Taking home the FedExCup not the only goal

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Augusta State University graduate Vaughn Taylor hopes to qualify for the Masters with a strong Playoffs.

NORTON, Mass. -- The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup mean different things to different players.

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Certainly, there are a lot of shared goals -- the FedExCup title, and the eye-popping $10 million bonus to the winner, or perhaps a smaller share of the $35 million purse at the end of the rainbow. Every player who makes the Playoffs gets some kind of bonus as a reward for solid play in the regular season.

And of course, there are four individual tournaments to win. Matt Kuchar has one already, emerging as The Barclays winner last week after beating Martin Laird in a playoff. He'd love to make it two straight at this week's Deutsche Bank Championship.

With FedExCup points worth five times more in the Playoffs, each winner has an excellent shot of grabbing one of those top five spots entering THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Top five is key, since those are the only players who control their own destiny at East Lake.

But there are individual goals as well. Here's a look at a few of them as we prepare for the second stage of the Playoffs.

Ernie Els hopes to ... win his first Player of the Year award

Els was ranked No. 1 for 22 consecutive weeks in the FedExCup rankings before finishing 71st at The Barclays and falling to fifth. Otherwise, the Big Easy has been consistent this season, with back-to-back wins in Florida. Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose are the only other players with two wins this year.

Another victory or the FedExCup would almost certainly give Els his first Player of the Year award. Hard to believe this three-time major champ and future World Golf Hall of Famer has never won the Jack Nicklaus Award, but Els has the misfortune -- and the fortune -- to play in the Tiger Woods era.

Of course, Els is not alone in that Player of the Year quest. Furyk, Stricker and Phil Mickelson, like Els, are each past their 40th birthday, so the window of opportunity is much smaller than it is for, say, Kuchar or Justin Rose or Dustin Johnson.

Vaughn Taylor hopes to ... get an invite to the Masters

The quiet man from Augusta made a 17-point jump in the FedExCup standings -- he's now 21st -- with a tie for fifth at The Barclays. It was his third top-10 in his last seven starts. He dearly wants to return to the Masters in his hometown after a two-year absence.

If he can maintain his spot in the top 30 and make the field for East Lake, Taylor won't have anything to worry about Augusta. He'll receive an automatic invite, along with invites to the U.S. Open and British Open -- benefits of reaching THE TOUR Championship.

Paul Casey and Justin Rose hope to ... make Colin Montgomerie regret his captain's picks

OK, being the English gentlemen that they are, Rose and Casey probably don't harbor any ill feelings about not being picked for the European Ryder Cup team. But obviously both were extremely disappointed not to be tabbed for Celtic Manor.

Montgomerie had an extremely difficult task in making his three selections (Edoardo Molinari, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald). Still, Rose is a two-time winner this year and Casey -- a two-time finalist at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship -- was ranked No. 9 in the world when Monty made his picks.

So wouldn't it be nice to see the Englishmen prosper in the Playoffs? If only to stir up the British tabloids before the matches in Wales?

Brandt Snedeker hopes to ... avoid the Playoffs disappointment of last year

A year ago Snedeker four-putted the final hole at Cog Hill to finish 33rd, instead of getting a spot in THE TOUR Championship. He handled the disappointment like a pro, though, and has given himself another shot with some solid play in 2010.

Unfortunately, Snedeker went in the wrong direction at The Barclays when he missed the cut. But he's likely got two weeks to rectify the situation, and after last year's hard-luck finish at the BMW Championship it would be nice to see the Vanderbilt man climb into the top 30 and make his way to East Lake.

John Senden hopes to ... sneak into East Lake again

His head was on the proverbial chopping block last week at Ridgewood when he entered the first Playoffs event at No. 99. He tied for 15th, though, and made a big move up the standings.

He has history at the Deutsche Bank Championship where he made a double eagle last year. A week later at Cog Hill, he was outside the scorer's tent on Sunday talking about being the odd man out for THE TOUR Championship at No. 31 when Ian Poulter hit his approach at the 18th into the water and Snedeker four-putted.

Is this the ultimate Playoffs survivor?

Josh Teater hopes to ... throw his name into the Rookie of the Year discussions

Teater, ranked 75th in the standings, is one of five rookies remaining in the FedExCup. But two -- Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy -- are currently safely in the top 30 so they don't have as much at stake this week.

Of the others, Teater is highest in the FedExCup and if he plays well at the Deutsche Bank Championship like he did at Ridgewood, he could prolong his stay. Only one rookie has managed to make the field at THE TOUR Championship each of the last three years.

Tiger Woods hopes to ... avoid being shut out for the first time in his career

Perhaps you've heard -- Tiger has yet to win a tournament this year. Since turning pro in 1996, he's always won at least one TOUR event each year. Of course, this year has been unlike any other for Tiger, especially off the course.

But the venues of the last three Playoffs events are all on courses he's won at before, so there's still hope. Ranked 65th in the FedExCup rankings, though, there's no guarantee right now that he'll be playing past this event. He'll need a respectable finish at TPC Boston (between 52nd and 57th) just to advance to next week.