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2009 FedEx Cup Playoffs: Breakdown of the Tour Championship points reset
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Fair or not, once at the Tour Championship, Tiger will control
his own destiny, as will the other top-4 golfers
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The biggest change in the 2009 FedEx Cup points system is the timing of the postseason points reset, and how it will be weighted. In the two years past, the points reset came at the beginning of the playoffs.
It seemed like a sound system at the time. But in each of the past two seasons the Tour Championship was rendered meaningless by good performances early in the playoffs by the top-rated golfer at the time. In 2008 Vijay Singh had such a commanding lead going in to the Tour Championship that the only mathmatical possibility for someone else to win it involved some sort of calamity that kept Vijay from finishing the tournament.
This year the points reset happens immediately before the Tour Championship. The top points leader at that stage of the playoffs will be given 2,500 points, second place will get 2,250 points, third will receive 2,000 points all the way down to 210 points for 30th place (see chart below).
Assuming Tiger Woods manages to hold on to his lead in the points race, this new reset structure would mean that he is not guaranteed to win the FedEx Cup, regardless of his lead going in to the Tour Championship. Woods has to finish strong, as does anyone who wants to earn $10,000,000.
How strong? Well, if Woods finishes out of the top-10 at the Tour Championship, it would mean that everyone in the top-16 has a chance to win the Cup if they win the Tour Championship. If Woods finishes in fifth 
place, the top-11 golfers have a chance to win the Cup.
Simply put, Woods can't afford to lose to anyone in the top-5 if he wants to win the Cup. If Woods comes in second to a golfer outside of the top-5, he'll still win the Cup.
One can kill a lot of time with a spreadsheet and the current FedEx Cup points standings, calculating possibilities, but what it comes down to is simple: The top-5 golfers at the Tour Championship control their own destiny as long as they beat the other top-5 golfers.
Everyone else needs to outperform them, and hope that a few others outperform them in the process as well. Regardless of whether or not the process is fair, it certainly will be exciting.
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