Tiger Wins; Playoffs Take Week Off To Let Fans Ponder Points Permutation Possibilities

I tell ya, the drama of wondering how these beancounters keep up with the shifts in points had me watching tennis. Maybe we can get a camera inside the ShotLink trailer, because that's where the numbers crunching probably goes on and where the real FedEx Cup drama lies. Anyway...

Let's get the good news out of the way: they won't be tinkering with Cog Hill after Tiger's 62, says Tim Cronin, who talked to Frank Jemsek. Well, at least "not until the bank loan’s paid off.”

With another lame points reshuffle and a runaway win, those who actually watched the BMW tell me there was quite a thrilling finish, thanks in large part to the importance of the top 30 getting into East Lake getting into next year's majors.

First, Bob Harig on Tiger and all of the hard work not paying off.

So despite his holding a 1,504-point lead over Steve Stricker heading to East Lake -- a tournament victory in the playoffs is worth 2,500 points -- Woods' total will be reduced to a 250-point lead, and all 30 players in the field will have a mathematical shot at the $10 million bonus paid to the FedEx Cup winner. The top five, however, are assured of winning the title if they win the Tour Championship.

"That's just our new system," Woods said of the 3-year-old points race, which has been changed every year. "Last year Vijay [Singh] hit his first tee shot and it was already over. The tour wants to have excitement at the last event and that's ultimately what has happened with this new format. … That certainly builds some excitement, and that's different from the last few years."

Steve Elling writes about the non-Tiger drama on the finishing hole involving Brandt Snedeker:

He ran the par putt 40 inches past the hole and then lipped out the crucial bogey putt that would have sent him to Atlanta, where last-place money will be worth around $120,000 and players are guaranteed spots in the first three majors of 2010. Worse, he then drew gasps from the crowd when he hurriedly lipped out a tap-in from 18 inches and finished with a triple-bogey.

"I just yipped it," he said of the bogey effort. "A full-out yip."

While waiting for Snedeker outside the scoring trailer, somebody happened to look in a nearby garbage can. There, atop the pile, was an autographed Bridgestone ball signed by Snedeker himself, which surely wasn't a good sign. He either ditched it himself, or whatever tournament volunteer he handed it to as a souvenir afterward didn't want it.

Harig notes this:

On the 18th hole, Snedeker was in 28th place in the projected points, and he asked NBC's Roger Maltbie what he needed in order to stay in the top 30 after having to lay up in front of the pond.
"I thought I had to make par and he told me bogey would get in," Snedeker said. "Shouldn't have affected me. Shows you how weak mentally I am. Shows you what I need to work on. We'll work on it and we'll be back next year."