The FedEx Cup is the new end-of-season playoff for the PGA Tour. It is comprised of the last four events of the year and the field is reduced after the second event to 70 players and again after the third event to 30 players for the final event, the Tour Championship. Throughout the season players accumulate points, which are used to establish the rankings for the final four-event playoff series. At the start of the four-event series the points are reset, presumably so that the race is competitive. Woods, who had a large lead before the playoff events commenced, was set to 100,000 points. Second place was set to 99,000 points. A mere 1000 points separating the leaders is insignificant considering that the winning share of points for any of the play-off events is about 9000 points.
What has made the new system especially compelling and more user-friendly are the frequently updated “projected standings.” Instead of waiting until each of the individual playoff tournaments conclude to update the point standing, the online scoreboard and the TV commentators provide updates hole by hole. The projected standings change frequently, but that only lends to the excitement.