Playoff champ: Tiger wins the inaugural FedExCup

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Tiger Woods won the final two events of the 2007 PGA TOUR Playoffs to claim the first FedExCup title.

ATLANTA -- Short of the major championships, the inaugural PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup produced the most riveting golf of the 2007 season.

There wasn't a dull moment in any of the four Playoff events. At The Barclays in New York, veteran Steve Stricker earned his first win in six years in dramatic fashion by making birdie on four of the final five holes for a two-shot triumph over K.J. Choi.

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Next it was on to the Boston area for the Deutsche Bank Championship where Phil Mickelson out dueled Tiger Woods in a dream final-round pairing.

A week later in Chicago, with Mickelson taking the week off, Woods romped all comers and walked off with his record fourth win in the BMW Championship, two shots better than Australia's Aaron Baddeley.

It was déjà vu all over again on Sunday in the Playoffs finale at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, with Woods dominating yet again -- this time an eight-shot victory -- and picking up his fourth win in five starts and seventh of the season. Woods' winning total of 23-under-par 257 at East Lake shattered the tournament record by six shots, which was previously set by Bart Bryant in 2005.

The win was also significant, as it marked the 61st of Woods' career, leaving him just one win away from tying Arnold Palmer for fifth on the all-time list.

Going into Sunday's final round, Woods was an amazing 40-3 with a 54-hole lead. Ironically, two of those defeats came at East Lake in THE TOUR Championship.

"I never really looked at this week like that. I just thought that I've had my chances here at this golf course, I just haven't gotten it done yet," he said. "I felt that the golf course set up well for me over the years, I just unfortunately haven't won. I've come close, been in position, led for three rounds and just haven't gotten it done. There's no reason why I couldn't do it this week, and it so happened to be."

Masters champion Zach Johnson provided some drama at THE TOUR Championship when he recorded the lowest score of the season with a 10-under-par, course-record 60 in the third round. All three of Johnson's TOUR wins have come in the Peach state, including two this year. At East Lake, he finished in a tie for second with Mark Calcavecchia. In order to join the exclusive "59" club, Johnson needed to hole a bunker shot on the par-3 18th. What was the distance? Fifty feet, nine inches, or, 50'9".

"My shoulders felt heavy, and my legs felt like they weighed nothing," said Johnson, who missed holing out from the sand by about a foot. "My hands were shaking, and my heart was pounding. I was breathing all right, though. I guess the yoga that I've been doing helped out a little bit, seriously. And I felt good about the tee shot, the 18th tee shot. The number I had was great. I had a great club for it, just a smooth 2-iron, and I fanned it. But whatever. It is what it is."

Despite missing the Playoffs opener in New York, Woods won the first FedExCup by finishing in a tie for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship followed by two wins, affording him the chance to pick up two pieces of hardware on Sunday.

"I think that overall, the FedExCup was a success," Woods said. "I think that there need to be tweaks, yes, there needs to be some tweaks, but I think overall, it provided a lot of drama towards the end of the season, especially post PGA when most of the guys shut it down. You know, post PGA, it's either Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, and that's basically all anyone ever talks about, now that the Bridgestone has moved to the week before the PGA especially."

Does it shock Tiger's fellow competitors when he dominates the way he did at East Lake?

"Not anymore," said Johnson. "It doesn't cease to amaze me anymore. He's unbelievable."

Stricker, who ultimately finished second to Woods in the FedExCup standings and took home a $3 million bonus, said that the Playoffs were the most significant set of tournaments he's played in his career because of the stretch of outstanding play he's put together.

"The run that I've been on, heading all the way back to the U.S. Open, really, each week it seems like I've gotten in contention, had a lot of opportunities maybe, except for the Bridgestone [Invitational] and PGA [Championship] -- and then this stretch of four right here has been a little bit of a whirlwind, but it's been so much fun. I've enjoyed it. You know, I feel like I've grown as a player, and I've learned a lot again. It's been great."

When the FedExCup made it to Atlanta for THE TOUR Championship, there were five players who mathematically had a chance to win the ultimate $10 million prize with varying levels of miracles needing to come to fruition. The favorite, obviously, was Woods who entered with a hefty 3,000+ points lead over Stricker. Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini and Choi also, technically, had a chance.

Mickelson took third-place honors in the FedExCup and a $2 million bonus. After winning the Deutsche Bank Championship, Mickelson publicly criticized the way the FedExCup was laid out and decided to skip the BMW Championship, saying he wanted to spend some time with his family. But on Sunday, following his 20th-place finish at THE TOUR Championship, it seemed as though Lefty had come around.

"I think I'll have to be fair and give it three or four years because we certainly need some adjustments here or there, and over time, I'm curious to see how it irons out," he said. "But for the most part, it was a successful first year, and I think it'll continue to get better."

While Choi wound up finishing fifth in the standings and taking home a $1 million bonus, the South Korean was more than happy to put that exclamation point on his most successful season to date on TOUR, which included victories at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley (Jack Nicklaus' event) and the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods.

"As a player, you've got to feel honored to be in that position to have a chance to win the Cup. You know, it was a motivating factor," Choi said. "I felt very good. I felt like through the stretch of four tournaments, you know, I was able to elevate my game another notch, and I think, just overall, it helped me to become a better player."

All in all, the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup accomplished its goal of bringing together the world's best on a regular basis and provided exhilarating golf with a proper ending with the No. 1 player coming out on top.

"For me, I don't look at what the purse is or prize money," Woods said. "You play, and when you play, you play to win, period. You know, that's how my dad raised me is you go out there and win. If you win, everything will take care of itself. You take great pride in what you do on the golf course, and when you're able to win events, that's when you can go home and be very proud of what you've done."

This story was originally posted on PGATOUR.COM on Sept. 17, 2007