2009 Fed Ex Cup - Alternative Final 30 Scenarios


2009 PGA Tour Season 2009 Fed Ex Cup Playoffs


1 .. Pre-2009 Tour Championship Leaders

2009 was the third year of the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs. The PGA Tour changed the points reset rules from the previous two
years. From 2009 onwards, points earned in the first three playoff events would be added to the regular season points
already earned. Then, before the Tour Championship, the points for the Final Top 30 players would all be reset.

For our 2009 alternative scenario, the pre-Tour Championship points reset is -NOT- performed. So, now going into the
2009 tournament, 2007 Fed Ex champion Tiger Woods leads the way with 7,196 points. Steve Stricker is 2nd with 5,692
points, Jim Furyk 3rd with 3,108 points, Zach Johnson 4th with 3,031 points, Heath Slocum 5th with 3,005 points,
and so on all the way down to #30 John Senden with 1,532 points.

It should be noted that Woods' 1,504 point lead over Steve Stricker, as well as the 5,664 point difference
between #1 Woods and #30 John Senden is due mainly to the 2.5x point values (versus 1.0x, 1.1x and 1.2x
for regular season events) of the first three playoff events.

Full Top 30 Fed Ex Cup leaderboard going into the 2009 Tour Championship .....
                           FX Points                                 FX Points
  Rank  Player             Normal   Reset    Rank  Player            Normal  Reset
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1    Tiger Woods        7,196   2,500     16    Marc Leishman     2,070   380
   2    Steve Stricker     5,692   2,250     17    Brian Gay         1,989   360
   3    Jim Furyk          3,108   2,000     18    Kevin Na          1,976   340
   4    Zach Johnson       3,031   1,800     19    David Toms        1,951   320
   5    Heath Slocum       3,005   1,600     20    Lucas Glover      1,919   310

   6  Padraig Harrington   2,633   1,400     21    Y.E. Yang         1,919   300
   7    Sean O'Hair        2,624   1,200     22    Ernie Els         1,833   290
   8    Scott Verplank     2,416   1,000     23    Hunter Mahan      1,832   280
   9    Kenny Perry        2,318     800     24    Ángel Cabrera     1,690   270
  10    Jason Dufner       2,224     600     25    Steve Marino      1,681   260

  11    Dustin Johnson     2,212     480     26    Stewart Cink      1,663   250
  12    Nick Watney        2,170     460     27    Mike Weir         1,631   240
  13    Geoff Ogilvy       2,126     440     28    Luke Donald       1,570   230
  14    Phil Mickelson     2,110     420     29    Jerry Kelly       1,568   220
  15    Retief Goosen      2,091     400     30    John Senden       1,532   210


2 .. Pre-2009 Tour Championship:   Actual and Alternative Fed Ex Cup Points

The actual points distribution used (a total of 13,590 pts) for the 2009 Tour Championship was as follows ....
   1.. 2,500     6.. 500    11.. 350    16.. 275    21.. 250    26.. 225
   2.. 1,500     7.. 450    12.. 325    17.. 270    22.. 245    27.. 220
   3.. 1,000     8.. 425    13.. 300    18.. 265    23.. 240    28.. 215
   4..   750     9.. 400    14.. 285    19.. 260    24.. 235    29.. 210
   5..   550    10.. 375    15.. 280    20.. 255    25.. 230    30.. 205
A post reset difference of 2,290 points between #1 Tiger Woods and #30 John Seden was just barely covered by
the actual point distribution used for the 2009 Tour Championship. Furthermore, a Seden Tour Championship win
along with a Fed Ex Cup win assumed that Tiger Woods would finish dead last in the tournament.

In other scenarios, all assuming a Senden win and a Woods dead last finish, Steve Stricker would need to finish
no better than solo 7th; Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson, no better than a two-way tie for 4th; Heath Slocum, no better
than solo 3rd. For others in the field, the combinations to win the Fed Ex Cup vary - simple in the upper standings,
more complex as one goes down the rankings.

