EDISON, N.J., Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Nick Watney will take the lead Thursday into the first round of the PGA Tour's playoffs, which begin with 123 players competing at the Plainfield Country Club.
Those who have qualified to challenge for the FedEx Cup will eventually be whittled down to 30 players, who will decide the winner of the $10 million top prize in the yearlong points race.
First up will be The Barclays, for which 125 players were eligible. J.B. Holmes has decided to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a neurological condition that has brought on periods of vertigo, and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, who currently stands 21st on the points list, has chosen to skip this week's tournament.
Watney is one of four of this year's two-time tour champions who will be chasing golf's richest prize. He is followed on the points list by Steve Stricker, Webb Simpson, Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley. Watney has 1,906 points going into the Barclays with Stricker 41 points behind, Simpson 45 back, Donald trailing by 50 and Bradley by 285.
The winner this week will earn 2,500 points, so the champion will likely take over the No. 1 spot in the standings.
Bradley will be playing for the first time since his playoff victory over Jason Dufner at the PGA Championship. Bradley, Bubba Watson (at No. 8) and Mark Wilson (at No. 11) are the other multiple winners on the circuit this year.
After the Barclays, the top 100 point earners move on to play next week at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass. The contenders will then have a week off before the top 70 reconvene for the BMW Championship in Lemont, Ill. Finally, the 30 leaders will travel to Atlanta for the Tour Championship.
Dramatic movement in the points race can take place, as was demonstrated last year, when defending FedEx Cup champion Jim Furyk began the final week in 12th place before winning the title. Charley Hoffman started last year's playoffs in 77th place and moved all the way to fourth.
Martin Laired jumped from 96th to 11th and Kevin Streelman climbed from 103rd to 25th. Ernie Els began the playoffs in first place in 2010 and wound up ninth.
