This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
Cue up the appropriate Jim Mora quote, and let's start some playoff talk - it's FedExCup Time.
UPGRADE
Arjun Atwal: You wouldn't have picked his win at Wyndham with 25 guesses, but it's a triumph for a gritty player who's stayed the course despite injuries and some other tricky things off the course (such as a 2007 car wreck). Now if we could only get him to come play on U.S soil a little more often.
David Toms: When he withdrew from the British Open citing rest needed for his shoulder, we wondered if he was done for the year for all practical purposes. A T2 at the Wyndham Championship shows that Toms isn't going to go gently into that good night. He's still got the mind of a champion and the resolve of one, and the wing has to be feeling pretty good now, we suppose.
Michael Sim: He came out of the chute smoking, then took a long nap in the middle of the season (and we buried him in our rankings). It's time to stop hitting snooze on that alarm clock, Sim is back; he's rediscovered his iron game, and it's led to a T3 at Turning Stone and a T3 at Wyndham. He's still just 26, with the maturity of a player 10 years older.
The FedExCup: OK, it's not the fifth major, and it's never going to truly have the playoff feel that other sports get. But it's a four-week run of
Cue up the appropriate Jim Mora quote, and let's start some playoff talk - it's FedExCup Time.
UPGRADE
Arjun Atwal: You wouldn't have picked his win at Wyndham with 25 guesses, but it's a triumph for a gritty player who's stayed the course despite injuries and some other tricky things off the course (such as a 2007 car wreck). Now if we could only get him to come play on U.S soil a little more often.
David Toms: When he withdrew from the British Open citing rest needed for his shoulder, we wondered if he was done for the year for all practical purposes. A T2 at the Wyndham Championship shows that Toms isn't going to go gently into that good night. He's still got the mind of a champion and the resolve of one, and the wing has to be feeling pretty good now, we suppose.
Michael Sim: He came out of the chute smoking, then took a long nap in the middle of the season (and we buried him in our rankings). It's time to stop hitting snooze on that alarm clock, Sim is back; he's rediscovered his iron game, and it's led to a T3 at Turning Stone and a T3 at Wyndham. He's still just 26, with the maturity of a player 10 years older.
The FedExCup: OK, it's not the fifth major, and it's never going to truly have the playoff feel that other sports get. But it's a four-week run of fantastic golf courses and outstanding fields, and isn't that all we should care about? When the best come out to play, and they're tested, golf fans should be happy.
Scott Piercy: His chances at qualifying for the playoffs appeared dead in the water just a month ago, but out of nowhere Piercy banked three strong finishes (T16, T22, T8) and just snuck in at the wire. If he doesn't birdie the 16th hole at Wyndham on Sunday, he's sitting home this week. Well played, grinder.
DOWNGRADE
Sergio Garcia: He hasn't seen a six-figure check on the PGA Tour since February, and now he's on a self-imposed siesta for a few months. You need it, Sergio. If it were up to us, take the rest of the year, see if you can locate that joie de vivre that you came into the sport with.
Anthony Kim: It's great to see him back inside the ropes, but his timing hasn't returned yet. He barely made a peep at Bridgestone (T76), and he's missed two cuts since. The simple takeaway: never underestimate the significance of a thumb injury.
Mike Weir: He has a bad elbow and is probably done for the year; at minimum, he's going to miss the playoffs. Let's hope he can rehab this injury without surgery.
John Daly: He says he's never faked an injury, and, OK, we believe him. But he's admitted he's quit before, and isn't that pretty much the same type of transgression? You want to root for Daly, you really do, but sometimes he makes it awfully difficult.
Alarm Clocks: When a straight-shooting guy like Jim Furyk oversleeps, I'm not going to blame the player. This one has to be technology's fault, right? We'll catch you next week, Jimbo.
