Experts' picks: Playoffs kick off at the Barclays

ByESPN.COM
August 25, 2015, 4:43 PM

— -- It's officially playoffs time, when the purses are bigger and the fields get smaller. First up -- the Barclays, at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey. So who will jump to the top of the standings? Our experts make their picks and "earn" what their pros earn.

Matt Barrie, SportsCenter anchor

Brooks Koepka: No offense to the fine folks at the Wyndham Championship, but golf is back this week with a great field at the Barclays. Right now, aside from Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, there isn't a player on tour with more momentum than Koepka. He has found himself in the top 25 for eight consecutive weeks. Add to that, the past three weeks, he hasn't seen his name fall below sixth. That trend continues this week, when he'll see his name at No. 1 at the Barclays.

Jonathan Coachman, SportsCenter anchor

Jim Furyk: This week I am going with someone who has been incredibly consistent. He has nearly won several times in the past few years, including 2015. This just feels like a good week for a consistent golfer.

Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf analyst

Scott Piercy: Last time the Barclays was played here, I filled in for a caddie on Friday, there was an earthquake, a hurricane came through and we played only three rounds. Are we sure coming back is a good idea? Piercy is playing to stay inside the top 30 on the FedEx Cup points list (he's currently 27th) and had last week off. He finished T-13 last time the event was played at this course. Bob Harig should be forced to take a playoff event off!

Bob Harig, ESPN.com senior golf writer

Rickie Fowler: It finally seems time to use Fowler, who has two victories and a second in his past nine worldwide starts and would appear poised to validate a nice season with a strong run through the FedEx Cup playoffs. At 15th in the standings, he is all but safe for the Tour Championship, but needs just one good tournament to set himself up for a chance to win the entire series.

Kevin Maguire, ESPN.com senior golf editor

Jason Day: It certainly doesn't hurt his chances this week at the Barclays coming off his first major victory and shooting the lowest score ever at one of golf's biggest events. But I also like the Aussie's chances because the last time the PGA Tour played at this venue, he finished 12 under when the tournament was shortened to just 54 holes.

Jason Sobel, ESPN.com senior golf writer

Matt Kuchar: The last time this tournament was held at Plainfield, there was an early-week earthquake and a late-week hurricane and I still swear Kooch was going to successfully defend his title if it wasn't shortened to 54 holes. When I'm looking to predict these playoff events, I always try to pick elite players who haven't peaked yet this season. Kuchar fits the bill in both of those areas.

John Ziomek, SportsCenter coordinating producer

Charl Schwartzel: It has been an off year by Schwartzel's standards, with just two top-10s in stroke-play events on the PGA Tour. While his driving has improved, Schwartzel's strokes-gained putting rank has dropped all the way to 176. However, I liked the way he fought himself into contention at the Wyndham Championship with three straight rounds of 66 to finish tied for third. Hopefully he can continue that momentum and I look for him to put a disappointing season behind him with a win this week.

Earlier this year, Chris Morfas commented on the Valspar Championship picks article and noted that accountability is rare these days. So in an effort at transparency, we will be updating the list below with each week's picks. Good idea, Chris.

Harig: $9,815,864

-- Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Patrick Reed, $1,140,000) **

-- Sony Open in Hawaii (Charles Howell III, $42,280)

-- Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (Bill Haas, $1,026,000) **

-- Waste Management Phoenix Open (Brendan Steele, $50,242)

-- Farmers Insurance Open (Brandt Snedeker, $76,356)

-- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Jimmy Walker, $63,835)

-- Northern Trust Open (Charl Schwartzel, $24,120)

-- The Honda Classic (Lee Westwood, $46,563)

-- PGA Tour/European Tour: WGC-Cadillac Championship (Dustin Johnson, $1,570,000) **

-- Valspar Championship (Luke Donald, $13,469)

-- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Henrik Stenson, $680,400)

-- Valero Texas Open (Jason Kokrak, $136,400)

-- Shell Houston Open (Matt Kuchar, $13,200)

-- The Masters (Jason Day, $68,000)

-- RBC Heritage (Jim Furyk, $1,062,000) **

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Sean O'Hair, $115,920)

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Ian Poulter, $55,000)

-- The Players Championship (Sergio Garcia, $880,000)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (Phil Mickelson, $293,467)

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Zach Johnson, $78,780)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Marc Leishman, $0)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Hideki Matsuyama, $226,300)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Harris English, $16,817)

-- U.S. Open (Ryan Moore, $0)

-- Travelers Championship (Bubba Watson, $1,152,000) **

-- Greenbrier Classic ($0, Webb Simpson)

-- John Deere Classic ($22,678, Kevin Kisner)

-- The Open (Adam Scott, $216,143)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Scott Piercy, $10,382)

-- Quicken Loans National (Tony Finau, $26,130)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Justin Rose, $470,000)

-- PGA Championship (Louis Oosthuizen, $56,057)

-- Wyndham Championship (Brooks Koepka, $174,825)

Barrie: $7,606,482

-- Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Billy Horschel, $70,667)

-- Sony Open in Hawaii (Matt Kuchar, $291,200)

-- Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (Brandt Snedeker, $0)

-- Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jordan Spieth, $211,050)

-- Farmers Insurance Open (Hideki Matsuyama, $0)

-- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Jimmy Walker, $63,835)

-- Northern Trust Open (J.B. Holmes, $58,792)

-- The Honda Classic (Keegan Bradley, $0)

-- PGA Tour/European Tour: WGC-Cadillac Championship (Dustin Johnson, $1,570,000) **

-- Valspar Championship (Jim Furyk, $23,600)

-- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Henrik Stenson, $680,400)

-- Valero Texas Open (Martin Laird, $14,839)

-- Shell Houston Open (Patrick Reed, $83,490)

-- The Masters (Bubba Watson, $40,000)

-- RBC Heritage (Russell Henley, $0)

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (John Peterson, $16,991)

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Ian Poulter, $55,000)

-- The Players Championship (Zach Johnson, $187,500)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (Bill Haas, $14,342)

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Kevin Na, $134,875)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Charley Hoffman, $530,133.33)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Chris Kirk, $29,838)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Phil Mickelson, $270,600)

-- U.S. Open (Rory McIlroy, $235,316)

-- Travelers Championship (Tony Finau, $41,234)

-- Greenbrier Classic ($500,267, Kevin Kisner)

-- John Deere Classic ($22,678, Steve Stricker)

-- The Open (Rickie Fowler, $63,075)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Pat Perez, $78,300)

-- Quicken Loans National (Daniel Summerhays, $0)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Justin Rose, $470,000)

-- PGA Championship (Jason Day, $1,800,00 **)

-- Wyndham Championship (Will Wilcox, $39,960)

Ziomek: $7,055,629

-- Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Matt Kuchar, $90,333)

-- Sony Open in Hawaii (Sang-Moon Bae, $12,967)

-- Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (Ryan Palmer, $136,800)

-- Waste Management Phoenix Open (Brendan Steele, $50,242)

-- Farmers Insurance Open (Jason Day, $1,134,000) **

-- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Jimmy Walker, $63,835)

-- Northern Trust Open (Dustin Johnson, $589,600)

-- The Honda Classic (Paul Casey, $317,200)

-- PGA Tour/European Tour: WGC-Cadillac Championship (Patrick Reed, $83,000)

-- Valspar Championship (Padraig Harrington, $0)

-- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Sean O'Hair, $40,058)

-- Valero Texas Open (Daniel Berger, $0)

-- Shell Houston Open (J.B. Holmes, $1,188,000) **

-- The Masters (Lee Westwood, $30,000)

-- RBC Heritage (Luke Donald, $100,300)

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Morgan Hoffmann, $31,099)

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Hideki Matsuyama, $83,000)

-- The Players Championship (Sergio Garcia, $880,000)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (Ben Martin, $27,690)

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Jordan Spieth, $485,333)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Marc Leishman, $0)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Brooks Koepka, $14,458)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Billy Horschel, $168,000)

-- U.S. Open (Phil Mickelson, $23,822

-- Travelers Championship (Justin Thomas, $0)

-- Greenbrier Classic ($500,267) Kevin Kisner)

-- John Deere Classic ($272,600, Zach Johnson)

-- The Open (Adam Scott, $216,143)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Will Wilcox, $0)

-- Quicken Loans National (Johnson Wagner, $0)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Danny Lee, $219,000)

-- PGA Championship (Rickie Fowler, $56,057)

-- Wyndham Championship (Bill Haas, $174,825)

Collins: $5,840,634

-- Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Geoff Ogilvy, $61,000)

-- Sony Open in Hawaii (Zach Johnson, $11,760)

-- Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (Ryan Palmer, $136,800)

-- Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jamie Donaldson, $17,658)

-- Farmers Insurance Open (Brandt Snedeker, $76,356)

-- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Jimmy Walker, $63,835)

-- Northern Trust Open (Dustin Johnson, $589,600)

-- The Honda Classic (Freddie Jacobsen, $0)

-- PGA Tour/European Tour: WGC-Cadillac Championship (Patrick Reed, $83,000)

-- Valspar Championship (Kevin Na, $126,429)

-- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Jason Kokrak, $211,050)

-- Valero Texas Open (Matt Kuchar, $99,200)

-- Shell Houston Open (Sergio Garcia, $29,700)

-- The Masters (Rory McIlroy, $480,000)

-- RBC Heritage (Luke Donald, $100,300)

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Bo Van Pelt, $0)

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Hunter Mahan, $150,000)

-- The Players Championship (Henrik Stenson, $130,857)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (J.B. Holmes, $0)

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Boo Weekley, $31,525)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Keegan Bradley, $62,302)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Justin Rose, 669,600)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Billy Horschel, $168,000)

-- U.S. Open (Rickie Fowler, $0)

-- Travelers Championship (Tony Finau, $41,234)

-- Greenbrier Classic ($22,851, Graham DeLaet)

-- John Deere Classic ($0, Scott Brown)

-- The Open (Jordan Spieth, $460,377)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Vijay Singh, $0)

-- Quicken Loans National (Gary Woodland, $0)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Padraig Harrington, $42,375)

