- FedExCup Points: 50,000
- Purse: $1.26 million
- Winning Share: $1,260,000
- Yards: 7,154
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator
ATLANTA -- With Tiger Woods all but wrapping up the FedExCup after the third round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, the stories on Sunday were the race for second and the drive to fill the top 5.
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By shooting 67 in the final round, Steve Stricker kept his spot at No. 2 in the standings over Phil Mickelson, who fired a 1-over-par 71 to remain in third place.
"I was wanting to come out and play well today to kind of cap it off and make sure that I stayed in second place on that points list," said Stricker. "I saw Phil, he was, I think, 1 over for the day. I wanted to make sure that I could stay in that position and play a good round."
By earning 1,098 more points than Mickelson -- in comparison, Woods edged Stricker by 12,578 points -- Stricker's second place earned him $3 million, more than enough for the kids' college fund.
Calling his own year an "inconsistent" one with major highs and major lows, three-time '07 winner Mickelson took third place with 4,165 points more than No. 4 Sabbatini.
"I think I'll have to be fair and give [the FedExCup] three or four years because we certainly need some adjustments here or there," said Mickelson. "Over time, I'm curious to see how it all irons out. But for the most part, it was a successful first year and I think it'll continue to get better."
The battle for the No. 2 spot wasn't the only drama unfolding on Sunday afternoon. When Zach Johnson stood alone in second place at the tournament on the 16th hole at East Lake Golf Club, he moved up seven spots to No. 5 in the FedExCup standings and would have earned $1,000,000 in the final payout.
But when Johnson and Mark Calcavecchia eventually tied for second in the tournament, Johnson moved to No. 7 in the points race while Calcavecchia jumped 10 spots into eighth place.
Basically, just one golf shot -- a bogey on No. 17 -- cost Johnson $300,000. And instead, it was K.J. Choi who was amongst the top-5 finishers.
"As a player you've got to feel honored to be in that position to have a chance to win the Cup. You know, it was a motivating factor," Choi said. "I felt like through the stretch of four tournaments, I was able to elevate my game another notch, and I think just overall it helped me to become a better player."
In the end, the three winners -- Steve Stricker, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson -- of the Playoffs events finished in the top 3 in the FedExCup standings. Nos. 4 and 5, Rory Sabbatini and Choi, each had at least one victory in 2007 and one top-3 finish in a Playoff event. Just two players -- Sergio Garcia and Geoff Ogilvy -- ended up in the top 15 without earning a victory in 2007.
Since Johnson didn't move into the top 5 in the standings, the top 6 players on the list didn't change after THE TOUR Championship. Aaron Baddeley maintained his sixth-place position, while Johnson, Calcavecchia, Garcia and Vijay Singh rounded out the top 10.
And, after it was all said and done, the player with the most wins in 2007 and in the Playoffs earned the inaugural trophy.
"The man has got goals. I don't know what his goals are. Obviously he's trying to improve, but obviously 18 is his number, trying to catch Jack (Nicklaus) in majors. Winning golf tournaments would probably be next. You throw another thing [like the FedExCup] at him, it just makes it even worse for us. Why give him another thing to try to achieve? I mean, really," Johnson said, summing up his thoughts with a sense of humor about No. 1 Woods taking the trophy.
"He's a very driven man. When you add another element to the drive, I guess, it just what do you do? But it makes us want to be better. I guess that's a positive. Every time he wins it's a good thing."
Winning THE TOUR Championship gave Woods 10,300 points and a $10 million bonus. Each player in the top 5 earned at least a $1 million extra payout, while a top-10 finish provided in excess of $500,000. Even No. 144 in the standings -- Jeff Gove -- got $32,000.
After some initial confusion with the way the points and the whole FedExCup system functioned, finally playing the four-tournament stretch seemed to allay any lingering questions.
"It's always a good thing to play well and now I have a very good understanding of how it works. Next year I'll have to come back and try to improve," Sabbatini said.
Without much doubt of who would win the FedExCup heading into the final round, would-be contenders like Stricker had to give it up for Woods' historic victory.
"I wish Phil or I could have been up there and challenged Tiger a little more, but he's playing really good," Stricker said. "I played with him the first two days here, and he drove it good for the most part and got it on the greens, and he's putting incredibly. I've never seen anybody putt as good as he does."
