New points system creates 'different feel' for Playoffs

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Tiger Woods, who won the FedExCup in 2007, enters this year's Playoffs as the points leader.

It's all a matter of perspective.

Players such as Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry, Lucas Glover and Phil Mickelson probably aren't doing any kind of mental gymnastics -- yet. After all, they are at the top of the FedExCup standings.

Plenty of other players, though, will be checking out the projections on PGATOUR.com or doing the math themselves as the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup begin this week at Liberty National.

The 125 players who have made the Playoffs and will tee off this week at The Barclays were determined on Sunday at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship. Five pros who a week ago were on the outside looking in, played their way into the first of the four events in the Playoffs, which are destined to provide even more excitement this year.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW: A new points system promises to tighten up the race for the FedExCup. So word to the wise -- better be on your game for all four events. Click here MONDAY BACKSPIN: A special Playoffs edition of the Backspin takes a look at four guys not named Tiger who could win, players whose stock is going up (or down) entering the Playoffs, and 18 things you need to know about the Playoffs. Click here TEN BURNING QUESTIONS: You have questions about the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup? We have plenty of answers. Click here ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP: So if you had five weeks off and a car capable of some long hauls, what would you do? Attend all four Playoffs events, of course. Brian Wacker offers travel advice for the first leg of the trip -- the New York area. Click here QUICK LOOK: The Playoffs consist of four tournaments. Here's an early peek at each one. • The Barclays • Deutsche Bank Championship • BMW Championship • THE TOUR Champ. pres. by Coca-Cola INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Who has the longest putt in Playoffs history? Who's been the most accurate off the tee? Who has the best stroke average? The most top 10s? Our ShotLink crew has put together a slew of inside information for you. Click here CATEGORY CLUB: Columnist Stan Awtrey breaks down the entire 125-man Playoffs field into categories -- some serious, some a little, er, off the wall. Click here FEDEXCUP CHAMPIONS: What does it take to win the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup? Just two players know. • 2007: Tiger Woods • 2008: Vijay Singh

Points do not reset at the start of the Playoffs, as they have in the first two years, so a player carries his point total -- and advantage -- into The Barclays. Points are quintupled in all the Playoff events with 2,500 going to each winner. In other words, big moves are expected in the standings each week, and a showdown looms at in the final Playoffs event, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

A year ago, Vijay Singh won the first two events in the Playoffs and virtually sewed up the FedExCup in the process. The big Fijian had only to complete 72 holes at East Lake in the finale to earn the lucrative prize.

No more.

The points are reset when the 30 survivors get to East Lake and projections show that anyone who makes the field has a mathematical chance to win. However, the top five -- and potentially, the top 10 -- are guaranteed a chance to win the FedExCup and its $10 million bonus with a win at THE TOUR Championship.

The reduction in available points this year will tighten the race, and having the reset made three weeks into the Playoffs should assure more excitement -- not to mention, create more consternation as the pros jockey for prime position in the top five.

"I guarantee you 95 percent of the guys out here look at (the standings) every night," Brandt Snedeker said. "It's like guys saying they don't look at the leaderboard coming down the stretch -- they do look at it."

There are several plateaus to surmount before THE TOUR Championship rolls around. The 125-man Playoffs field is cut to 100 for the Deutsche Bank Championship and 70 for the BMW Championship before the 30 are decided for the all-important TOUR Championship.

Snedeker says the FedExCup change made this year, which also include smaller starting fields in the first two Playoff events, are extremely positive. TOUR officials have "finally got it right," he said.

"The last couple years it's been one, two guys," Snedeker said about the FedExCup Championship at East Lake. "It will be a completely different feel and hopefully bring a lot more action.

"We compete against football in September, October. It's going to be tough to draw fans. Having Tiger Woods playing in THE TOUR Championship against Phil (Mickelson) and Ernie (Els), all those guys, nobody knows who is going to win yet, it will be great. It will be good for golf and something we need."

Mark Wilson feels the new Playoff points distribution is key. With Playoff points quintupled vs. the regular season this year, though, the University of North Carolina mathematics grad thinks good play will be more rewarded.

"When you think about it, a 10th place finish in one of the Playoff events is the equivalent of five top-10s during the year," Wilson said. "What I really like about the new system, you don't move up by just making the cut. You still got to play well on the weekend."

Wilson, 38th in the FedExCup standings, played in the first three Playoff events each of the first two Playoffs. He finished 42nd and 45th, though, so he has yet to play at East Lake -- and that's a huge goal for 2009.

"In terms of making THE TOUR Championship more exciting -- and obviously you're going to crown the FedEx champion after that not before like we did last year where Vijay had it before he finished -- we've done that," Wilson said. "We'll see how it pans out this year. Obviously the first year was too soft with the points, then too hard and now we're kind of in the middle. Hopefully we got it right."

Lucas Glover, the reigning U.S. Open champion who is fifth in the FedExCup standings, is a huge Clemson football fan. He struggles a little with the Playoff concept since it's not as clear-cut as other sports where one team is eliminated, but he knows where he needs to be.

"I read where if you're in 1 through 5 and you win THE TOUR Championship, you're going to win the FedExCup," Glover said. "That's where you want to be starting out because it improves your chances. ...

"I got myself in a good position to start thinking about it. A few more good weeks, you never know. ... You want to be there. I think for you feel really good about it you need to be in the five. Feel pretty good about it, Top-10. But, again, there's chances every which way."

Winning is always key, of course. Come Sept. 27, though, on Bobby Jones' home track, there is sure to be a battle for the third FedExCup -- which is exactly why the changes were made.

"I think it's exciting for us to have different product to offer the viewer and I think that's what the Playoffs has created," Charles Warren said.

"Obviously you guys want the best players in the world playing the most weeks against each other on great golf courses and that's what the Playoffs creates. It creates that opportunity and it creates a major incentive for guys like that."

Alas, Warren will have to wait for his opportunity next season. Entering the Wyndham Championship as the bubble boy (125th in the standings), Warren missed the cut ... and missed the Playoffs in the process.