For 2009, an alternative points distribution method, which offers a total of 72,000 pts, calculated,
approved and announced on the Monday before play in the Tour Championship begins, is as follows ....
  1.. 12,000    6.. 2,880    11.. 1,872    16.. 1,632    21.. 1,416    26.. 1,296
  2..  6,600    7.. 2,520    12.. 1,824    17.. 1,584    22.. 1,392    27.. 1,272
  3..  5,040    8.. 2,160    13.. 1,776    18.. 1,536    23.. 1,368    28.. 1,248
  4..  3,840    9.. 2,040    14.. 1,728    19.. 1,488    24.. 1,344    29.. 1,224
  5..  3,360   10.. 1,920    15.. 1,680    20.. 1,440    25.. 1,320    30.. 1,200
With the alternative points distribution in effect, a few of the potential scenarios it creates are as follows ....

»» Players #1 thru # 23 ... JUST WIN, BABY !!

»» Players #24 thru #30
    Combination of winning Tour Championship (12,000 pts)
    -AND-
    Tiger Woods finishing no better than a two-way tie for 2nd (5,820 pts)


The customized alternative Tour Championship points makes the 2009 Fed Ex Cup winning scenarios less complex and
easier to understand. Also, a sense of real urgency to play as well as one can rather than just coasting along is created,
especially for the leading players who, in the right scenario, can easily be surpassed by any player in the field.

Now, on to the actual 2009 Tour Championship results, which will include the alternative points distribution and the
various potential scenarios which have been created by such points. One can compare and contrast both Tour
Championship reset and non-reset scores, as well as the final "actual" and "alternative" Fed Ex Cup standings.



3 .. The 2009 Tour Championship .... Actual-fact results, plus alternative points

Phil Mickelson won the tournament with a final round 65. However, Tiger Woods stayed in touch with the
leading players, taking the tournament runner-up spot to clinch the Fed Ex Cup. That's the actual story.

PURSE: $ 7,500,000     1st Prize: $ 1,350,000     No-Cut Field of 30     30 of 30 finishers
  Player            Finish   Scores                 Tournament    FX Points
  --                --       --                     Money         Actual   Alternative
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Phil Mickelson    WINNER   73, 67, 66, 65 = 271   $ 1,350,000   2,500    12,000

  Tiger Woods           2    67, 68, 69, 70 = 274   $   810,000   1,500    6,600

  Sean O'Hair           3    66, 70, 70, 69 = 275   $   517,500   1,000    5,040

  Padraig Harrington   T4    67, 69, 71, 69 = 276   $   330,000   650      3,600
  Kenny Perry          T4    72, 66, 64, 74 = 276   $   330,000   650      3,600

  Steve Stricker        6    70, 72, 66, 69 = 277   $   270,000   500      2,880

  Jim Furyk            T7    72, 68, 71, 67 = 278   $   247,500   437.50   2,340
  Steve Marino         T7    69, 71, 67, 71 = 278   $   247,500   437.50   2,340

  Ernie Els             9    71, 66, 71, 71 = 279   $   225,000   400      2,040

  Lucas Glover        T10    68, 71, 72, 69 = 280   $   202,500   350      1,872
  Jerry Kelly         T10    71, 67, 71, 71 = 280   $   202,500   350      1,872
  John Senden         T10    70, 70, 69, 71 = 280   $   202,500   350      1,872

  Angel Cabrera       T13    72, 67, 70, 72 = 281   $   174,000   288.33   1,728
  David Toms          T13    74, 66, 70, 71 = 281   $   174,000   288.33   1,728
  Nick Watney         T13    70, 69, 71, 71 = 281   $   174,000   288.33   1,728

  Zach Johnson        T16    70, 72, 73, 67 = 282   $   156,000   272.50   1,608
  Geoff Ogilvy        T16    75, 73, 64, 70 = 282   $   156,000   272.50   1,608

  Y.E. Yang            18    71, 75, 66, 71 = 283   $   150,000   265      1,536

  Heath Slocum        T19    73, 68, 71, 72 = 284   $   144,000   255      1,449
  Jason Dufner        T19    71, 68, 73, 72 = 284   $   144,000   255      1,449
  Stewart Cink        T19    67, 72, 70, 75 = 284   $   144,000   255      1,449

  Scott Verplank       22    70, 71, 74, 70 = 285   $   138,000   245      1,392

  Retief Goosen        23    69, 72, 72, 73 = 286   $   135,000   240      1,368

  Hunter Mahan         24    71, 73, 72, 71 = 287   $   132,000   235      1,344

  Luke Donald         T25    70, 71, 78, 69 = 288   $   127,500   227.50   1,308
  Mike Weir           T25    72, 72, 70, 74 = 288   $   127,500   227.50   1,308

