Frazar has clubhouse lead in New Jersey
EDISON, N.J. - Harrison Frazar opened with a 7-under par 64 and took the clubhouse lead at The Barclays as the PGA Tour playoffs began at the Plainfield Country Club on Thursday. A weather-delay that lasted more than three hours left half the field on the course when play was suspended for the day. They will resume their rounds in the morning.Matt Kuchar (through 16) and William McGirt (through 11) were also at 7-under. Vijay Singh and Jonathan Byrd finished at minus-6, while Chris Stroud was on the same number through 13 holes.
The Barclays serves as the kickoff to the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup
The top 125 players on the final Regular Season FedExCup points list qualified for The Barclays.
The top 100 players on the FedExCup points list following The Barclays qualify for the Deutsche Bank Championship.
The top 70 players on the FedExCup points list following the Deutsche Bank Championship qualify for the BMW Championship.
Each Playoff event offers 2,500 FedExCup points to the winner.
A points reset will take place following the BMW Championship giving all 30 players in the field at the Tour Championship a mathematical chance to win the FedExCup. The top five players control their own destiny and can win the FedExCup with a victory at the Tour Championship.
Only the top 87 players entered at The Barclays are projected to reach next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship (based on last year’s points).
Any player in the field can mathematically reach the top five with a runner-up finish.
Seven of the players ranked outside the top 30 entering the Playoffs made it to the Tour Championship last year.
Harrison Frazar – No. 61 in FedExCup - 7-under-par 64
Harrison Frazar shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 to take the clubhouse lead after the morning wave of tee times. It is Frazar’s first bogey-free round since round 2 of the 2011 FedEx St. Jude Classic (which he won).
If Frazar’s first-round lead were to hold, it would be the eighth time that he has led or shared the lead following the opening round of an event and first since the 2006 Buick Championship. Frazar’s best finish in those eight events is a T3 at the 2003 Phoenix Open.
The 64 is Frazar’s best opening round since shooting 64 to start the 2004 Michelin Championship, where he finished T2.
Frazar shot his first under-par round at The Barclays since the second round in 2001 when he shot 67. Frazar has played 12 rounds at the Barclays since then.
Frazar earned his first career PGA Tour victory in his 355th career start on the PGA Tour at the age of 39 years, 10 months and 14 days. Frazar has never finished inside the top 104 in the FedExCup standings. In his 14th year on Tour, he is looking to qualify for the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola for the first time.
William McGirt – No. 125 in FedExCup - 7-under-par through 11 holes
William McGirt has been the subject of many stories this week as the last player to make The Barclays field at No. 125. He may now be the subject of interviews and storylines for a different reason, climbing to the top of the leaderboard in round 1, thanks to a 30 (-5) on the front nine and six birdies over seven holes (No. 4-11, par on No. 8). McGirt was on a three-birdie streak when play was called due to darkness. He’ll have a 12-1/2 foot birdie putt on No. 12 when play resumes on Friday morning.
Historically, The Barclays yields the largest moves in the Playoffs. Heath Slocum holds the record, with a move from No. 124 to No. 3 with his win in 2009 (+121 spots, a Playoffs record). With 2,500 points on the line for a win this week, McGirt could move potentially move from No. 125 to No. 1, depending on how other players at the top of the FedExCup standings finish.
Matt Kuchar – No. 12 in FedExCup - 7-under-par through 16 holes
Matt Kuchar, who won The Barclays on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff last year and nearly went on to win the FedExCup (finished No. 2), is 7-under par through 16 holes. When play was suspended, Kuchar completed the 16th hole by knocking in a 5-foot-7-inch putt for birdie.
Kuchar opened 11 of his first 13 Tournaments of the 2011 season with rounds in the 60s. Since that streak, he has five consecutive opening rounds in the 70s. He’s on track to get back in the 60s when he completes his first round on Friday.
Kuchar is hoping to join Ernie Els (1996-97) as the only repeat winners of The Barclays. He is making his eighth start at the event, with his victory in 2010 his lone top-25 finish among four made cuts.
Kuchar continues to be one of the most consistent players on Tour with eight top-10 finishes in 2011, including a runner-up finish at the Memorial. In 2010 and 2011 combined, he has 19 top-10 finishes, the most on the PGA Tour over that time frame.
