The Barclays preview, picks & analysis

AND so we come to the sharp end of the PGA Tour season. It may only be the end of August, but The Barclays Championship signals the first of the four tournaments that make up the FedEx Cup playoffs, the climax of the season.

The top 125 players will take part in the first event, which means no place for the likes of Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. But it will feature Davis Love III, who won the Wyndham Championship at the age of 51, and Jason Gore, who achieved the second place he required to qualify.

At the end of this run of four tournaments, somebody will be walking off with a $10m bonus. The man who did it 12 months ago was Billy Horschel, who has failed to kick on and make the progress that was expected of him after he won two of the playoffs.

So who is likely to be the man in the money this time? Well, first things first. Who is going to win the Barclays? The likes of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson are obvious contenders, but there is a serious case to be made for Brooks Koepka.

Having learnt his trade on the European Tour alongside fellow American Peter Uilhien, Koepka has matured enormously in 2015. He is a proven winner, and he has the lot. He drives the ball well, is one of the best iron players on tour, has a terrific short game and, most important of all, he has a fantastic temperament. Koepka lost form during the height of the season, but found something at Wyndham and will go into the next month with his confidence high.

It would be just plain silly not to consider the merits of Jordan Spieth, for whom the FedEx Cup would be the icing on the cake. He goes to the Barclays with a huge lead over his rivals, having won The Masters and US Open and finished second at The Open and US PGA Championship. The 22-year-old has had a remarkable season, one that Woods would have been proud to have called his own at the height of his career.

Dustin Johnson will surely feel that the season owes him something after the heartbreak he suffered at Chambers Bay during the US Open. And then there was the US PGA, where he shrugged off a quadruple-bogey eight at the first hole during the final round to prove to himself that he is capable of scoring well when the pressure is really on.

But the man to watch will surely be McIlroy, who is smarting from missing The Open, failing to successfully defend the US PGA and losing his world No 1 ranking. These guys will tell you that they don't set too much store on the world rankings - do not believe a word of it. Rankings are everything.

The Barclays betting picks

To win: Brooks Koepka. Has the game to win the whole shooting match

Each way: Rory McIlroy. Has a point to prove

Each way: Justin Rose. Played beautifully all year long

The Barclays fantasy picks:

Brooks Koepka. Back to his best form

Rory McIlroy. Watch him go in the next four weeks

Justin Rose. Is always there or thereabouts

Charles Howell. Could be a dark horse in the playoffs

Jason Day. On the crest of a wave

Jordan Spieth. Can he keep it up? Of course he can

Paul Casey. Keep your eye on the Englishman

Spencer Levin. Heroic effort to make it here

Padraig Harrington. Determined to prove he is back to stay

Justin Thomas. One of the most consistent players on tour in 2015