  Dustin Johnson       27    69, 74, 73, 73 = 289   $   124,500   220      1,272

  Brian Gay           T28    72, 72, 76, 72 = 292   $   122,250   212.50   1,236
  Marc Leishman       T28    70, 74, 70, 78 = 292   $   122,250   212.50   1,236

  Kevin Na             30    73, 70, 75, 75 = 293   $   120,000   205      1,200



4 .. Final 2009 Fed Ex Cup Top 30 Standings -- Actual and Alternative

Phil Mickelson's 12,000-alt point tournament victory overcame Tiger Woods' 6,600-alt point solo 2nd place finish,
and this result allowed Mickelson to lay undisputed claim to the alternative-reality Fed Ex Cup title.

Among significant alternative-over-actual standings were Sean O'Hair moving up from 5th to 4th, Padraig Harrington
moving up from 7th to 5th, Kenny Perry moving up from 9th to 6th, and Steve Marino moving up from 15th to 10th.
    --                      Actual      --                  Alternative   Fed Ex Cup
    Rank  Player            Points      Rank  Player             Points   Bonus Money
    ------------------------------      -------------------------------   ------------
     1    Tiger Woods       4,000        1    Phil Mickelson     14,110   $ 10,000,000

     2    Phil Mickelson    2,920        2    Tiger Woods        13,796   $ 3,000,000

     3    Steve Stricker    2,750        3    Steve Stricker      8,572   $ 2,000,000

     4    Jim Furyk         2,438        4    Sean O'Hair         7,664   $ 1,500,000

     5    Sean O'Hair       2,200        5    Padraig Harrington  6,233   $ 1,000,000

     6    Zach Johnson      2,073        6    Kenny Perry         5,918   $ 800,000
     7  Padraig Harrington  2,050        7    Jim Furyk           5,448   $ 700,000
     8    Heath Slocum      1,855        8    Zach Johnson        4,639   $ 600,000
     9    Kenny Perry       1,450        9    Heath Slocum        4,454   $ 550,000
    10    Scott Verplank    1,245       10    Steve Marino        4,021   $ 500,000

    11    Jason Dufner        855       11    Nick Watney         3,898   $ 300,000
    12    Nick Watney         748       12    Ernie Els           3,873   $ 290,000
    13    Geoff Ogilvy        713       13    Lucas Glover        3,791   $ 280,000
    14    Dustin Johnson      700       14    Geoff Ogilvy        3,873   $ 270,000
    15    Steve Marino        698       15    Scott Verplank      3,808   $ 250,000

    16    Ernie Els           690       16    David Toms          3,679   $ 245,000
    17    Lucas Glover        660       17    Jason Dufner        3,673   $ 240,000
    18    Retief Goosen       640       18    Dustin Johnson      3,484   $ 235,000
    19    David Toms          608       19    Retief Goosen       3,459   $ 230,000
    20    Marc Leishman       593       20    Y.E. Yang           3,455   $ 225,000

    21    Brian Gay           573       21    Jerry Kelly         3,440   $ 220,000
    22    Jerry Kelly         570       22    Angel Cabrera       3,418   $ 215,000
    23    Y.E. Yang           565       23    John Senden         3,404   $ 210,000
    24    John Senden         560       24    Mark Leishman       3,306   $ 205,000
    25    Ángel Cabrera       558       25    Brian Gay           3,225   $ 200,000

    26    Kevin Na            545     T-26    Kevin Na            3,176   $ 195,000 **
    27    Hunter Mahan        515     T-26    Hunter Mahan        3,176   $ 190,000 **
    28    Stewart Cink        505       28    Stewart Cink        3,112   $ 185,000
    29    Mike Weir           468       29    Mike Weir           2,939   $ 180,000
    30    Luke Donald         458       30    Luke Donald         2,878   $ 175,000

    ** = In the alternate reality, Kevin Na and Hunter Mahan tied for 26th place,
         resulting in an equal $ 192,500 split of the 26th and 27th place prizes.




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2009 Fed Ex Cup - Alternative Final 30 Scenarios


2009 PGA Tour Season 2009 Fed Ex Cup Playoffs


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