Singh Virtually Locks Up FedEx Cup Title

So much for the new volatility in the FedEx Cup points formula. Last year, many players felt the points formula didn't allow enough movement up and down in the standings through the four weeks of the playoffs. And Tiger Woods wound up going into the final event, the Tour Championship, with a close-to-insurmountable lead. And of course, he won.

So this year, the PGA Tour tweaked the formula hoping to add volatility into the mix; hoping to lead up to a Tour Championship where many players still have a chance to win the $10 million FedEx Cup crown.

Sorry, not gonna happen. Vijay Singh finished 44th at the BMW Championship on Sunday, but on the strength of back-to-back wins in the first two playoff tournaments has a virtual lock on the title.

How much of a lock? Singh can finish last at the Tour Championship and still win the FedEx Cup. Camilo Villegas, the winner of the BMW Championship, moved up to No. 2 in the FedEx point standings following that victory. But even if Villegas wins the Tour Championship while Singh finishes last, Vijay still wins the FedEx Cup by 101 points.

The only way Singh can lose the FedEx Cup title is to suffer an injury or withdraw for some other reason from the Tour Championship. If he completes the tournament, he wins the FedEx Cup title. But that's not really the fault of the new points formula, is it? It's Vijay's fault, for being so good at the right times.

But that's in three weeks. This week everyone takes a breaker; in two weeks the Ryder Cup takes center stage; then the Tour Championship concludes the FedEx Cup series Sept. 25-28.