An exciting finish awaits after three wild weeks

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It's down to a one-tournament sprint. Emphasis on the sprint.

All out. All 72 holes.

Think fairways and flagsticks -- not cool, calculated and pace yourself.

East Lake isn't going to know what hit it.

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Points reset: How it works
Chart: The final 30
Tiger on top at East Lake
Snedeker seals own fate
FedExCup Wrap: BMW

That's what the FedExCup folks wanted, and it's exactly what they've got. A bunched-up, 30-player lineup waiting at the starting gate for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. A run for the FedExCup and, of course, the $10 million bonus.

Yes, this third version of the Playoffs is, without question, the best to date. It's given us drama, surprises, excitement, heartbreak and even a few chills.

It's given us the best player in the world missing more putts than he usually misses in a year and making up for it on Saturday afternoon with a course-record 62. It's given us another surprise (Heath Slocum) in a season of them and another kid from Down Under (Marc Leishman) who's ready for the big time. It's given sports a Mr. September (Steve Stricker) to go with Mr. October (Reggie Jackson).

Most of all, it's given every player who qualified for this four-tournament run a chance to make it to East Lake and win it all.

Yes, it's been a scramble -- through the skies from New Jersey to Boston to Chicago, as well as for position -- and some familiar names have said goodbye, including the top four finishers in the 2008 standings (Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas, Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim). Singh never made it to the BMW Championship, while the fashionable threesome of Camilo, AK and Sergio -- all of whom had opportunities for a return trip -- rang out in Chicago.

And now? Everyone's taking a timeout. Think of it as a week to catch up, take more than a few deep breaths, fix what's not working and spiff up what is. And of course, take a quick look back at what we've learned thus far from version three.

1. Everyone's still in it.
Well, sort of. Yes, Tiger has the pole, but not the way he did in 2007 or the way Vijay did in 2008. The new points reset ensures an advantage for the top five -- Tiger, Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Slocum. As it should be, if any one of those five wins THE TOUR Championship, he wins the FedExCup. Period. Doesn't matter how the other four finish. But if those five don't win? The asterisk is moot, and it's wide open for the other 25.

2. Expect the unexpected.
We've been doing it all year at majors, so why not now? Slocum's win at The Barclays was a season-maker. One minute, the soft-spoken Slocum is thinking about diverting his season to Europe to play a quick event, and the next he has slipped into the 125 field just under the wire. The next? He's one-upped Tiger, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els for a spot in the FedExCup top three. He missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but, oh well, he's still in the top five, so it pays to win like Tiger and Stricker did.

3. The groove.
You don't have to win to make it to The Show at East Lake. Oh, it helps (see above), but you're good with top 10s. Or 15s. Take Harrington. He started the Playoffs in 66th. Three top-eight finishes later, last year's double-major winner and Player of the Year is sitting sixth going into the final event. The only player with a better record in the last three events? You guessed it: TW.

4. A 180.
We'll refrain from any TW putting news here. Instead, we'll dish on Leishman. He was 78th to start the Playoffs, missed the cut at The Barclays and fell to 93rd. And now? He's 16th -- with a top-30 bullet -- after ties for 15th and second. And there's Jason Dufner, who also missed the first cut and fell 15 spots to 57th. He followed with ties for second and 30th and is 10th.

5. The regular season.
Yes, it counts. Tiger didn't get to roll points from his first five wins to put this out of reach, but that doesn't mean good seasons don't have a huge impact come Playoff time. Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson, David Toms and Geoff Ogilvy come to mind. All had strong seasons. All are still in the top 30 even though their Playoffs haven't been what they may have desired.

6. The majors.
Win one, and you're pretty much in. Despite up-and-down playoff moments, Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Y.E. Yang are all still there with one of those asterisk chances (you know, if one of the top five ...)

7. Top five.
You knew Tiger would be there. Furyk? Not so much. First, he had to put that too-many-clubs-in-a-bag brain blip at Liberty National behind him. Then he needed closing rounds of 67-66 at Cog Hill to get into that winner-take-all quintet -- and he did it. Zach Johnson stayed in with a closing 68 on Sunday. Nails-on-chalkboard time coming in, and they held up.

8. High anxiety.
Or drama. Or gotta hate this. Brandt Snedeker is the poster boy for this one. All he had to do was bogey the last hole. He tripled it. It's hard to watch someone miss a 12-footer for bogey and a 3-footer for a comeback double. He was thinking about the wrong thing -- the top 30 -- and not about making the putt. While he was shaking his head, John Senden was snapping the zipper on a bag and trying to get the heck out of Dodge. Until he found out he made top 30 when Snedeker missed.

9. One shot.
Think Leishman. He was outside the top 60 going to the final hole at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and he put his second shot 8 feet from the hole and jarred it for eagle. And a spot at Cog Hill. He turned that into a tie for second and shot to 16th on the list. Oh my. On the flip side, Ian Poulter. The fashionable one entered last week 30th on the list. He found the water at the 72nd hole on Sunday, made bogey and finished 31st.

10. It's never over till it's over.
Mike Weir went for it at the 18th Sunday, thinking he needed birdie to head to Atlanta. He bogeyed and still made the field. Cink, playing with pain, played a five-hole stretch in 4 under Sunday to ease into the top 30. It wouldn't have been fun watching this from his suburban Atlanta home. The flip side? Paul Casey. Three weeks ago, he was No. 3 in the world and No. 27 in the FedExCup standings. It was over before he could start because of a rib injury. Still, with no starts, he only fell to 52nd.

The third time is looking pretty charming for the Playoffs. It's given us new faces, drama and a real race on the horizon in Atlanta.

It's also got me wondering how I managed to get, well, lucky. Before this all started, we were asked to pick our top five at the end of the Playoffs. I'm not sitting great in this little competition -- my five in order were Tiger, Glover, Ogilvy, Toms and Yang -- but, thanks to version three, I do still have a chance.

That's all anyone can ask. And more than some of my fellow prognosticators can say.

Melanie Hauser is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.