandt Snedeker

Brandt Snedeker won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
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Brandt Snedeker is currently at No. 5 in the FedEx Cup standings. 

He has been playing extremely well of late and Davis Love added him to the Ryder Cup Team as a captain’s pick.

Snedeker was runner-up at the Barclays and sixth at the Deutsche Bank before falling to a tie for 28th at the BMW Championship. 

He could be a factor to win it all at East Lake.

4. Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson bested Tiger by 11 shots on Sunday and won at Pebble Beach.
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Phil Mickelson played well early in the year. 

He picked up a win at the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach and lost in a playoff the very next week at Riviera. 

He started slow in the playoffs, tying for 38th at the Barclays, but he followed that up finishing with a fourth-place tie at the Deutsche Bank Championship and a second-place tie last week at the BMW. 

Phil has done everything but win a FedEx Cup.  You know he would love to add one to his trophy collection.

3. Nick Watney

Nick Watney won the Barclays at Bethpage.
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Nick Watney has been the invisible man all year on the PGA Tour, but his game is peaking at the best possible moment. 

He will enter the Tour Championship in the third spot. 

He only had four top-10 finishes during the regular season, but his win at the first playoff event at the Barclays has put him squarely in the mix for the FedEx Cup. 

His other two finishes in the playoffs have not been that impressive, tying for 20th at the Deutsche Bank Championship and a tying for 45th at the BMW. 

A win at East Lake would give him the FedEx Cup, but it does not appear his game is consistent enough right now to be a factor in Atlanta.

2. Tiger Woods

Tiger has three wins in 2012 but has been inconsistent on the weekends.
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What can you say about Tiger Woods?  He has three wins in 2012 on difficult golf courses. 

He seems to have most of his game back but may still suffer some mental hiccups from time to time. Also, his putter does not seem to be as productive as it was before.

Woods will be the man for McIlroy to beat next week. 

With no major wins in 2012, Tiger certainly needs a FedEx Cup to at least make the year seem somewhat successful.

1. Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy picked up his second major title at the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island.
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Rory McIlroy is purring on all cylinders right now, and he has to be the unanimous favorite to capture the FedEx Cup. 

He is hitting his driver long and straight and is making every putt that he looks at, a lethal combination.

We have seen flashes of Rory’s brilliance in the past but, this current run of superb play and dominance over the best that the game has to offer is truly “Tiger-esque.”

The torch is being passed to the youthful phenom from Ireland. 

I hope Tiger can give him some competition to make it interesting.