PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
There is something magical about the playoffs -- no matter which sport elicits the passion in you.
Whether it's Babe Ruth's called shot in the fifth game of the 1932 World Series or Joe Montana's touchdown pass with 39 seconds left that lifted the 49ers to victory in Super Bowl XXIII, there are moments that will be forever etched in time.
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From 1903 when the inaugural World Series was held to 1947 when the NBA playoffs began to 1967 when the upstart AFL challenged the NFL in Super Bowl, pro sports have had a big-bang finish to capture the imagination of their fans.
Golf enters that arena this week when the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup begin at The Barclays in Westchester, N.Y. At stake is the first FedExCup, which will bring with it a $10 million bonus to the winner, the largest in sports.
Will we see Tiger Woods stalking a monster putt and following it with a massive fist pump to win the FedExCup? Or, Phil Mickelson lobbing a delicate wedge that finds the bottom of the cup?
Who knows, maybe a red-hot youngster like Brandt Snedeker, who picked up his first PGA TOUR victory Sunday at the Wyndham Championship and moved to ninth in the FedExCup standings, can buck the odds.
Regardless, the next four weeks will be memorable as the game's best players go head-to-head on some of the game's best venues. Play well, and you'll make it to the next tournament. If you're off your game, though, you could be eliminated.
"I think it's a great thing," said Vijay Singh, who will be seeded second entering the Playoffs -- and his title defense at The Barclays. "You know, it's warming up to a big finale and that's what (PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim) Finchem wanted, that's what the TOUR wants, that's what the sponsors want, obviously.
"I think once you start off with the last four events, it's going to heat up I think to a great finale."
The Playoff field was set after the Wyndham Championship. Only the top 144 players in the standings are eligible to play at Westchester, N.Y., this week and only 120 of those pros advance to the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston next week.
The field for the BMW Championship is then trimmed to 70 and just 30 survive to play in the final Playoff event at THE TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. That's where, in all likelihood, the inaugural FedExCup will be decided.
"Right now is when you want to be playing good," Billy Mayfair, who starts the Playoffs seeded 40th after a tie for second in Greensboro Sunday, said in understatement.
The FedExCup points were reset following the completion of the Wyndham Championship on Sunday with the gap between the players narrowing considerably to increase the excitement as the playoffs progress.
Only 15,300 points separate the No. 1 seed Tiger Woods and the final man in the playoffs, Jeff Gove, at No. 144. In addition, Woods' 11,000-point lead over Singh at the end of the regular season is now just 1,000 points after the reset.
All four playoff events offer 50,000 points with 9,000 going to the winner of the first three and 10,300 to the man who wins THE TOUR Championship. Although models give players in the top 15 at the start of the Playoffs the best chance to win, there is definitely room for the red-hot player to moved up from the pack.
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"The Playoffs are weighted so heavily for a win and that's what everybody's going to be trying to do. It's going to make for exciting TV," Snedeker said. "You've got the four best fields in golf four weeks in a row, which is very exciting for me because I don't always get to play in some of those World Golf Championships where they seem to get that.
"So it's going to be a great four weeks for me, being able to compete against the best week in and week out, and seeing how these guys' games change over the weeks, because nobody's going to have the best game four weeks in a row.
"So it will be fun to see how everybody plays and kind of grinds it out. So I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a good four weeks."
If he makes it to THE TOUR Championship, Snedeker will have played six straight weeks, but the talented 26-year-old isn't worried. The TOUR rookie remembers playing as many as nine or 10 in a row during his two years on the Nationwide Tour.
"I've got the feeling that the last couple I'm going to be so excited to be playing that fatigue's not going to be a big factor," he said. "We have great venues, great cities and great golf tournaments. So everybody's going to be excited to be there."
