Anticipation and excitement are in the air as the PGA Tour Playoffs begin this week at Liberty National Golf Club near New York City. Players are competing on a new course that features magnificient views of the NYC skyline, situated approximately 1000 yards from the Statue of Liberty itself. Eight PGA Tour rookies qualified for the playoffs with Jeff leading the way, ranked 60th on the season long Fedex points list.
Interestingly, the field for this tournament is paired for the first two rounds in accordance with their standing on the points list. Jeff will be playing with veterans Vijay Singh (59) and Scott Verplank (61). It will be the first time Jeff has the opportunity to compete alongside one of his friends and mentors. Vijay has been a Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl resident for almost 20 years and practices regularly at TPC Sawgrass–the same club where Jeff grew up and currently practices.
Last week, Jeff finished t32 at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, NC. He really did not hit it very well throughout the week but somehow managed to post four rounds in the 60′s. This has been a critical difference in Jeff’s game over the past three years- on days that he is struggling he has become much better at managing his game and limiting his mistakes. Immediately following play on Sunday, Jeff flew to Atlanta for a Monday morning practice session at White Columns CC. After four hours of swing work he felt much better about his chances for success over the next couple of weeks in NYC and Boston.
One of the cool things about the Barclay’s tournament this week is how the players get to work each day. Jeff is staying in one of the designated player hotels in New Jersey and there are water taxis available for the players to shuttle back and forth to work each day. Thankfully, Jeff and his caddie Tim don’t suffer from motion sickness so they can skip the infamous metropolitan NY/NJ traffic throughout tournament week. Be sure to watch Golf Channel for live coverage of the first two rounds!
