FanHouse Webb Simpson

The tenth playoff of 2009 was a battle of who could choke less. Matt Kuchar, needing a birdie on the 72nd hole to beat Vaughn Taylor, chunked his third shot into the front bunker of the par-5, forcing himself to get up and down to save par and force the extra holes.

In the playoff, Taylor decided to hit a long iron off the tee of the long par-5 18th, yanking his second shot into the rough, but recovered wonderfully with a third shot that hit just past the pin, nearly went in for an eagle and settled a foot and half away for a tap-in birdie.

The chocking continued on the second playoff hole, the par-5 12th hole, when both guys snap-hooked their second shots miles left of the fairway, settling for matching pars before the playoff was pushed to Monday because of darkness.

There, the two players continued to trade blows, needing four more holes to final settle the playoff, when Kuchar's par on the sixth playoff hole was good enough for victory.

Webb Simpson completed a stellar amateur career last year at Wake Forest as a four-time All-American, played his way through PGA Tour qualifying and never hesitated when asked about first-season professional goals.

Before making his PGA Tour debut in January, Simpson said he wanted to be Rookie of the Year, make the field for the Tour Championship and win a tournament.

That took some big Pro V1s, but as golf heads down the home stretch of the FedEx Cup, Simpson just might make it happen. And if not, two out of three will do nicely.

Heath Slocum was, by all accounts, the unlikeliest of golfers to win the Barclays. Sure, he had the lead late, but Tiger Woods was charging, Ernie Els was just a stroke back, Steve Stricker was matching him shot-for-shot and, most importantly, he had a lengthy par putt on 18 to secure, at worst, a playoff with Stricker.

But he buried the putt, Stricker missed and Slocum only had to avoid an eagle hole-out from Frederik Jacobson to win the Barclays -- his third tournament win ever -- in surprising fashion given his 72 and 70 in the second and third rounds, respectively.

Webb Simpson, who led the majority of the tournament, must have heard the proverbial footsteps that we talk about any time Tiger is just a few strokes behind the leaders heading into Sunday of a tournament. Either that or we can just chalk up Simpson's Sunday meltdown to inexperience.

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The four-tournament FedEx Cup might be billed as the playoffs, but Tiger Woods (along with just about everybody else in the field) are treating it with all the reverence of a practice round. Maybe it's the rain-soaked conditions, or the tricked-out, wannabe links-inspired course set-up. Or maybe the manufactured drama of the FedEx Cup isn't working.

So call the next month of golf whatever you want, but it feels a lot like the PGA Tour season officially ended with last week's Wyndham Championship. Hey, it could be worse: we could be subjected to made-for-teevee skins games.

In any event, we're three rounds into the Barclays, and 24-year-old Webb Simpson, the 36-hole leader, stumbled through moving day, dropping two shots off the lead after signing for a 1-over, 71. Meanwhile, Paul Goydos and Steve Marino each needed 68 strokes to get around Liberty National and are tied atop the leaderboard at 9-under heading to the final day.

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Not a lot of rookies have had the chance to take command of the FedEx Cup. Zero, actually. The first year Tiger Woods was in control from the get-go. Last year, Vijay Singh was the man that couldn't be beat. If Webb Simpson continues to play like he has so far at the Barclays, he might find himself in a position to win some very nice cheddar for a first-year man on tour.

Simpson is currently 8-under for the first FedEx Cup tournament of the year, two shots clear of second place after a Friday 68 settled in nicely next to his first round 66. It seems like ages ago when we were writing about Simpson, who started his rookie year with two top-10s and a 68-67 start to the FBR Open (he'd finish 77-75 at TPC Scottsdale, and go on to miss nine of his next 13 cuts).

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Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you may have missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

Yang Holds on in Florida -- Before Sunday, Y.E. Yang was a name most golf fans probably had never heard of. A star on the Japan Tour, Yang is known by American golf fans as the guy who beat Tiger Woods in the 2006 HSBC Championship in China.

It might be time to remember him for more than that.

This weekend, FanHouse will be out at the FBR Open, a tournament known more for its party atmosphere than its golf.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- You might not know who Webb Simpson is. To be honest, he looks more like a caddy friend of mine over in Scotland than he does a PGA Tour superstar. Young, wavy hair, with a baby face, Simpson is new on tour in 2009.

If you don't know who he is, you will soon find out. Simpson, just 23, is on a roll, finishing t-9 at the Sony Open to start his season and followed that up with a t-5 at the Bob Hope.

How do you carry that momentum to the FBR Open? By holing out for eagle on your first hole of the week.

Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action, with a little commentary mixed in. We'll focus on what you may have missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

The Argument Against PGA West -- David Duval (right) has been floundering for a while now, but a place that brings back positive memories for Duval is PGA West. In 1999, at the height of his dominance on the PGA Tour, Duval fired a 59 on the last day at the Bob Hope Classic, a round that also included an exclamation-mark eagle putt on the 18th hole that gave him a one-shot win.

Every Monday during the PGA TOUR season, Monday's Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend action, with a little commentary mixed in. We will focus on anything you may have missed while you were grinding on the putting green.

Zach Johnson Gets Lei'd -- So much is said about the young golfers these days. We talk about Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Ryan Moore and just about anyone else that is under 30 and has a little game. What is hard for most to realize (because Tiger didn't do it) is most professional golfers don't hit their talent strides until they get to 30.