Backspin: Furyk rewarded for his consistency all year

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ATLANTA -- In the end, this year's PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup provided the most compelling finish we've seen in the four years of its existence. In other words, the system worked.

For five hours on Sunday, it was anyone's guess who was going to win THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup trophy. And in the final hour, for all intents and purposes, we had a match-play situation between Jim Furyk, Luke Donald and Retief Goosen. Paul Casey and Nick Watney were in that picture, too, before each eventually faded to finish in a tie for fourth.

In this year's FedExCup champion, you also have a player in Furyk who was rewarded for his consistency all year and his play on Sunday. His first career TOUR Championship victory and third win of the season will also likely land him Player of the Year honors.

Asked afterward which trophy meant more to him, Furyk looked back and forth at both sitting on the table in the interview room and said, "This one," as he tapped on the FedExCup.

"This one is in this one, if that makes sense," said Furyk pointing to the TOUR Championship crystal then to the FedExCup. "They both mean a lot to be honest with you, but this one is a season.

"I just don't think it's sunk in. I'm usually not at a loss for words, and I struggled a little bit. I wasn't so smooth in the ceremonies there afterwards. Three wins is very, very special to me."

That was pretty evident by a rare sign of raw emotion from Furyk, who pumped his fists and let out a holler after getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the 72nd hole to win by one on a rainy, dark Sunday evening at East Lake.

"I hit it, and I knew it was in the middle, and I'm taking a step to pick it up as it's going in, and it just hit me," Furyk said. "I was excited and dropped the putter and -- you know, I don't know. I guess at that moment you're not really responsible for what happens next, you just go with whatever happens."

Asked where the win ranks among his 16 career victories, Furyk said he didn't know but that it was up there.

"I'll wait until I see how it all sinks in, but I'm always going to remember -- you always say you remember your first, so I remember my first win and how special that was," Furyk said. "I was 25 years old in Vegas, and then my first major championship, my only major championship, was the U.S. Open in '03, and that kind of trumps your first win. That one will always be special. We get judged by the number of tournaments we win and by the number of majors we win. It was a big feather in my cap. So I would put this up there very close."

Earlier in the week, Commissioner Tim Finchem said the TOUR, depending what happened last week, would take a look at the FedExCup points system. After the performance of Furyk and others, they probably won't have to look very hard.

Stock up

Luke Donald: One way to validate being a Captain's Pick for the Ryder Cup: finish second, twice, in three starts. He also had an opportunity to win the FedExCup. Donald was in the top seven in putting and GIR at East Lake and that's a big part of why he's on the team. FedExCup rank: 3 (7 last week) Charley Hoffman: Say what you want about Hoffman with respect to the Playoffs system, but he saved his best golf for last with three of his top-10s this season coming in his final five starts, which included a win at TPC Boston and a sixth-place finish at East Lake.FedExCup rank: 4 (3 last week) Retief Goosen: He won't win Player of the Year, but Goosen very quietly put together one of the best seasons on TOUR with 10 top-10s, the last of which came Sunday at East Lake, where he finished third. All that was missing was a win. FedExCup rank: 10 (17 last week)

Stock down

Phil Mickelson: On a course he has a history of playing well on, Mickelson never really got untracked and Sunday completely fell apart with a 74. He hit just 34 percent of his fairways last week and ended the Playoffs without ever really contending. He also failed for the 12th time this season to take over No. 1 in OWGR. FedExCup rank: 13 (10 last week) Bubba Watson: In fairness to Watson, hes been distracted by the failing health of his father, who is suffering from lung cancer. Watson finished 16th at East Lake, giving him zero top-10s in the Playoffs after a T31, T37 and a T50 in the first three events. FedExCup rank: 22 (18 last week) Jeff Overton: His play at East Lake pretty much mirrored his play the rest of the Playoffs: Not good. The six top-10s he had this year seem like a long time ago for Overton, who failed to crack 70 in his last 13 rounds and, other than THE TOUR Championship, failed to register a finish in the top 50 in any of his last five starts. FedExCup rank: 29 (24 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. More on that rare outburst of emotion from Furyk: He didn't even know at the time that he'd won the FedExCup. He didn't find that out until afterward. But he'd had chances to win at East Lake in 2008 and 2009 and was "just happy," as he put it, about the victory under what were very demanding conditions all day Sunday. "I get criticized a lot and you hear a lot of people from the crowd sometimes say, 'God, would you just smile?'" Furyk said. "It's my way to stay in my own little world and stay focused. Then it's funny when I do, when I pump my fist and run around -- Tiger would have done that and no one would have thought anything about it. But because it's me, people go, 'God, it looks like he's having fun out there.' Trust me, I'm having a blast."

