Barclays Golf 2015: Tee Times, Dates, TV Schedule and Prize Money
The Barclays marks the first of four tournaments in the 2015 FedEx Cup playoffs. Only the top 125 in points are permitted to enter the field, which shrinks with every passing week until the final 30 tee off in The Tour Championship next month with a $10 million bonus awarded to the winner.
This year's PGA Tour postseason opener is held at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey, a venue that hosted the event in 2011 when Dustin Johnson set the Barclays scoring record at 19 under par.
Johnson posted that score over only 54 holes, as golfers were able to light it up amid soft, favorable scoring conditions. It remains to be seen how Plainfield will test golf's biggest stars this time around and will undoubtedly be a key storyline to watch.
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And we haven't even gotten around to the marquee players themselves yet. Of course, Johnson ought to be keen on defending his title from 2011 and making a stellar playoff run after various disappointments in the majors this year.
Read on for more information about The Barclays and the top stars to watch for in the field of 121 when the action gets underway Thursday.
When: Thursday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Aug. 30
Where: Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey
Purse: $8.25 million (winning share: $1.485 million)
FedEx Cup Points: 2,000 to winner
| Thursday, Aug. 27 | 2-6 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Friday, Aug. 28 | 2-6 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Saturday, Aug. 29 | 1-2:30 p.m.; 3-6 p.m. | Golf Channel; CBS |
| Sunday, Aug. 30 | 12-1:30 p.m.; 2-6 p.m. | Golf Channel; CBS |
| 8:04 a.m. | Charley Hoffman, Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes |
| 8:15 a.m. | Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Danny Lee |
| 8:26 a.m. | Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Bubba Watson |
| 12:44 p.m. | Kevin Kisner, Jim Furyk, Paul Casey |
| 12:55 p.m. | Zach Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker |
| 1:06 p.m. | Jimmy Walker, Justin Rose, Robert Streb |
*Complete tee times can be found at PGATour.com.
Stars to Watch
At one point this year, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy held all four major championships. McIlroy won the final two such titles in 2014, and Spieth officially arrived this season, denying McIlroy a chance at the career Grand Slam by seizing the green jacket at the Masters.
Then Spieth backed it up with a triumph at the U.S. Open—much thanks to Dustin Johnson's three-putt on the 72nd hole. Spieth was only a shot out of a playoff at The Open Championship and finished second to new world No. 3 Jason Day at the PGA Championship.
The FedEx Cup playoffs are going to be quite a conclusion to a season full of fascinating developments, but the duel between McIlroy and Spieth deserves top billing.
The only problem is that McIlroy won't be in action at The Barclays, resting the injured ankle that cost him a shot to defend the Claret Jug and saw him return to finish 17th at the PGA Championship.
Debate will rage on as to who is better between McIlroy and Spieth, but Spieth is the main focus this week. At least we can still use McIlroy's greatness when he was considered the unquestioned best golfer on the planet just 12 months ago as a frame of reference.
Check out how the numbers stack up between the pair judging from their best seasons. For McIlroy, his was last year, and Spieth can still add more hardware to what's been a phenomenal current campaign for him:
| Major wins | 2 (1) | 2 (1) |
| Total Driving | 111 (16) | 157 (43) |
| Greens in Regulation (%) | 69.44 (6) | 68.42 (47) |
| Birdie or Better Conversion (%) | 36.84 (1) | 35.94 (3) |
| Scrambling (%) | 58.52 (88) | 66.20 (3) |
| Total Putting | 94.3 (12) | 121.4 (26) |
| Scoring Average | 68.827 (1) | 68.721 (1) |
Spieth recognizes he'll have to keep playing at a high level as McIlroy works to return to the Deutsche Bank Championship and prevent the onset of the Spieth era, per USA Today's Steve DiMeglio:
"I don't know the feeling of trying to hold No. 1 because now you're the one with the target and everyone else is chasing towards that position. The only way I think about going about it is just focusing on this week. If you win each week, you're going to stay No. 1 and in my mind, that's the goal; approach each tournament to try and win and then try and keep this position for hopefully years. It can change in two weeks' time, so I'm aware of that. And that bit of fear on the back end of it is enough to get me going and to keep working hard.
"
The floodgates have officially opened for Spieth this season, but his brilliance may have sparked a similar development for Day as well.
After so many close calls in majors, the Aussie broke through playing alongside Spieth for the last 18 holes to claim the Wanamaker Trophy. Day is behind only Spieth in FedEx Cup points and has won three times on tour this season—including twice in his last three starts.
Always capable of towering tee shots and immense power, it was Day's work with the flat iron that earned him his maiden major at Whistling Straits, per ESPN's John Buccigross:
Most golf enthusiasts are waiting for Johnson to do what Day just did. A quadruple bogey at the first hole knocked Johnson out of contention in the final round of the PGA Championship, yet he still fought back to finish tied for seventh.
To say golf is in a good place now is an understatement, especially in light of Tiger Woods' flirtation with contention at last week's Wyndham Championship. World rankings can often be trivial, but the three men at the top are playing some of their best golf.
Spieth and Day are returning between the ropes and will play with each other again at The Barclays with Bubba Watson, who finished second at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational but just 21st at the PGA Championship. Look for Watson to bounce back with a big week of his own as he comes in a bit under the radar.
Know who's also due for a win? Justin Rose. In his past four starts, Rose's results are T6-T4-T3-4. All in big tournaments, two of them majors. Rose finished second to Spieth at the Masters in April to boot.
Also, let's just leave this stat from Golf Channel's Justin Ray about another rising American star to join the likes of Spieth and Rickie Fowler in Brooks Koepka:
Koepka has seven straight top 25s, seven straight rounds in the 60s and has moved to No. 16 in the world. And he's third in scoring average behind Spieth and Watson but ahead of Day and D.J., respectively.
The intrigue ahead of the postseason is writing itself.
This overview of The Barclays may seem a bit more vague and not quite as focused as other particular tournament previews. It's by design.
There's a lot of high-stakes golf coming up in the next month or so, and arguably the best player in McIlroy will also be the freshest since he's not playing this week and has teed it up in only nine official PGA Tour events this season.
Those at the top of the FedEx Cup picture have had to maintain such an elite level of play just to get to this favorable position. Majors are when the world's best want to peak most often. Now there's a $10 million bonus to play for.
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