Tour Championship 2012: Players To Watch At East Lake

The PGA Tour's season closes with the 2012 Tour Championship on Thursday morning. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will garner most of the attention, but there are 28 other players prepared to stake their claim to the FedEx Cup.

The entire 30-man field has a chance at winning the FedEx Cup and the $10 million prize, regardless of previous performance.

While McIlroy has been the hottest player in the world over the past two weeks, having captured back-to-back titles at the Deutshe Bank Championship and BMW Championship, names like Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Robert Garrigus are potential sleepers to capture the title this week. As any fan of professional golf knows, these players operate in streaks, both hot and cold.

Mickelson's second-place performance two weeks ago at Crooked Stick was impressive considering the recently-inducted Hall of Famer had a moderate season. Westwood tied Mickelson at the BMW as well, but did so by shooting four consecutive rounds under 70. Both men are looking for their first FedEx Cup title and both are playing exceptional golf recently.

The same can be said for Garrigus, who is about as streaky as they come. Garrigus' fourth-place finish at the BMW was his highest in weeks, as he fixed his poor putting overnight. His length off the tee -- he averaged over 310 yards last week -- should prove to be a huge advantage at East Lake.

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