FedExCup Notes: THE PLAYERS Championship

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• Tiger Woods' first place standing is safe for the 11th straight week, but Phil Mickelson could cut into his lead, and a remarkable 15 others have a chance to move into second with a victory. Of those 15 others, only three missed the cut last year (Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard and Bart Bryant) and one wasn't in the field (Andres Romero).

• Of note, any PGA TOUR member in the field who wins this week would move solidly into the top 30.

• Several players in the field who did well in 2007 are doing even better this year, including 4 who have already earned more points this year than last. Of the players who finished among the top 70 seeds for the 2007 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, the players below are the ones who've had an even better season so far this year by at least 1,000 points. Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim, Sean O'Hair and Ryuji Imada have more points already in 2008 than through all of the 2007 Regular Season.

• A number of players in the top 30 in the 2008 FedExCup Points Standings are heavily dependent on their victory to have gotten them there. The chart below lists the top 12 winners in the field, ranked by average points per start. Last year, it took an average of about 500 points per start to be in the top 15 and 350 pps to make the top 30, so all of these players appear to be on track. However, based on their "points per start excluding wins," unless Ernie Els, Steve Lowery, and Greg Kraft win again or dramatically pick up their pace, they won't make the top 30. Sean O'Hair, Andres Romero and J.B. Holmes are similarly in danger of missing the top 15 by the end of the Regular Season.