Backspin: Casey paves own road, Kuchar a home favorite

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Paul Casey didn't have to worry about someone not picking him Sunday night for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. That's because his runner-up finish at the BMW Championship not only guaranteed him a spot in the field at East Lake, but it moved him to fifth in the FedExCup standings, meaning he'll have a very good chance at winning the FedExCup in two weeks.

"The goal at the beginning of the week was to make the TOUR Championship, so I guess I did that," said Casey, who was also battling a stiff neck on Sunday. "That's a nice consolation. I actually didn't even think about it coming down the stretch. At least I've now got a chance to control my destiny."

Ditto Matt Kuchar, who along with Charley Hoffman, Martin Laird, Ryan Palmer, Jeff Overton, Ryan Moore, Kevin Streelman and Bo Van Pelt will also be playing in his first TOUR Championship. It won't be Kuchar's first time playing East Lake, though. The Atlanta resident and former Georgia Tech standout said he's "probably played it 30 or 40 times."

Champion's Replay

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"I'm really excited about that," Kuchar said. "I'll actually get a chance to play East Lake a couple more times being at home. I'm looking forward to getting a few more practice rounds in."

Kuchar, who was sick all last week and nearly pulled out of the BMW Championship, will undoubtedly be one of the favorites given his course knowledge and the way he's played the last two months. But if any of the players in the top 5 in the FedExCup standings wins there, they'll also win the FedExCup.

That's the nature of the Playoffs. Of course under the initial format in the inaugural 2007 Playoffs, Kuchar wouldn't even have to show up other than to claim the FedExCup trophy because he would have been so far ahead in points, no one could have caught him.

Of the others making their first TOUR Championship, Moore was in contention Sunday but a double bogey on the par-5 11th and a bogey on the par-4 18th ended his chances. Moore wasn't concerned with getting to Atlanta and just wanted to win, he said, but as his brother and agent, Jeremy, told me, "We'll take it."

So will 29 other guys.

Stock up

Dustin Johnson: It's impossible to ignore what Johnson has done the last four months. Five times he's finished in the top 10, which includes Sunday's win. Two other times, he's finished in the top 15. Only three times he's failed contend. Can you say Player of the Year? FedExCup rank: 2 (16 last week) Matt Kuchar: IThe guy with the best chance to beat out Johnson for POY is Kuchar, who wasn't great Sunday with a 72 but has had a banner year with a win and more top-10s than anyone with 11, a TOUR-best 69.57 scoring average and of tops the FedExCup standings. If he wins in Atlanta, he'll win the FedExCup and likely be the POY. FedExCup rank: 1 (1 last week) Steve Stricker: Another Playoffs event, another top-10. Stricker picked up the 10th of his career Sunday, shooting a 70 to climb into a tie for eighth. On the year, Stricker has nine top-10s with five of them, including a win, coming in the last two months. A win in Atlanta could possibly give Stricker POY honors depending what Kuchar and Johnson do. FedExCup rank: 4 (3 last week)

Stock down

Rory McIlroy: The seventh-ranked player in the world sure didn't play like it during the Playoffs. As a member of two tours, McIlroy was run a little ragged and ready for the season to be over with and it showed with a T56, T37 and T37 in three Playoffs events. The last of those cost him a trip to Atlanta. FedExCup rank: 36 (29 last week) Anthony Kim: Pre-thumb surgery, Kim had four top-7 finishes, including a win. Post-surgery, he missed four straight cuts and finished well back in the other two events that didn't have cuts. Kim is oozing with talent, you just hope the injury doesn't affect him long term. FedExCup rank: 41 (34 last week) Ricky Barnes: After five top-10s in the first six months of the season, Barnes had zero over the last three months, missing two of his last four cuts and failing to break 70 in 11 of his last 12 rounds. It was a career year for Barnes, but his Playoffs are now over. FedExCup rank: 64 (54 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. After his win Sunday, Dustin Johnson now has the edge in the Player of the Year race. If he wins at East Lake, he'll most certainly get it (along with the FedExCup). Matt Kuchar, Mickelson and even Steve Stricker still have a chance, but it will all depend on what Johnson does.

2. Stat of the Week: Kevin Streelman tied for third at The Barclays but in the last two Playoffs events didn't finish in the top 40. That was enough to get him into THE TOUR Championship, though. Obviously the Playoffs system is working but expect it to at least be looked at this offseason as it is every year.

3. On the flip side of Streelman getting into THE TOUR Championship were Charlie Wi and Rickie Fowler, among others, being eliminated from the Playoffs. Wi bogeyed the last hole to fall out of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, while Fowler shot 73 Sunday to finish in a tie for 45th and drop outside the top 30 as well.

4. Tiger Woods obviously isn't happy not qualifying for a tournament for the first time in his career by not making it to THE TOUR Championship, but you get the feeling he's relieved that he can now go home and practice. "I was looking forward to only getting a one week break, but now I've got two," Woods said. "It'll be good because now I can practice at home with Sean (Foley) in peace and away from everybody and put some work in and also work on my short game and my putting, things I have not been able to do out here."

5. There were four players, however, that did play their way into THE TOUR Championship: Kevin Na (from No. 41 to 20), K.J. Choi (52 to 23), Camilo Villegas (33 to 25) and Ryan Moore (58 to 26).

6. Is it just me or was it a little odd to hear so much criticism of Cog Hill in the second year since Rees Jones' redesign? As several players pointed out, a cold winter, hot summer and an unusually high amount of rain led to less-than-ideal conditions, which prompted Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink to say on a scale of 1 to 10 that the course was a "minus 3." Reading between the lines, and judging by other quips in the past, it was a criticism of Jones as much as anything. The timing just seems odd.

7. Paul Casey handled his Ryder Cup snub as well as could be expected but you can tell it cuts deeply, especially the thought that he's somehow too American because he moved to the U.S. long ago, married an American woman and plays on the PGA TOUR as well as the European Tour. "I did pick up some stuff about not supporting the [European] Tour, and I know the facts," Casey said. "I know how many I played in Europe compared to guys who were picked, so I'm not even going to get into that." Asked if being passed over motivated him, Casey said. "Yes." Asked to expand on that, he said, "No. I can't go there, unfortunately." Expect the European selection process to get a long look in the future.

8. U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin said last week he's not opposed to pairing anyone on the team -- though I think we'd all agree we won't see Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson playing together after that failed Hal Sutton experiment. Pavin also said he wouldn't be opposed to sitting Woods. This is just a guess, but I don't see that happening. Ever.

9. Speaking of the Ryder Cup, one pairing you can probably expect from Europe is Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy. Kaymer won the KLM Open over the weekend and said he'd love to be paired with McIlroy, who he is good friends with.

The Forward Spin

THE TOUR Championship will go a long way in deciding an awful lot this year -- namely the FedExCup champion and the Player of the Year. The biggest change this year is the field won't have Tiger Woods or Stewart Cink, who was formerly one of three players to have played in every Playoffs event since its inception. Given how the rest of the year has gone, we shouldn't be surprised because it's been a season of surprises. As for past TOUR Championships at East Lake, Phil Mickelson has won twice there, last year and in 2000. Adam Scott (won in 2006) and Jim Furyk (a runner-up to Scott) have also played well there. If Mickelson wins there again, he'll win the FedExCup, unlike last year when Tiger Woods won the FedExCup by finishing second.