Live From The Barclays

Earlier this week, I traveled up the Garden State Parkway to take a peek around gorgeous Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.

Here are some notes and observations I collected from Tuesday's practice round.

A quick disclaimer: while I will give some quotes, due to ethical standards (thanks, SPJ) I can't attribute them to specific players, since I wasn't wearing any type of press credential.

• Ridgewood should be a top contender to host a major championship soon. There seems to be a huge consensus among players that Ridgewood is one of the best courses they've seen on tour this year. Even a former British Open champion said it was, "absolutely beautiful, one of the greatest courses I've ever played."
• In a previous article, I asked if anyone cared that Padraig Harrington made history by becoming only the ninth player in PGA history to win back-to-back majors. Well, at least in New Jersey, the answer is an emphatic "yes." Harrington was the biggest attraction on Tuesday, and the screams from kids and adults alike as they begged for his autograph rivaled that of Tiger Woods. (On an amusing note, one child desperate for Harrington's signature screamed in a New York accent, "Please, Padraig! I'm Irish too!")
• A better name for Ridgewood Country Club would be "Winged Foot South." Ridgewood has very similar tall tree-lined fairways and complex bunkers to the classic Winged Foot layout in Mamaroneck. However, Ridgewood has a lot more personality than Winged Foot: tiny greens, greens with four tiers, natural hazards, crazy twisting doglegs, and huge elevation changes. Nonetheless, it's a fair setup— much fairer than last week's, according to an Australian player who went on a humorous five-minute profanity-laden tirade to a PGA Tour official about the Wyndham Championship.
• The PGA Tour will be boasting about their playoff format all week long, but the "Playoffs" actually became a tongue-in-cheek joke among some groups on Tuesday. One top American player said sarcastically to his playing partner, "Man, I'm pumped up for these playoffs! I gotta start grinding!"
• While some players might treat the FedEx Cup as a joke, Kenny Perry certainly isn't. He finished a long practice round with Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin, and J.B. Holmes, then headed off to the range and hit balls until the sun went down, accompanied by six individuals who all appeared to be coaches. His practice habit on Tuesday seemed to rival that of Vijay Singh, or dare I say the immortal Ben Hogan.
• You might hear some commentators talk about the "drivable" par-4 5th hole this week. Don't believe them. With how high the green is elevated, and how unbelievably tiny the green is, not to mention the stiff penalty incurred by missing short and getting a ball lodged in one of the 5th's gnarly bunkers, only the most desperate of players will pull their driver out (or possibly the long bombers like Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes).
• I'd hate to go back and harp on the "Playoffs," but The Barclays sure doesn't have the feel of a playoff event. Only a few of the Top 20 players were out practicing on Tuesday (in majors, usually every single player is out practicing). A scant amount of patrons came out to watch Tuesday's practice round. Okay, so it is a practice round after all, but there should still have been at least triple the crowd there was, as is usually seen for practice rounds in major championships and top-tier tournaments like The Memorial and The Players.
• So, who's the favorite? I'd point to Phil Mickelson, as he's had tons of success in the New York metro area, and especially on Tillinghast courses. However, Ridgewood has such a diverse selection of holes, it's tough to say that the course favors any one style of player. Perhaps it'll take hard work and dedication like Kenny Perry shows. Maybe it'll take the momentum of a hot streak, like Padraig Harrington is currently on. Or, maybe someone can come from nowhere to steal the spotlight.

After all, it's anyone's game in the Playoffs! (Ugh.)