7 Burning Questions Ahead of the 2015 FedEx Cup Playoffs

The 2015 FedEx Cup playoffs are finally upon us. For one month, an increasingly competitive field of tour pros will push themselves to the limit for eternal glory and share of $67 million in total prize money.

All eyes will be on world No. 1 Jordan Spieth, June-August juggernaut Jason Day and newly revitalized Rory McIlroy, but there are plenty more storylines outside the top five guys going into the playoffs.

There are FedEx Cup playoff debutants such as Tony Finau who are maneuvering themselves for a postseason run. There are former champions with big points in the bank who are looking for a repeat. There is also the exciting prospect of an opening-round Cinderella.

The threat of a constantly advancing cut line will always keep things interesting, but for a more detailed roundup of storylines, let’s take a look at the seven burning questions we’re asking ahead of the 2015 FedEx Cup playoffs.

Will We See Another Heath Slocum at the Barclays?

Remember Heath Slocum at the 2009 Barclays? If not, check out the video above.

He made a 20-foot par putt on the final hole to claim a one-shot victory over Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington. OK, sure, it would have been exciting to see a five-man playoff in the playoffs (especially with that storied company), but like any other tournament, you have to marvel at the underdog.

At the start of the Barclays that year, Slocum was ranked 124th out of 125 participants in the field. He was like George Mason in the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament—except he took home the trophy. 

You could say Tiger gave it away when he missed a 7-footer on No. 18 that would have earned a playoff berth, but let’s not take anything away from Slocum. He saw his opening and took it, and that’s worth celebrating.

Is there going to be another Slocum this year? Well, if there is, he may be one of the guys on the next slide.

Which Rookie Will Step into the Spotlight?

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Nine players will be making their FedEx Cup debuts this year, and you’ve probably heard of at least couple of them if you’ve been keeping an eye on golf.

Among the most notable are Justin Thomas and Tony Finau, who currently sit at 36th and 39th, respectively, in the standings. Thomas has scored seven top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for seventh at the Wells Fargo Championship, a tie for fifth at the John Deere Classic and a tie for fourth at the Quicken Loans National in early August.

Finau has five top-10 finishes, but his performances in the biggest tournaments caught our attention in 2015. He only played in two majors, but he tied for 14th at the U.S. Open and tied for 10th at the PGA Championship. Clearly, the 25-year-old from Utah has the ability to excel when the pressure is on, so he could weather his first-year jitters better than his peers.

Other debutants a little further down the points list are Daniel Berger at 46th, Scott Pinckney at 78th, Adam Hadwin at 95th, Nick Taylor at 102nd, Jon Curran at 105th, Zac Blair at 106th and Carlos Ortiz at 112th.

Is Rory Ready for a Run?

Jae Hong/Associated Press

Rory McIlroy has the talent and mental fortitude to win tournaments. No one is arguing that. He will go on to win many more PGA Tour events and majors in his career—but can the man who is holding down the No. 9 spot in the standings really close the gap in this year’s playoffs?

The Northern Irishman has only started nine events this calendar year, and he took a lengthy layoff from play with the ankle injury that kept him sidelined at the British Open. What’s more, he will be leaving points on the table by skipping the Barclays.

“I'm going to take a couple of weeks off to sort of reassess everything, and I'll start back in the playoffs at Boston,” said McIlroy, per ESPN.com’s Bob Harig, during the PGA Championship. “And then play through the FedEx Cup. Then I've got to play [the] Frys.com [Open], and then I'm maybe playing a couple more after that.”

As things stand, McIlroy is 2,602 points behind leader Jordan Spieth. Considering each playoff win is worth 2,000 points, it’s by no means inconceivable that Rory could flip the script on the eight players above him. However, if Spieth wins the Barclays...well, you can do the math.

The two weeks of rest could be just what McIlroy needs to prepare his mind and body for a month of FedEx Cup grinding, or they could put him in an even bigger hole. Like we said, nothing is impossible from the four-time major winner, but the odds are stacked against him in this format.

Which Returning Champ Has the Best Shot to Repeat?

Jon Super/Associated Press

The FedEx Cup playoffs haven’t been around long, especially if you compare them to 100-plus-year-old tournaments like the majors or the surprising longevity of Michael Floorwax’s “comedy” career (relevant material starts at 2:15), but we already have a handful of past champions to give 2015 some historical context.

Aside from Tiger Woods (the 2007 and 2009 champion), all six of the former winners will be in the playoff field—and they’ve all been in relatively good form this year.

