BMW Championship 2012: Competitors That Must Perform Well in Stacked Field

The battle for the FedEx Cup is heating up and the pressure to perform is higher than ever.

The BMW Championship is the last chance for golfers to earn the right to play in the Tour Championship. Only the top 30 in the FedEx standings will be included in the prestigious event and players will spend the next four days jockeying for position.

In addition, reaching the top five in the standings allows competitors to control their own destiny in the final tournament of the playoffs.

There is something for everyone to play for, but these golfers might have the most pressure on them in this weekend's tournament.

Scott Piercy (No. 29)

Ending the regular season No. 15 in points should almost guarantee inclusion into the Tour Championship. Unfortunately, Scott Piercy has collapsed in the last two weeks and is now in danger of missing the cut.

The Las Vegas native has three top-10 finishes this season, including a win at the RBC Canadian Open. However, he missed the cut at the Barclays and finished the Deutsche Bank Championship tied for 64th place. If he continues this trend, he will be at home watching the next tournament.

Piercy is one of the longest drivers on tour with a 303.8 yard average. He needs to regain the focus that he lost last week in Boston when he had two double bogeys and one hole of five strokes over par. Four days of consistent is all he needs to keep him in the top 30 in the standings.

Jeff Overton (No. 40)

While every golfer outside the top-30 spots must have a great performance this weekend, Jeff Overton might have the best chance to sneak into the Tour Championship.

The 29-year-old from Indiana will be the hometown favorite at Crooked Stick Golf Club and should benefit from familiarity. He also had one of the best performances of the season last week, finishing tied for seventh. 

Overton's score of minus-12 helped him move up from No. 83 in the standings to 40. Now he just needs to go 10 more spots to punch his ticket to next week's event. If he can come close to replicating his performance of three rounds in the 60s, he will get there easily.

Bubba Watson (No. 10)

The Masters Champion finished the regular season No. 5 in the standings. He stayed in solid position after a top-10 finish in the Barclays, but he dropped after missing the cut in the Deutsche Bank Championship. He simply could not keep up with the birdies that seemed to be going around to everyone else.

This week he needs a big tournament to get himself back near the top of the standings. If he reaches the top five, he can win the entire FedEx Cup with a win at the Tour Championship. Otherwise, he needs to count on others performing poorly.

There are too many talented golfers to not control your own destiny.

Crooked Stick is built perfectly for Watson. It is a long and open course that allows him to hit the ball as far as he can. If he can simply improve his putting, he could be on his way to a big payday. 

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