Experts' picks: Playoffs kick off at the Barclays
— -- 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
Barrie: $7,606,482
Ziomek: $7,055,629
Collins: $5,840,634
Maguire: $4,876,138
Coachman: $4,799,241
Sobel: $2,965,793
** Denotes victory