Four weeks. Four tournaments. Eight Bulldogs. One survivor. $67 million on the line.
The 2013-14 FedExCup Playoffs begin this week with The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey before heading to Boston, then Denver and finally to Atlanta. Along the way, the field of 125 eligible players will be whittled to 30 for the finale, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola the week of Sept. 8.
Each tournament will produce a winner, but it's the FedExCup points race that provides the next four weeks with its special allure. The player who leads in points after the TOUR Championship will be crowned the FedExCup champion, ending the season-long chase that started nearly a year ago at the Frys.com Open.
Incidentally, the FedExCup winner receives a $10 million bonus that comes from a pool of $35 million in FedExCup bonus money. With the four Playoffs events offering a combined purse of $32 million, let's just say there's a lot at stake during the next four weeks.
How do the FedExCup Playoffs work? Start with the top 125 players in points during the FedExCup season -- which includes No. 3 Bubba Watson, No. 10 Chris Kirk, No. 12 Brendon Todd, No. 17 Harris English, No. 21 Brian Harman, No. 50 Russell Henley, No. 65 Erik Compton and No. 93 Kevin Kisner.
The list is reduced to 100 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, then 70 for the BMW Championship, then 30 for the Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship.
Going into East Lake, the points are reset to give every player a mathematical shot at winning the FedExCup. But only the top five in points control their own destiny. If any of the top five wins the TOUR Championship, then he automatically wins the FedExCup. Everyone else needs varying degrees of help.
