How the reset works going into East Lake

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The FedExCup points will be reset following the BMW Championship in order to give each of the 30 players who advance to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola a chance to win the FedExCup title.

While the points will be reset, however, the seeds will not. The player who ranks first in FedExCup points after the BMW Championship will still rank first after the reset. The player who ranks 30th will still rank 30th. And the player who ranks 31st? He will get the week off -- remember, just the top 30 in points after the BMW Championship will advance to East Lake (and no alternates will be added).

Each of the first five seeds going into THE TOUR Championship will control his own destiny -- if any of those five seeds wins at East Lake, he will win the FedExCup title. Meanwhile, seeds 6-10 will have an excellent chance of capturing the title with a victory.

Following THE TOUR Championship, the total points each player is awarded in the reset plus the points that player earns based on his finish at THE TOUR Championship will be added together, and the player with the highest point total will be named winner of the FedExCup.

In the event of a tie for first in FedExCup points following THE TOUR Championship, those players tied for first will compete in a playoff to determine the winner of the FedExCup.

So, how many FedExCup points are available at East Lake? THE TOUR Championship will have the same points distribution as the first three Playoffs events, in which point values are quintupled from most regular-season events.

Here is the point distribution for THE TOUR Championship:

Thus, if the leader in FedExCup points entering THE TOUR Championship ends up winning at East Lake, he would have 5,000 points (and win the FedExCup). If the No. 5 ranked player wins at East Lake, he would finish with 4,100 points (and also win the FedExCup).

However, if the No. 10-ranked player wins at East Lake, he would finish with 3,100 points. That might be good enough to win the FedExCup title, but there are no guarantees. For instance, if the top seed finishes second at East Lake, he would have 4,000 points.

That's why it's important to be ranked in the top five after the BMW Championship. That way, you control your own destiny and are not reliant on how others finish.