Billy Horschel, last year’s winner, is ranked 45th in FedEx Cup points, while Henrik Stenson, the 2013 champ, sits just above him in 41st. Brandt Snedeker (the 2012 winner) is hanging around the top 10 in 13th place; Bill Haas (2011) is 23rd, Jim Furyk (2010) is 18th, and Vijay Singh (2008) is surviving—for now—at 118th.

It would be safe to pick from the trio of Snedeker, Furyk and Haas as favorites among repeat champions, but don’t forget Horschel was the first FedEx Cup winner to claim the trophy after starting the playoffs ranked outside the top 30.

Can Charl Schwartzel Survive the New Bubble?

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Charl Schwartzel occupies the 96th spot on the FedEx Cup leaderboard, but he’s thanking his quality play at the Wyndham Championship for shaving a third digit off that rank.

Schwartzel’s tie for third bounced him from the playoff cut line at 125th place into safer real estate inside the top 100. The South African’s troubles, though, are far from over, as he is now hanging around the new cut line for Round 2 of the playoffs.

Now, Schwartzel hasn’t had a fantastic year by anyone’s standards, but the excitement comes from the fact he’s carded some promising performances over the last couple of months. Though it took him until May to crack the top 10 at a 2015 tournament, he is clearly finishing the year far better than he started it—and that’s exactly the kind of exciting trend that fans want to see from a player who is fighting for survival on a weekly basis.

Schwartzel took seventh at the U.S. Open, tied for a disappointing 68th at the British Open and then rebounded with finishes in the 30s at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship before sharing third at Wyndham. 

Is that form good enough to win the FedEx Cup? Not really. But is it good enough to make us believe he can outrun the playoff cut line just a little longer? You bet it is.

Jason Day or Jordan Spieth for the Win?

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Like the 2012 edition, Jason Day versus Jordan Spieth could be the new Rory McIlroy versus Tiger Woods in this year’s iteration of the playoffs.

Spieth may lead the current standings with 4,169 points to Day’s 2,459 in second, but anything can happen in the playoffs when you have the Australian’s scorching form.

After back-to-back missed cuts at The Players Championship and Memorial Tournament, Day tied for ninth at the U.S. Open, tied for fourth at the British Open, won the Canadian Open, tied for 12th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and won the PGA Championship.

That record over the last two months is better than most players have managed all year. And let’s not forget that the Aussie finally got the majors monkey off his back, which should give him total confidence going into the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Spieth, on the other hand, needs no introduction. In the last two months, he tied for third at the Memorial Tournament, won the U.S. Open, won the John Deere Classic, tied for fourth at the British Open, tied for 10th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and came in second to Day at the PGA.

Spieth has had it going on all year long, and now Day looks to be on his level in terms of recent results. This is going to be a duel for the ages.

Will the Champ Be a FedEx Cup Perfectionist (Again)?

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Before this year, 30 players had qualified for every FedEx Cup playoff since their inception in 2007. Now there are only 22, according to PGATour.com. Are we going to list them all? Of course we are!

1. Bill Haas
2. Jeff Overton
3. Matt Kuchar
4. Ian Poulter
5. John Senden
6. Ryan Moore
7. Charley Hoffman
8. Pat Perez
9. Nick Watney
10. Bubba Watson
11. Jerry Kelly
12. Luke Donald
13. Brandt Snedeker
14. Charles Howell III
15. Justin Rose
16. Hunter Mahan
17. Adam Scott
18. Jim Furyk
19. Sergio Garcia
20. Zach Johnson
21. Rory Sabbatini
22. Phil Mickelson

That list includes three past FedEx Cup champions: Hass, Furyk and Snedeker. As previously discussed, all three of those players have positioned themselves to vie for a second title this year, but so have non-winners Bubba Watson, Justin Rose and Zach Johnson, plus (to a lesser extent) Charley Hoffman (14th), Ryan Moore (25th) and Matt Kuchar (26th).

Watson is third in the current standings, while Rose is fifth and Johnson is 11th. Considering three of the past five FedEx Cup winners have come from this increasingly elite pool of players, no one would fault you for picking one of those three ahead of the other favorites in your office pool.

Also, in case you were wondering about the eight players who will be missing the playoffs for the first time this year, they are Freddie Jacobson, Brian Davis, Bo Van Pelt, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley, K.J. Choi and Steve Stricker.