Joey D talks Barclays and TPC Boston...

Back in South Florida for a few days after the first FedExCup Playoff even at The Barclays. Headed out to Boston tomorrow for the Deutsche Bank Championship, which runs Friday through Monday this holiday weekend. Taking care of some things at D1 Athletics the early part of this week before I hit the road again and wanted to make some time to blog before then.

I definitely wasn't thrilled with last week's result (three of my guys missed the cut) and I want to see that turn around this week in Boston.

Jason Dufner can't shake a nagging shoulder injury, which is frustrating for obvious reasons. That's definitely not an excuse for his missing the cut, it's simply an issue he's been dealing with on and off all season. The shoulder has been chronically bothering him and even with a few visits with the world-renowned Dr. James Andrews, Jason is still in pain and is basically managing his game to the best of his abilities.

He's simply "maintaining". Maintaining his game. Maintaining his ability to square the face at impact. It's an interesting situation when the shoulder / bicep tendon starts to flare up, causing all types of problems when you go into the top of the backswing. It didn't work last week in New Jersey but hopefully things fall into place this week in Boston.

Pat Perez had another rough go last week, as well. Some ups and downs this season, but obviously a solid year overall and a lot of golf left to be played. PP is one of those guys you never count out of anything. He's always one good round away from turning everything around.

We also have to remember that Pat is still working into his "new" golf swing. It's been just over a year working with Mike Abbott and truth be told, old habits die hard. Sometimes everything works smoothly and other days you can't get anything right. Pat continues to work through his swing changes. His old swing was with him for years and years and years. To abandon that and take on something new, it's going to take along time before it becomes old hat.

The new swing is very on plane and Pat has the ability to keep his right elbow from coming up as high as it used to. He's flattened it out and it's a much better overall swing. He just wasn't able to put it all together in Jersey and like Jason, we're hoping he can find what he's looking for next week in Boston.

Ryuji Imada had another tough week last week and he's pretty much struggled most of this season. He's missed three cuts in a row and is 99th in the FedExCup standings, whereas he finished last year in the top 25.

Ryuji is doubting himself right now and he's trying new things in an effort to get back on top. Last year Ryuji made over $3,000,000 and this year he's hovering around $682,000 and is playing for money, in an effort to keep his card. That in itself changes everything and causes a lot of second guessing.

In times like these, you need to go back to basics. Get back to where you felt most comfortable. For Ruyji that means settling down. The reshuffle happened and he's in this week's event. Take a deep breath, regroup and get ready to play. Remember what's worked in the past and do it.

This is do or die time for Ryuji. If he wants to stay alive in the FedExCup he needs to make it happen this week. If not, we won't see him again until Las Vegas.

As stated earlier, I don't ever count any of my athletes out. They all have tremendous ability and have proven what they can do. time and time again. I know what these guys are about and I believe that on any given day these guys can rebound. What they need to do right now is to believe and to have a better sense of consistency.

Does a long season play into a difficult year? Of course it does. The PGA Tour schedule makes for a very long season - from January through September or October, depending on how long you want to (or have to) go. The fall finish has been cut down due to the economy and the loss of sponsors, so you get Turning Stone, Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Mississippi, etc. Come this time of year, some guys start to lose their focus; especially after the FedExCup.

The battle of needing to make money to keep your card versus playing solid, consistent golf - it's a real challenge. Trying not to get too inside of your head, keeping you from playing to your ability. Self-doubt can do you in if you're not careful. Overanalyzing every shot can break you down and in my opinion, I think that partly what some of my guys are going through right now.

That said, it's not just my stable of guys. Look around the PGA Tour. Take a guy like Adam Scott, who is struggling in 2009, as well. Adam earned just shy of $2,000,000 last year and about $3.5M in 2007, finishing 12th in the FedExCup. In 2006, he almost reached the $5M mark in prize money.

This year Adam is 110th in the FedExCup standings and has made about a quarter of a million dollars to date. Outside of a second place finish at the Sony Open, it's been struggle city. Adam has missed 10 of 18 cuts this year and his best finish since March is T36th at the US Open.

What was Adam Scott doing these past few years that he isn't doing this year? What about Ruyji? How did my guy Jason Gore win the 84 LUMBER a few years back and he's fighting for his card again two years in a row? What's changed? The ability is there, but something has obviously happened mentally with these guys. What do they have to do to get 'it' back? That's the million dollar question.

Let's see if my guys can answer the bell this week. Perez. Ryuji. Dufner. Charlie Wi. They're all Boston-bound this week and they're all one great round away from being back in the thick of things. Tune in starting Friday for all the latest.