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Tournament Preview: The Barclays (August 23 – August 26, 2012)

Published

14 years ago

August 22, 2012

The Black Course at Bethpage in Farmingdale, NY was the site of 2009 U.S. Open where Lucas Glover took the title on a rainy week in Long Island. This time around, the weather for The Barclays calls for sunny blue skies with a robust field of golf’s elite players fighting for the covenant trophy.

If you have ever played the course, being that its open to the public, you’ll know that the fairways are tight and narrow with 2-1/2 inch rough surrounding them. Water is not really a factor on the Black Course as it only sits on the par-3 eighth hole.

As the kickoff course for 2012 FedExCup Playoffs, Bethpage will host the 2016 Barclays as well. The architect for this course is A.W. Tillinghast, who designed last years venue, Ridgewood Country Club inParamus, NJ. Bethpage will play as a Par 71 measuring 7,468 yards. You can expect a lot of drivers used off the tee as shorting of holes is essential. The small greens force a challenge to approach shots but wont run as fast as Olympic did for the 2012 U.S. Open.

As for the field, look out for some of the big names. We like Rory McIlroy this week as he has proven dominant in major tournaments. Back at the No. 1 spot in World Rankings, he ranks 2^nd in adjusted scoring and has a knack for winning big titles. Tiger Woods is the only 3-time winner on Tour this year and he ranks first in adjusted scoring. Tiger has been a let down over the weeks lately, but look for him to bounce back with some dominance.

Other notables to look out for this week are Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell, and the scorching Sergio Garcia fresh off of his Wyndham victory last weekend. Never ignore Bo Van Pelt with 8 top-10 finishes in 2012.