Kuchar, at No. 12 in the FedExCup standings, is the highest-ranked player in the standings without a victory in 2011.
Vijay Singh – No. 36 in FedExCup - 6-under-par 65
Playing in The Barclays for the 19th time, Vijay Singh shot a 6-under-par 65, matching his opening-round 65 at last week’s Wyndham Championship, where the 48-year-old went on to finish T4. Before last week, Singh hadn’t shot 65 or better to open a Tournament since the 2010 Travelers Championship. In 19 times teeing it up at The Barclays, Singh had only shot 65 or better once previously, when he shot 63 to open the 2004 event and went on to finish fourth.
Singh’s season started well with two top-10 finishes in his first five Tournaments, including a runner-up at the Northern Trust Open. In 15 events since the Northern Trust Open, Singh has recorded another two top-10 finishes.
Four-time winner of The Barclays (2008, 2006, 1995, 1993) and 2008 FedExCup champion, Singh has eight top-10 finishes at The Barclays. If he finishes in the top 10 this week, he would tie for the Tournament record with Jack Nicklaus with nine.
Singh is attempting to reach the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola for the first time since winning the FedExCup in 2008, when he won The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship back-to-back. The Deutsche Bank Championship is the 34-time PGA Tour winner’s most recent victory.
Singh is one of five players with multiple PGA Tour Playoff victories - Tiger Woods (3) and (2) for Steve Stricker, Camilo Villegas, Phil Mickelson and Singh.
Jonathan Byrd – No. 24 in FedExCup - 6-under-par 65
Jonathan Byrd improved his standing entering the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup more than any other player between 2010 (No. 117) and 2011 (No. 24). With an opening round 6-under-par 65, he continues his effort to improve his FedExCup rank. Byrd’s opening-round 65 is his best first round since shooting 65 in the 2006 Canadian Open where he finished T5. It is also his best-ever score at The Barclays in 27 rounds.
Byrd, who won the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas with a hole-in-one as part of a three-man playoff, also won the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Byrd reached East Lake Golf Club for the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola in the first year of the FedExCup (2007) and ultimately finished No. 23 in the FedExCup standings.
Adam Scott – No. 13 in FedExCup - 5-under-par 66
Adam Scott (No. 13) is looking to move inside the top five in the FedExCup standings for the first time since the third week of 2009 (104 consecutive weeks outside top 5). Scott continued his recent good play with a 5-under-par 66 in the first round of The Barclays.
Scott, who won at East Lake Golf Club in 2006, the year before the FedExCup began, returned to the Tour Championship field in 2010 after missing the season-ending event in 2008 and 2009. Scott has yet to finish in the top 25 in the FedExCup standings but looks to be back on form after switching putters and caddies in 2011. With his win at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational earlier this month, Scott moved to second and virtually locked up his fifth appearance on the International Presidents Cup Team in November in his home country of Australia.
On the drivable par 4 285-yard 18th hole, Scott hit his drive to 9 feet but missed the eagle putt. Only Steven Bowditch hit it closer off the tee, getting his tee shot to 4 feet.
Misc. Notes
At 6,964 yards, there are four courses that have played shorter than Plainfield Country Club on the PGA Tour in 2011.
Course Tournament Par Yardage
Pebble Beach Golf Links AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 72 6,816
TPC River Highlands Travelers Championship 70 6,820
El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Classic 70 6,923
Aronimink Golf Club AT&T National 70 6,955
Plainfield Country Club The Barclays 71 6,964
Starting his round on No. 10, J.J. Henry had consecutive birdies on holes 15-2, matching the longest streak of holes under par in a Playoffs event at six with Tiger Woods (2007 Tour Championship) and Jim Furyk (2008 BMW Championship).
Steve Stricker, No. 2 in the FedExCup standings carded a 2-under-par 69 in round one and now has 40 rounds in the 60s in Playoff events, 10 more than the next-closest player. Stricker made his 250th birdie of the Playoffs on the 12th hole on Thursday (most by any player).
Ernie Els has seven top-five finishes at The Barclays, including back-to-back victories in 1996 and 1997. His seven top-five finishes are the most in Tournament history.
The par 4 18th hole, playing at 285 yards all week, is the shortest par 4 on record since 1992.
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