Other articles by Doug Ferguson:

Tiger could play in January but wouldn't be 100 percent Back nine magic gives Harrington PGA crown 'Justice' for all: Romero, rain turn 'Monster' mild Harrington enters golf royalty Norman on march toward golf history Duval says guessing is part of strategy Regaining his teeth Puzzled Mediate one of three leaders Relentless winds give golfers a tougher test Big stage is set for Garcia to step up in a major way

General
CORT
WAREHOUSE/DRIVER Construction
Komatsu Equipment Co
Mechanic Health Care
Rio Salado College
PA's/Online Instructors General
CORT
Warehouse Supervisor Education
Assessment Technology, Inc
Social Studies Content Writer

A blockbuster end to the PGA Tour season. A season-long points competition. A bonus worth five times the typical first-place check.

Enter the FedEx Cup, the biggest shake-up in Tim Finchem's 13 years as commissioner.

For the last 50 years, the golf season has been defined by four major championships that begin in April with the Masters and end in August with the PGA Championship.

The FedEx Cup is a points race that starts with the opening tee shot at Kapalua and concludes with four playoff events.

The winner gets $10 million deferred, which the tour touts as the richest prize in sports.

Some players find the concept intriguing.

"There's a good chance the FedEx Cup will one day have that same allure (as the majors)," Phil Mickelson said. "There's also a chance that four years from now, it will be a flop. I don't know."

Even before the first shot, the tour lost its hope of all the stars competing for four straight weeks. Tiger Woods, the No. 1 player, said he would sit out the first tournament at The Barclays because he was tired after winning a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship in consecutive weeks.

Under this cloud of uncertainty, the FedEx Cup heads toward a conclusion when The Barclays starts Thursday outside New York. Only 144 players qualify for the playoffs. Week by week, the field will be reduced until the top 30 reach Atlanta for the Tour Championship.

"It's going to be interesting to see how everything holds up," Woods said earlier this month. "It's a lot of golf later in the year."

The idea was for golf to be compelling beyond the majors, and before football takes over America's sporting interests.

The Tour Championship ends Sept. 16, seven weeks earlier than last year.

"The reason other sports find it easy to define their seasons is because it's always about the end," Finchem said. "Not only do we have a weak ending, it's overshadowed by spikes of interest you have from big tournaments. We need a culminating event that's special."

Players are still slow to understand how it works.

"I don't know nothing about the FedEx Cup," Boo Weekley said. "I just know I'm playing golf, and that's all that matters to me."

Here's the crib sheet on the FedEx Cup:

● Points have been awarded from the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship until the week after the PGA Championship, with the top 144 players eligible for The Barclays.

● Points are reset going into the playoffs to keep someone like Woods from having too large an advantage. When the playoffs begin, Woods will be the No. 1 seed with 100,000 points, while Vijay Singh is No. 2 with 99,000. The 144th player starts at 84,700.

● The winner of each of the first three playoff events gets 9,000 points, with 5,400 for second on down to 85 points for last place.

The Tour Championship offers 10,300 points for first place.

"I don't know the breakdown of every point total … but I've got a general idea of what's going on," Chad Campbell said. "I know if I finish first in the next three events, I'll be doing all right."

It will be rare to see so many top players at the same tournament once the majors are over. Mickelson, Singh, Ernie Els, Adam Scott and British Open champion Padraig Harrington are among those who plan to play them all.

But those who play poorly might not be around very long.

The field at The Barclays will be cut to the top 120 in points for the Deutsche Bank Championship. The top 70 will get into the BMW Championship in Chicago, and the top 30 will advance to the Tour Championship.