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By Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

Call them five for fighting. From a starting field of 144 players, just a quintet remains to battle for the first FedExCup.

Steve Stricker, winner of The Barclays, has been a force in The Playoffs. (WireImage)

VIDEO

• Stricker on his win in N.Y.

Thirty men compete in this week's TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, the final leg in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. But when the shooting starts Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, only five players can win the title and the $10 million prize -- and only two control their own destiny.

The first, of course, is the points leader, Tiger Woods. The other is resurgent Steve Stricker. Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi could also emerge with the inaugural title -- while making a few dollars and some history -- but only with the right combination of finishes by those in front of them.

That doesn't mean it's an empty exercise for the other 25 guys. Winning THE TOUR Championship allows you to join a rather elite club.

But only four can start their own exclusive club; no one has ever won the tournament twice since its inception in 1987. Four men are looking for their second title: Woods, Mickelson, Vijay Singh and defending champion Adam Scott. Only Woods hasn't won it at East Lake; his 1999 victory came at Champions Golf Club in Houston. His best finish at East Lake is second, on three occasions. Great, just what he needs is more motivation.

Given the results at the BMW Championship, where Woods won his 60th PGA TOUR title -- not to mention the fact he is No. 1 in the world rankings -- Sir Eldrick has to be the favorite. Why? Because unless the Lucky 30 go check out a neighborhood layout (hey, isn't that place in Augusta open?), they won't play one full hole until Thursday morning.

Because of severe heat and drought in Atlanta, including 10 days over 100 degrees, the bentgrass greens at East Lake are in poor shape despite all best efforts. Greens are off limits until the tournament begins on the par-70 layout of 7,154 yards, an unprecedented step that speaks to the seriousness of the problem and the commitment of the TOUR and East Lake Golf Club to do what's necessary to achieve the best possible conditions.

Phil Mickelson outlasted Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship. (WireImage)

VIDEO

• Mickelson wins in Boston

The greens are expected to be better, but not up to usual tournament standards. This favors no one, but benefits players of lesser putting talents.

"If the greens are bad, then everyone putts the same, pretty much," Scott Verplank, one of the game's better putters, said. "If you're a good putter, you want to putt on good greens. You want to be able to use that advantage."

Patience will be a key, said Woods, who exhibits plenty from week to week. Scoring expectations should be lowered, too. "You're going to have to accept missing a bunch of putts," he said.

Worth knowing:

Despite skipping the third playoff event at Cog Hill and slipping five places, Padraig Harrington managed to squeak into THE TOUR Championship in the 30th spot. Three men played their way in after starting the week outside the top 30 -- Stewart Cink, Tim Clark and Camilo Villegas -- and Luke Donald tried to make it four with a closing 65. Donald, who opened the BMW Championship with a 76, essentially missed bumping his Ryder Cup teammate out of the field by two strokes.

Only two players have finished in the top 10 in all three PGA TOUR Playoff events thus far -- Steve Stricker and Rory Sabbatini. Stricker has two top-5s in THE TOUR Championship, but has never competed at East Lake. Sabbatini tied for 10th in 2004.

There were five rookies who advanced to the BMW Championship, but only one remains for the final tournament: Brandt Snedeker. He is one of eight first-time players in THE TOUR Championship. The others: Aaron Baddeley, Jonathan Byrd, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose, Heath Slocum, Camilo Villegas and Boo Weekley.

On Sunday, Woods won for the fourth time at Cog Hill. (WireImage)

VIDEO

• Woods on his win in Chicago

Scott Verplank's record at East Lake is decent, with a tie for third among the results. What's important to note is that Verplank's lone victory this year at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship came on suspect greens at the TPC Las Colinas. "Those were probably the worst greens we saw all year; they were almost dead, and I did OK," Verplank says.

Hunter Mahan, 20th on the points list, is competing in his first TOUR Championship, but it's not his first trip around East Lake Golf Club, having played in the U.S. Amateur there in 2001.

Eight of the lowest 10 rounds on the PGA TOUR this year have been shot by players in this week's field, and that doesn't include the 63 Woods fired on Sunday in winning his fourth BMW Championship. Mahan is responsible for three of them. Snedeker has the year's lowest round, a 61, and also has a 63 to his credit.

Vijay Singh, nursing a bad back and enduring frustration as he works on swing changes, needs a good finish after poor performances in the first three Playoff events, could get one this week. Dating back to his victory at East Lake in 2002, Singh has finished in the top 10 the last five years in THE TOUR Championship.

TOUR Insider's power ranking for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola:
1. Phil Mickelson
2. Tiger Woods
3. Steve Stricker
4. Scott Verplank
5. K.J. Choi