-- PGA Championship (Jason Day, $1,800,00 **)

-- Wyndham Championship (Carl Pettersson, $174,825)

Maguire: $4,876,138

-- Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Kevin Streelman, $70,667)

-- Sony Open in Hawaii (Matt Kuchar, $291,200)

-- Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (Chris Kirk, $12,882)

-- Waste Management Phoenix Open (Justin Thomas, $94,500)

-- Farmers Insurance Open (Rickie Fowler, $13,608)

-- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Patrick Reed, $44,200)

-- Northern Trust Open (Bill Haas, $0)

-- The Honda Classic (Keegan Bradley, $0)

-- PGA Tour/European Tour: WGC-Cadillac Championship (Bubba Watson, $540,000)

-- Valspar Championship (Jim Furyk, $23,600)

-- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Rickie Fowler, $40,058)

-- Valero Texas Open (Martin Laird, $14,839)

-- Shell Houston Open (Phil Mickelson, $83,490)

-- The Masters (Henrik Stenson, $135,000)

-- RBC Heritage (Zach Johnson, $0)

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Justin Rose, $1,242,000) **

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Jordan Spieth, $97,500)

-- The Players Championship (Hunter Mahan, $0)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (Rory McIlroy, $1,278,000) **

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Brendon Todd, $18,993)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Tony Finau, $157,383.33)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Gary Woodland, $0)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Camilo Villegas, $81,000)

-- U.S. Open (Brooks Kopeka, $113,686)

-- Travelers Championship (Branden Grace, $0)

-- Greenbrier Classic ($0, Webb Simpson)

-- John Deere Classic ($9,635, David Hearn)

-- The Open (Shane Lowry, $0)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Willie McGirt, $28,669)

-- Quicken Loans National (Ricky Barnes, $14,137)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Adam Scott, $55,000)

-- PGA Championship (Dustin Johnson, $293,000)

-- Wyndham Championship (Carl Pettersson, $174,825)

Coachman: $4,799,241

-- Hyundai Tournament of Champions (Jason Day, $332,667)

-- Sony Open in Hawaii (Zach Johnson, $11,760)

-- Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (Bill Haas, $1,026,000) **

-- Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jordan Spieth, $211,050)

-- Farmers Insurance Open (Brooks Koepka, $23,940)

-- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Jimmy Walker, $63,835)

-- Northern Trust Open (Dustin Johnson, $589,600)

-- The Honda Classic (Billy Horschel, $0)

-- PGA Tour/European Tour: WGC-Cadillac Championship (Sergio Garcia, $72,000)

-- Valspar Championship (Justin Thomas, $126,429)

-- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard (Sean O'Hair, $40,058)

-- Valero Texas Open (Harris English, $38,502)

-- Shell Houston Open (Rickie Fowler, $13,068)

-- The Masters (Brandt Snedeker, $0)

-- RBC Heritage (Kevin Streelman, $13,334)

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Johnson Wagner, $16,991)

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Patrick Reed, $85,824)

-- The Players Championship (Matt Kuchar, $0)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (Kevin Kisner, $27,690)

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Patrick Rodgers, $12,350)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Ryan Palmer, $157,383.33)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Kevin Na, $116,250)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Boo Weekley, $168,000)

-- U.S. Open (Phil Mickelson, $23,822)

-- Travelers Championship (Ken Duke, $147,200)

-- Greenbrier Classic ($22,851, Paul Casey)

-- John Deere Classic ($40,068, Brian Harman)

-- The Open (Adam Scott, $216,143)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Graham DeLaet, $0)

-- Quicken Loans National (Tiger Woods, $93,800)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Bubba Watson, $930,000)

-- PGA Championship (Rory McIlroy, $148,000)

-- Wyndham Championship (Charles Howell III, $30,626)

Sobel: $2,965,793

-- Shell Houston Open (Paul Casey, $191,400)

-- The Masters (Jason Day, $68,000)

-- RBC Heritage (Graham DeLaet, $0)

-- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Justin Rose, $1,242,000) **

-- WGC-Cadillac Match Play (Ryan Moore, $163,333)

-- The Players Championship (Jordan Spieth, $0)

-- Wells Fargo Championship (Bill Haas, $14,342)

-- Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Ryan Palmer, $0)

-- AT&T Byron Nelson (Marc Leishman, $0)

-- Nationwide Memorial at Muirfield Village (Hideki Matsuyama, $226,300)

-- FedEx/St. Jude Classic (Harris English, $16,817)

-- U.S. Open (Rickie Fowler, $0)

-- Travelers Championship (Scott Langley, $41,234)

-- Greenbrier Classic ($14,405, Brendon de Jonge)

-- John Deere Classic ($272,600, Zach Johnson)

-- The Open (Adam Scott, $216,143)

-- RBC Canadian Open (Ollie Schneiderjans, $46,207)

-- Quicken Loans National (David Lingmerth, $455,600)

-- WGC-Bridgestone (Sergio Garcia, $63,000)

-- PGA Championship (Danny Lee, $30,000)

-- Wyndham Championship (Brandt Snedeker, $18,360)

** Denotes victory