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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

HARRISON, N.Y. -- "I am just trying to treat this like it is any other week."

So many players have used that exact quote this week that you would think that it was printed on the first page of the Westchester Country Club yardage book. What that tells us is that this is certainly not just another week.

Brian Gay insists he's just trying to win his first TOUR event. (WireImage)

The atmosphere at The Barclays is different than any other tournament, perhaps ever. As in any other sport, there is an ebb and flow to the tournaments that make up the regular season. The excitement builds toward the Sunday climax each week. Around the majors and THE PLAYERS Championship, though, the level of anticipation early in the week heightened. From there it builds to a crescendo by Sunday afternoon.

Those echoes resound all year long and find a place in the game's lore. For decades the majors have been the focus of players and fans alike. Careers have been defined by success in the majors. That is not about to change.

Even though the first PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are upon us, their meaning is not yet clear. After his opening-round 65 Brian Gay said that he was just trying to win his first PGA TOUR event. He said his FedExCup position was the furthest thing from his mind -- well, maybe.

The players have been waiting all season to see how the Playoffs were going to play out. Obviously, the PGA TOUR's version of a playoff is different than other sports. In other sports, if you lose you go home. These playoffs have a different feel.

The top players in the FedExCup standings can treat The Barclays like it is any other week. Regardless of how they play at Westchester, they are guaranteed to continue. Early in the week, the big story was Tiger's absence. As the top seed, though, Tiger is guaranteed to play the next three events. Incidentally, he has won each of the remaining three events at least once in his career.

The feel of these playoffs is as much about getting used to the format as it is about the golf. The mantra of TOUR players has always been: if you don't like it, play better. Perhaps that sentiment has never been put to the test more than in the inaugural PGA TOUR Playoffs.

Interestingly, the players in the field here at The Barclays who are not guaranteed a spot in the Deutsche Bank Championship next week don't know exactly how well they need to play to get to play in Boston. One veteran who was near the bottom of the points list described the situation like being a Monday qualifier. He figured that if he could finish in the top-10 this week he would advance. Then if he could finish in the top-10 at the Deutsche Bank Championship he would advance to the BMW Championship.

Golfers learn by doing. You can spend a lifetime explaining to someone how to hit a golf ball but until you actually put a club in their hand, it is all just theory. In some small way the same can be said for the players participating in The Barclays. They understand the theory of the Playoffs but there is no education that matches participation.

One thing that they do know is that they have to get hot to have a chance to win the Cup. In that regard, the PGA TOUR Playoffs are similar to playoffs in other sports.

While the players may be trying to treat this week like any other week, there is something else in the air. For many players, the Playoffs are an opportunity unlike they have ever had. For all the players, there is a pot of gold that is unprecedented. But no matter how they try to fool themselves, this is not just another week.