Woods and Mickelson highlight successful FedExCup

After two successive years of tweaking the points structure for the lucrative FedExCup playoff events, the PGA Tour appears to have come close to finding the ideal recipe to produce a blockbuster finale.

The season-long points race ended with a flourish at the Tour Championship on Sunday with four players having the opportunity to clinch the $10 million bonus over the last nine holes at East Lake Golf Club.

World number one Tiger Woods, the most consistent golfer during the 2009 campaign, ultimately took the title after finishing second at East Lake, three shots behind fellow American Phil Mickelson.

Although eyebrows may be raised over the fact that Woods clinched the grand prize despite not winning the final playoff event, there was agreement among the players that the correct result had been achieved.

"I didn't play well the first three FedExCup events," Mickelson told reporters after sealing his 37th PGA Tour victory with a flawless 65 in tough conditions.

"I don't deserve to win the entire FedExCup just based on one tournament win. The best player won, the guy who played the best in all four events won, but I liked the fact that I was able to make up extra ground here in the final event."

Woods, who won the inaugural FedExCup in 2007 after coasting to an eight-stroke victory in the Tour Championship, recognised the need to hit form late in the season.

"The whole idea is to play well at the end and that's kind of how it's structured," said the 33-year-old, who led the points standings going into the Tour Championship after winning the third playoff event, the BMW Championship.

RIGHT TIMES

"You just have to play well at the right times," added Woods, who won six title on the 2009 PGA Tour. "It is what it is. It's very similar to what they do with NASCAR, what they try to do with playoffs in other sports."

When the FedExCup series was launched in 2007, the points system was too rigid, leaving players with far too much ground to make up on the leaders going into the final stretch.

Last year, the final playoff event proved to be anti-climactic with Vijay Singh merely needing to show up for the Tour Championship to clinch the trophy.

What had been dubbed as the PGA Tour's much-trumpeted new era in 2007 ended limply in 2008 as Fijian Singh simply needed to complete the final round after winning the first two playoff events.

This year, however, was a very different story with every player in the field of 30 having a chance to seal FedExCup honours.

The Tour's bold attempt in 2007 to breathe life into its late-season events with a NASCAR-style finale has finally caught the attention of the fans and especially the players.

"It's provided a lot of excitement," said Steve Stricker, who briefly edged ahead of Woods in the race on Sunday before slipping back with bogeys on 16 and 17.

"All the players coming in here had a legitimate chance at winning the FedExCup. It was certainly a lot closer than it has been over the last two years.

"I gave it a run, and it was a lot of fun," added the American, who finished third in the points standings behind Woods and Mickelson.

The 2009 FedExCup was unquestionably a success, although some have suggested further excitement could be injected by switching the Tour Championship finale to a matchplay format. Time will tell if further tweaks will be made for 2010.