The PGA Tour is trying a new experiment this year with the FedEx Cup, a season long standings race culminating in a big playoff and payoff for the winners. A quick glance at the standings show that Tiger has a slim lead at the top over Phil and Vijay, with the rest of the pack falling in line behind them.
| Name | Total Points | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger Woods | 16,716 | 1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 15,818 | 2 |
| Vijay Singh | 13,661 | 3 |
| Zach Johnson | 12,327 | 4 |
| Charles Howell III | 11,856 | 5 |
| Adam Scott | 8,641 | 6 |
| John Rollins | 8,391 | 7 |
| Luke Donald | 8,121 | 8 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 8,044 | 9 |
| Aaron Baddeley | 7,809 | 10 |
| Boo Weekley | 7,717 | 11 |
| Sergio Garcia | 6,977 | 12 |
| Rory Sabbatini | 6,672 | 13 |
| Henrik Stenson | 6,618 | 14 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | 6,377 | 15 |
| Nick Watney | 6,140 | 16 |
| Steve Stricker | 6,107 | 17 |
| Robert Allenby | 6,079 | 18 |
| Scott Verplank | 5,970 | 19 |
| Mark Wilson | 5,609 | 20 |
| Jeff Quinney | 5,376 | 21 |
| Ken Duke | 5,308 | 22 |
| Bubba Watson | 5,281 | 23 |
| Charley Hoffman | 5,232 | 24 |
| Ernie Els | 5,216 | 25 |
| Paul Goydos | 5,103 | 26 |
| Trevor Immelman | 5,047 | 27 |
| Brett Wetterich | 5,016 | 28 |
| Heath Slocum | 4,898 | 29 |
| Ryuji Imada | 4,844 | 30 |
| Anthony Kim | 4,702 | 31 |
| Jim Furyk | 4,701 | 32 |
| Stewart Cink | 4,680 | 33 |
| Jose Coceres | 4,548 | 34 |
| Vaughn Taylor | 4,524 | 35 |
| Jerry Kelly | 4,437 | 36 |
| K.J. Choi | 4,381 | 37 |
| Stuart Appleby | 4,276 | 38 |
| David Toms | 4,209 | 39 |
| Kevin Sutherland | 4,136 | 40 |
| John Senden | 4,126 | 41 |
| Camilo Villegas | 4,031 | 42 |
| Justin Rose | 3,882 | 43 |
| Bart Bryant | 3,861 | 44 |
| Ian Poulter | 3,640 | 45 |
| Rocco Mediate | 3,574 | 46 |
| Lucas Glover | 3,504 | 47 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 3,479 | 48 |
| John Mallinger | 3,423 | 49 |
| Padraig Harrington | 3,255 | 50 |
However, if you take a look at the number of points earned on a per-start basis, you see a very different picture. Tiger jumps way out in front.
| Name | Per-Start | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger Woods | 2388 | 1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 1318 | 2 |
| Adam Scott | 1080 | 6 |
| Zach Johnson | 1027 | 4 |
| Vijay Singh | 976 | 3 |
| Henrik Stenson | 945 | 14 |
| Charles Howell III | 847 | 5 |
| Sergio Garcia | 775 | 12 |
| Jose Coceres | 758 | 34 |
| Luke Donald | 677 | 8 |
| Ernie Els | 652 | 25 |
| Aaron Baddeley | 651 | 10 |
| Justin Rose | 647 | 43 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 619 | 9 |
| John Rollins | 599 | 7 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | 580 | 15 |
| Scott Verplank | 543 | 19 |
| Boo Weekley | 514 | 11 |
| Nick Watney | 512 | 16 |
| Paul Goydos | 510 | 26 |
| Steve Stricker | 509 | 17 |
| Robert Allenby | 507 | 18 |
| Rory Sabbatini | 477 | 13 |
| Mark Wilson | 467 | 20 |
| Trevor Immelman | 459 | 27 |
| Retief Goosen | 431 | 55 |
| Jim Furyk | 427 | 32 |
| Jeff Quinney | 414 | 21 |
| Heath Slocum | 408 | 29 |
| Bubba Watson | 406 | 23 |
| Stewart Cink | 390 | 33 |
| Ken Duke | 379 | 22 |
| Ian Poulter | 364 | 45 |
| Anthony Kim | 362 | 31 |
| Padraig Harrington | 362 | 50 |
| Brett Wetterich | 358 | 28 |
| Rocco Mediate | 357 | 46 |
| Stuart Appleby | 356 | 38 |
| David Toms | 351 | 39 |
| Charley Hoffman | 349 | 24 |
| Vaughn Taylor | 348 | 35 |
| John Senden | 344 | 41 |
| Jerry Kelly | 341 | 36 |
| Camilo Villegas | 336 | 42 |
| Kevin Sutherland | 318 | 40 |
| K.J. Choi | 313 | 37 |
| Ryuji Imada | 303 | 30 |
| Bart Bryant | 297 | 44 |
| Fred Funk | 290 | 59 |
| Jose Maria Olazabal | 275 | 54 |
Talk about separating yourself from the field…