Playoffs legacy: Volatility, Vijay, Villegas ... Valhalla?

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The 2008 PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedExCup were marked by the resurgence of Vijay Singh and the emergence of Camilo Villegas (Halleran/Getty Images)

ATLANTA -- Now that the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are over, what should we take from the past four events? What will be the legacy of the second year of the Playoffs?

A DESERVING WINNER: If you want to complain about the FedExCup being wrapped up before anyone teed off at East Lake, that's your prerogative. But truthfully, was any player more deserving of claiming the silver trophy and the $10 million bonus than Vijay Singh? In one word: No.

He went out and won the first two tournaments to essentially slam the door on the rest of the field. He hit the key shots when it mattered, like that 26-foot birdie putt at The Barclays on top of Sergio Garcia's 27-footer in the playoffs. He posted the key rounds, like that sizzling 8-under 63 in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship to win by five shots.

Singh might have stepped off the gas in the final two events -- certainly it's been a weird four-day victory stroll for him at East Lake -- but he certainly didn't back into the FedExCup. For all of the other issues about the FedExCup format, one simple thing remains: Winning matters.

"If somebody goes out there and wins two or three events," Singh said, "it's all over -- no matter how much you tweak it."

Oh, and if you want to argue that Camilo Villegas was just as deserving as Singh because each player won two Playoff events, then one other thing matters: the regular season.

Singh was more consistent in 2008 and started with 2,350 more FedExCup points than Villegas when the points were reset. Singh ended up winning by 551 points.

VOLATILITY: If you heard the word once, you heard it 1,000 times during the Playoffs.

The revamped points system corrected the issues of the previous year's lack of volatility. But in some players' eyes, it went too far the other way, especially when Padraig Harrington, this year's two-time major winner, failed to advance to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola after starting the Playoffs fourth in FedExCup points.

Harrington himself didn't have an issue in not getting to East Lake, saying his play -- two missed cuts and a tie for 55th -- didn't warrant inclusion. But others, still seeing THE TOUR Championship as a reward for season-long performance, shook their heads in disbelief when Harrington was ousted from the Playoffs after the BMW Championship.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said there are plans to address the volatility factor. Some players have ideas on how to tweak the system -- Villegas, in fact, gave his thoughts to Finchem during a meeting on Wednesday -- but no one seems to have the perfect solution that would solve every issue.

That's why, even when the format is tweaked for 2009, it may remain a work in progress.

Some were shocked that Padraig Harrington was knocked out before the final playoff event. (Badz/PGA TOUR)

"It's something we have to continually try to make better," said Stewart Cink, a player member of the PGA TOUR's policy board. "It's going to evolve for a few more years. After this year, we'll look at it and change it -- and then we may look at it and change it again the next year."

One thing Finchem definitely wants to address is how to create FedExCup drama going into East Lake. In the first year of the Playoffs, just five players had a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup. This year, that number was whittled to one.

"The reality is the No. 1 position in the FedExCup is sewn up before we get to Atlanta, and that was not supposed to be part of the equation," Finchem said earlier this week.

"We need a system that gives us an acceleration of enthusiasm, an acceleration of excitement as we come into this TOUR Championship, and we have to make sure that that happens."

EMERGENCE OF VILLEGAS: Had he not missed the cut at The Barclays by one shot, Villegas would have taken home both THE TOUR Championship and the FedExCup trophy on Sunday after beating good friend Garcia in a one-hole playoff.

That missed cut in New Jersey cost Villegas at least 2,098 FedExCup points. In other words, not making the cut cost Villegas $7 million.

"That was an expensive cut," he said.

Villegas will just have to be satisfied with enjoying his coming-out party in the last three weeks of the Playoffs, winning twice and finishing tied for third at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Funny to think that just a month ago, some people might have been ready to jump off the Villegas train since he was still winless after showing so much promise more than two years ago with a tie for second at the 2006 Ford Championship at Doral.

Now, he joins Garcia and Anthony Kim in a three-headed young guns rivalry that golf fans will enjoy for the next 15-20 years.

"It's good to see him becoming the player he can become," Garcia said.

IMPACT ON THE RYDER CUP: Before the existence of the Playoffs, the time between the PGA Championship and the biennial Ryder Cup could be somewhat tricky for players who had already sewn up spots on their respective teams.

Do you use the time off to get away from the course, recharge the batteries and gear up for the big event? Or do you play a few tournaments in hopes of maintaining your form and work on aspects of your game in a competitive, yet still low-key, environment?

This year, the Playoffs offered an intense lead-in to the Ryder Cup. Three events, all with stellar fields, with big money and big titles on the line. It gave the players in the Ryder Cup a chance to stay sharp, keep their competitive edge.

Cink, one of the U.S. Ryder Cup members, is not surprised that the golf at Valhalla was so riveting, given that all 12 Americans and five Europeans participated in the Playoffs.

"In the past, we've had players who've come to the Ryder Cup who hadn't touched a club for a few weeks or had shut it down and weren't doing much," Cink said. "It was almost a matter of coming out of hibernation to play in a big tournament. ... I think that with the FedExCup and the fact that our guys are all going at it was great for the Ryder Cup."

In retrospect, perhaps we should've paid more attention to the Playoff results in terms of foreshadowing the U.S. victory. Ten of the 12 Americans played well enough in the first three Playoff events to advance to THE TOUR Championship, while just one of the five Europeans (Garcia) made it to East Lake.

"You have to be on your game, as evidenced this year, to beat those guys," Cink said.