Tiger's Playoff Hopes: Without A Win, "Things Get Murky"

The only real intrigue in whether Tiger Woods makes the ResetCup Playoffs lies in how Commissioner Finchem spins the inconceivable notion that the player of his generation is barely eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals.

Because as Kevin Maguire explains, Tiger is going to have to play way better than he has to date if he's going to make the ResetCup playoffs.

Coming into this week, Woods has 45 FedEx Cup points. That means he needs some combination of at least 358 points just to squeak into the field at the Barclays. A victory at the WGC-Bridgestone or the PGA Championship should get him a tee time at Ridgewood Country Club. Without a win, though, things get murky.

There are many permutations as to what could happen the next few weeks. For example, say Woods finishes solo 10th in Akron; that'd be good for 78 points, which would leave him 280 shy of the 403-point mark. He likely would need a second-place finish at the PGA Championship (worth 330 points) to make the playoffs.

Granted, the use of ResetCup points as a barometer of anything is pretty silly, as John Hawkins reminds us that the calendar-year schedule's points leader hasn't been in contention for six months and the world top-5 last played great in March.

Just as the snarkiest of cynics feared, the PGA Tour’s 11 ½-month golf season has become a long walk to a small house. Jimmy Walker hasn’t contended on a Sunday in almost six months, yet he still leads the FedEx Cup points derby by a comfortable margin – Bubba Watson is the only player within 500 points of Mr. Dy-No-Mite.

Remember Patrick Reed? He's been missing in action since the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March, yet he just slipped out of the top 10 and remains one spot ahead of British Open champ Rory McIlroy. Same goes for Jim Furyk, who doesn't have a victory in almost four years, yet remains four spots ahead of Martin Kaymer, who won The Players and U.S. Open.

As for Tiger's 15-1 odds this week, Luke Kerr-Dineen tries to explain the inexplicable: why that price for a guy who hasn't registered a top 20 in 2014?

The answer has to do with incentives. Bookmakers do factor in things like recent form when they set odds, but mostly they're just trying to set prices that will entice people into placing a bet.

Put him at 100-1 and I'm enticed!