2. A big part of Furyk's story at East Lake was his putter. He'd picked up a used Yes! Model putter (the same brand Retief Goosen has used to win the U.S. Open) from Joe & Leigh's in South Easton, Mass., for $39 the week of the Deutsche Bank Championship and has been using it ever since the final round at TPC Boston. At East Lake, Furyk missed just three putts inside 10 feet all week and ranked in the top 10 in putts per round. "It was the only one in the shop of about 300 putters," Furyk said. "At the time I didn't think it was all that pretty to be honest with you, but it's getting a lot better looking every day." That's what you call a nice return on your investment.

3. Furyk's up-and-down from the greenside bunker on 18 wasn't the hardest shot he's faced in his career but it was easier than if he'd gone long and left on the par-3 finishing hole. That's what he did in 1998, costing himself a chance at a playoff, which Hal Sutton ultimately won. "I pretty much thought I could get the ball up-and-down or make 3 from anywhere if I was pin high or short," Furyk said. He did and that was that.

4. It wasn't an official 58, but the 18 holes Nick Watney played the second half of Saturday and the first half of Sunday was as good as any we've seen all year. Watney shot 28 on the back nine during the third round then opened with a 30 on the front nine in the final round. And for one 20-hole stretch he was 14 under.

5. Stat of the Week That May Only Interest Me: Furyk became just the 16th 54-hole leader or co-leader to actually win this season. That's the fewest since 2006 when there were also 16 players who did it. Each of the last two years, that number was in the 20s.

6. There may or may not be changes to the FedExCup points system, but the Playoffs schedule will get looked at. Specifically, where the bye week will fall. Typically, it comes between the BMW Championship and THE TOUR Championship. Most players, according to Kevin Streelman, who is also a member of the Players Advisory Council, would prefer it to fall between the Deutsche Bank, which ends on Labor Day, and the BMW Championship because of the short week. "That makes for a really tough travel day for us and a quick turnaround," Streelman said. "If they get bad weather and that pushes us back a day that's a little risky. I think most of the players would be inclined [to have it fall between Boston and Chicago]."

7. We're now a full season into the new grooves rule on TOUR and what was the impact? Bubkus. "I didn't notice anything, maybe a couple feet of roll," Ryan Moore said. "Guys out here are pretty good. They adjust, they figure it out. It didn't stop people from shooting good scores before and it's not stopping us from shooting good scores now. I don't know what [the USGA's] goal was. I don't know why they wanted to try to make us play worse. It's weird to me."

8. Paul Casey, who was passed over for the European Ryder Cup team, didn't create any sort of overseas media storm, as it was suggested he might have done had he won last week, but he did finish in a tie for fourth at East Lake and ended the year sixth in the FedExCup standings. And even though he'll be riding his bike through Canada instead of playing in Wales, he'll be watching the Ryder Cup. "I don't know what it'll be like watching it, but for me, before I was on TOUR, I thought it was one of the best sporting events on TV, if not the best," Casey said. "I just thought it was just brilliant TV, the drama of it, the matches, the emotions. I thought it was -- yeah, loved it, so I think I will. I think I'll tune in."

9. As for the European Ryder Cup team, you get the feeling it's a little different atmosphere this time around, especially listening to Graeme McDowell. The U.S. Open champion had this to say in The Sunday Herald in Scotland of the Nick Faldo-led team in 2008: "By the time Friday came around, everything was a bit of a blur. Jose Maria Olazabal made a great speech on Saturday night. That was the first emotional speech we had the whole week. Monty is running a good ship and the backroom staff are going to make a big difference this time as well. We're definitely a lot more organized. At Valhalla, maybe just that extra spark in the team room was missing."

The Forward Spin

You have to go back to 1993 at The Belfry for the last time the U.S. defeated Europe in Europe. And the last time the U.S. went across the pond for the Ryder Cup, it got creamed, 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 at The K Club. The U.S. is the defending champion, having won at Valhalla two years ago, but it also has more question marks than answers right now with inconsistent play by its top two players (at least in name anyway), Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, and a roster that includes five rookies (Jeff Overton, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar). Europe isn't without its questions either, though (see: Padraig Harrington, the health of Lee Westwood's calf and the inexperience of the Molinari brothers). That said, Europe has to be considered the favorite (and it is). We'll know in a week if they're as good as advertised. A year ago, the Viking Classic was wiped out because of rain. Nearly 2 inches fell on Annandale Golf Club on Friday alone. A day later, the tournament was canceled due to unplayable conditions. This year, the forecast calls for a zero percent chance of rain. The Viking Classic, of course, also marks the start of the Fall Series, which is made up of four events and, in large part, consist of players trying to improve their position on the money list. One player in the field trying to do just that this week: John Daly. He's without a TOUR card and has said he won't go through q-school, meaning he'll have to play his way back to full status by performing well in the limited tournaments he does get into.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-5, 532-yard 18th at Annandale Golf Club THIS WEEK: Water comes into play on every shot at this hole, but don't expect PGA TOUR players to be shy here -- especially if they need an eagle or birdie. The green is big enough to hold a 3-wood or long-iron second shot. It's a great hole for pros to finish on. Click here to tour the Kodak Challenge holes | Current Kodak Challenge standings