Phil Chides Rory; Rory Says He's Not A Target

Phil Mickelson, never at a loss for words, couldn’t help chide Rory McIlroy as he walked up the 17th fairway, and past the 18th tee box at Ridgewood Country Club where McIlroy stood.

“Hey Rory, after we finish, mind if we hit up?, kidded Mickelson, reminiscent of the scene on the 18th hole of the PGA Championship at Valhalla just 19 days ago when McIlroy hit up on Mickelson and went on to win the tournament, his second major of the year.

“It was Bones’s idea to say that,” Mickelson said of his caddie, Bones Mackay.

All in all, it was a day for fun and frivolity at Ridgewood in advanced of Thursday’s first round of The Barclays, the first leg of the season-ending four-tournament FedEx Cup. The 144 golfers in the field will divide a purse of $8 million with $1,440,000 going to the champion.

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“The course is in terrific shape. It’s one of the best setups of the season. The rough is thick so you want to stay in the fairway. These are some the best conditioned greens I’ve seen this year,” Mickelson said. “I love this golf course. It’s in fantastic shape. It’s one of the best manicured courses I’ve seen this year. We were the last group to play the 16thgreen and the green looks like we’re the first ones on it.”

Mickelson and Mackay renewed ties with John and David Finn of Ramsey. The wheelchair-bound David suffers from a form of multiple sclerosis but Team Mickelson has gone out of their way to accommodate the Finns, flying them to the Ryder Cup at Medina and The Masters. Through Mickelson, David has met George Bush, Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan.

“David’s bedroom is the second-nest golf museum in New Jersey next to the one at Far Hills,” said John, an assistant golf coach at Don Bosco Prep.

McIlroy addressed a variety of topics in his press conference at Ridgewood on Wednesday. He was asked his opinion on how going after the FedEx Cup differs from the pursuit of a major.

“For me, it would just be very gratifying to know that I finished the season off well and the way that it should be finished. I think it would be a shame if I’m playing this good golf, to just say, look, you know I’ve had a great year, it’s been an awesome summer,” said the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland.

“But I want to finish the season well. I want to be up there in contention week in and week out. I feel like the season I’ve had, it deserves a finish like that. So I’m just going to grind it out every week. It’s one of the things I haven’t achieved in this game is winning the FedEx Cup. I came close in 2012. It would be great to finish off what has been my best year-to-date with a victory there.”

McIlroy, who has won four major championships including two this year, was asked if the rest of the PGA players are gunning for him.

“Maybe going into the Ryder Cup, I have a target on my back, but competing on the PGA Tour, no, I don’t think so. Everyone starts out equal on the first day and they are not gunning for me. We are just trying to go out there and shoot the best score possible,” he said.

He was then asked if there is a torch being passed from Tiger Woods to himself as the top player on Tour.

“I’m not comfortable with that because I know that he’s working his butt off to get back here and get where he wants to be. Look, I’m just going to keep playing my golf and play as good as I can, and I’ll see where that takes me. But I don’t think any torch has been passed and I don’t think any torch will ever be passed because I never think of myself in that way. I never see myself like that. I see myself as a golfer on the PGA Tour that wants to win tournaments and wants to be the best that he can be, and I don’t see the need for me to carry any kind of torch.”

Horizon BCBSNJ announced that once again they will be teaming up with pro golfer, and New Jersey native, Morgan Hoffman at The Barclays to raise money for the NJ Golf Foundation, an organization that removes barriers to bring the game of golf to children of all ages and backgrounds. Horizon BCBSNJ announced that it is making a $5,000 donation to the Foundation. Hoffmann also accepted Horizon BCBSNJ’s Walking Challenge to raise additional funds as he competes with the world’s best golfers this week at Ridgewood Country Club. For every 10,000 steps that Hoffmann records on his pedometer during The Barclays, Horizon BCBSNJ will donate an additional $1,000 to the New Jersey Golf Foundation.

BARCLAYS FACTS: There are 1,850 volunteers in 29 committees working a total of 33,000 hours …. There are 175 sponsors …. The Barclays will be viewed by 800 million households in 224 countries in 31 languages … An estimated 100,000 spectators are expected to attend …. The estimated economic impact is 445 million …. Estimated accumulated donation to local charities since 1967 is more than $40 million … The number of range balls used by the golf professionals this week is 14,220 … The amount of food and beverages consumed (based on 2012 figures): 20,000 hot dogs, 15,000 hamburgers, 50,000 bottles of water, 4,000 cases of beer, 150,000 pounds of ice, 1,000 bottles of vodka, 750 gallons of coffee, 500 cheesecakes.

In addition to hosting the Barclays in 2008, 2010 and 2014, The Ridgewood Country Club has hosted the 1935 Ryder Cup, 1974 U.S. Amateur, 1990 U.S. Senior Open and 2001 Senior PGA Championship. It takes more than 186 pieces of equipment to groom Ridgewood in advance and during tournament week.

Barclays history at Ridgewood: In 2008, Vijay Singh won the Barclays by defeating Kevin Sutherland and Sergio Garcia in a sudden death playoff and went on to win the FedEX Cup. In 2010, Matt Kuchar also won in a sudden-death playoff by beating Martin Laird with a birdie.

In 2015, Plainfield Country Club will host The Barclays. Plainfield was founded in 1890 and is one of the oldest clubs in the country. It was an original founding member of the NJSGA in 1900. The course was built in 1921 by Donald Ross and is regarded as one of his masterpieces. The club recently spent more than a decade restoring, renovating and extending the course, using Ross’s original blueprints. Plainfield has hosted the U.S. Amateur (John Cook won) and the 1987 Women’s U.S. Open (Laura Davies). Dustin Johnson won the 2011 The Barclays when it was shortened to 54 holes due to Hurricane Irene.