Patrick Reed's win at The Barclays gave him control of his own destiny entering the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass., but history suggests that isn't the best spot to be in.
While Reed sits atop the FedExCup standings (3,575 points), only one Barclays winner has gone on to hoist the FedExCup (Fiji's Vijay Singh in 2008) in FedExCup Playoffs history.
"I believe in myself and how I'm playing right now that I have the opportunity to make a run," said Reed, who is paired with top-ranked Jason Day of Australia and world No. 2 Dustin Johnson for Friday's first round.
"All I'm going to focus on is what I did last week. Find out a game plan, how I want to play every hole, stick to it and play some golf."
Singh followed that Barclays title with a Deutsche Bank victory. If Reed plans to follow suit, the world's No. 9-ranked player must go through defending champion Rickie Fowler.
Of course, that wasn't difficult for Reed at Bethpage Black.
Fowler held the 54-hole lead in Farmingdale, N.Y., but the world No. 8 stumbled to a final-round, 3-over-par 74 to finish tied for seventh at The Barclays, three shots behind Reed.
"It would have been nice to finish up a little better last week to put myself in a better standing," said Fowler, who beat Sweden's Henrik Stenson by one stroke to claim the 2015 Deutsche Bank, his first Playoffs win.
Reed tied for fourth last year, his highest finish at the event.
"I love this golf course," Reed said of the Arnold Palmer-designed TPC Boston, redesigned by Gil Hanse with Brad Faxon in 2007. "It's one of those that kind of fits my eye pretty well and I really enjoy it."
Another victory at the 7,207-yard, par-71 course at TPC Boston would pocket Fowler the $1.53 million winner's share of the $8.5 million purse but, more importantly, 2,000 FedExCup points.
Fowler rose 12 spots to 16th in the standings after The Barclays. Stenson, meanwhile, dropped from 14th to 21st after withdrawing at Bethpage because of a right knee injury.
Stenson, the 2013 Deutsche Bank champion who also won the FedExCup that year, is expected to be ready for the annual Labor Day weekend tournament.
Stenson and Singh are the only Deutsche Bank winners to go on to win the FedExCup. Reigning FedExCup winner and world No. 3 Jordan Spieth missed the cut last year after opening 75-73.
"It was really special (to win the FedExCup last year), and it would be really cool to add another one of those at some point," Spieth said. "And this year, things seem to be really starting in place."
Singh, 95th in the standings, is the only two-time Deutsche Bank champion. He also won in 2004, emerging from a battle with Tiger Woods to claim the world's No. 1 ranking.
In 2008, Singh won with a Deutsche Bank-record score of 22-under 262. That aggregate and to-par score has since been matched by Charley Hoffman (2010) and Stenson (2013).
Singh carded the course-record round of 61 in 2006, and Canada's Mike Weir matched it two years later.
Ten former Deutsche Bank winners are in the 100-player field, including Singh, world No. 5 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (2012) and world No. 6 Adam Scott of Australia (2003).
Scott's victory was his first of 13 PGA Tour wins and came at the inaugural Deutsche Bank. Scott and Phil Mickelson (2007) are the only players to win in their first start at the event.
Masters champion and world No. 11 Danny Willett of England opted not to participate in the Playoffs entirely after skipping The Barclays. Willett ranks 86th in the standings.
Kevin Na, who is 14th in the standings, will miss the Deutsche Bank after the birth of his first child on Monday.
Germany's Alex Cejka withdrew for the second straight week with a lower back injury, effectively ending his season after entering the weekend 73rd in the standings.
The top 70 players in the standings after the Deutsche Bank advance to the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind., the third of four Playoffs events beginning Sept. 11.
