Super course hosting the Barclays this week as the top 125 players from the Fed Ex standings compete in the first event in the Fed Ex playoffs at Bethpage Black Course.

The top 100 after Sunday’s final round will move on to the Deutsche Bank Championship next week, Sept. 2-5, at TPC Boston. The top 70 from the Deutsche will move on to the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana on Sept. 8-11. And the top 25 who emerge from the BMW will play for the $10 million bonus awarded to the winner of the Fed Ex Cup at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta Sept. 22-25.  The week after that is the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National GC in Chaska, Minnesota. So an epic month and a half coming up.

As for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, five players have clinched a spot: Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker and Brooks Koepka. There are a host of others competing for the other four captain’s picks including Bubba Watson, who sits at 10th, Rickie Fowler, who is 12th, and some other solid players. No.6 is Brandt Snedeker, No.7 is Zach Johnson, and No.8 is Patrick Reed, but those three aren’t guaranteed. The eight automatic selections will be awarded this Sunday at the conclusion of the Barclays. Captain Davis Love III will chose three captain’s picks on Monday, Sept. 12th after the BMW Championship, and Love will make his final pick on Sunday, Sept. 25th after the Tour Championship.

The 12 man U.S. team is facing a European team that already has nine automatic qualifiers, with Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlory, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose headlining the team. The other five automatics are rookies, but good players, and Europe has a mental edge on the U.S. right now as they’ve won three consecutive times with the last coming in 2014 at Gleneagles in Scotland. European captain Darren Clarke will make his final three selections this coming Tuesday, August 31, at 6 PM CT/7PM ET on the Golf Channel. Guys who could get selected for  the European team include Russell Knox, who is fourth in the Fed Ex standings, Martin Kaymer, who sank the winning putt in 2014 at Medinah Country Club, and Graeme McDowell, always a tough competitor in the Ryder Cup. That experience that Kaymer and McDowell bring could help these rookies with guidance at the pressure packed event. 

So some really interesting stuff coming up in golf. 

The Barclays  will be played this weekend at Bethpage Black, a 7,468 yard, par 71. “The Black” has hosted the 2002 U.S. Open, won by Tiger at -3, the 2009 U.S. Open, won by Lucas Glover at -4, and the 2012 Barclays, won by Nick Watney at -10. The course is of course playing a lot tougher at the U.S. Open, but it’s tough in general.

 The defending champion is Jason Day, who, if it wasn’t for Jordan Spieth, would have walked away easily with the player of the year award in 2015. It was close. Day won the Farmers in San Diego in February of ’15, the RBC Canadian in late July of ’15, the PGA in August of ’15, the Barclays, and the BMW. He didn’t win the Fed Ex Cup because of Spieth, who had a miraculous year winning the Valspar in March of ’15, the Masters and the U.S. Open, the John Deere and the Tour Championship. It was spectacular golf by both players and both were highly deserving.

Day won last year at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey shooting 63-62 on the weekend winning by six shots over Stenson. Day finished -19 for the tournament. 

Day leads the Fed Ex standings with Dustin Johnson second, Adam Scott third, Russell Knox fourth, and Spieth fifth. Snedeker is sixth, Patrick Reed is seventh, Mickelson is eighth, Kevin Na is ninth, and Justin Thomas is 10th. 

The weather on Long Island in New York, just outside the City, is this:

Thursday: 84 partly sunny, no rain, winds at 14-21 MPH.

Friday: 90, 40% chance of t-storm, wind 12-15

Saturday: 88, sunny, wind 8-12.

Sunday: 83, sunny, humid, wind 10-14. 

TV:

Thursday-Friday: Golf Channel, 2-6 PM ET/1-5 PM CT

Saturday: Golf: 1-2:30 PM ET/12-1:30 PM CT; CBS, 3-6 PM ET/2-5 PM CT

Sunday: Golf, 12-1:30 PM ET/11 AM-12:30 PM CT; CBS: 2-6 PM ET/1-5 PM CT.

Key holes:

No.3, 232 yards par 3

The green is small and angled from right front to back left. The bunkers are so deep on the right and left that the players might only be able to see the top of the flag when they’re in them.

Np.7, 525 yards, par 4

This is a par 5 for the public. The tee shot is fairly straight then the hole doglegs to the right. Tall trees to the right prevent the players from cutting off the dogleg. The approach will be with a long iron to a green that is not elevated, which is unusual for the Black and allows a player to run the ball up to the green. A large bunker guards the right, and a smaller bunker is on the left. 

No.13, 605 yards, par 5

This hole could be reached by the longer players if the course is running firm, but the wind, depending on direction, could keep even the longer hitters from getting home in two. There are cross bunkers 30 yards short of the green which will penalize a player who comes up short. The green slopes moderately from back to front and the bunker on the right side is among the deepest on the course.

No. 17, 207 yards, par 3

Considered the best par 3 on the course, the green is slightly elevated. There are bunkers all over the hole with the front of the green guarded by a deep bunker.

No. 18, 411 yards, par 4

This is a birdie opportunity. The drive is downhill to a fairway that narrows to about 16 yards as it passes through an enormous cluster of bunkers and fescue grass on both sides. Players can play short of the bunkers and have a 160 yard shot or use driver and have a wedge. I’m sure they’d all like to have a wedge in their hands on their second shots. The approach is to an elevated green that slopes back to front, so keeping it below the hole is critical.

Jason Day leads the tour in strokes gained putting and Dustin Johnson leads the tour in proximity to the hole from the fairway.

Winner

Going with the 35 year old who is 6th in the Ryder Cup standings and 6th in the Fed Ex Standings and won the Fed Ex Cup in 2012.  He needs this for the Ryder Cup and he needs it for the Fed Ex Cup. He played last week at the Wyndham in Greensboro, N.C., and finished tied for third. He also finished 2nd here to Watney in 2012. 

Brandt Snedeker

Darkhorse

J.B. Holmes

Holmes is ninth in the Ryder Cup standings and 38th in the Fed Ex Cup standings.Needs a victory here for both of those things.