TOUR NEWS:AFTER TWO years of tweaking the points structure for the lucrative FedEx Cup play-off events, the USPGA Tour appears to have come close to finding the ideal recipe to produce a blockbuster finale.

The season-long points race ended with a flourish at the Tour Championship on Sunday with four players having the opportunity to clinch the €6.8 million bonus over the last nine holes at East Lake Golf Club.

Tiger Woods, the most consistent golfer during the 2009 campaign, ultimately took the title after finishing second at East Lake, three shots behind Phil Mickelson.

Although eyebrows may be raised over the fact Woods clinched the grand prize despite not winning the final event, there was agreement among the players the right result had been achieved.

“I didn’t play well the first three FedEx Cup events,” Mickelson said after sealing his 37th PGA Tour victory with a flawless 65 in tough conditions.

“I don’t deserve to win the entire FedEx Cup just based on one tournament win. The best player won, the guy who played the best in all four events won, but I liked the fact that I was able to make up extra ground here in the final event.”

Woods, who won the inaugural FedEx Cup in 2007 after coasting to an eight-stroke victory in the Tour Championship, recognised the need to hit form late in the season.

“The whole idea is to play well at the end and that’s kind of how it’s structured,” said the 33-year-old, who led the points standings going into the Tour Championship after winning the third play-off event, the BMW Championship.

“You just have to play well at the right times,” added Woods, who won six titles on the 2009 PGA Tour. “It is what it is. It’s very similar to what they do with Nascar, what they try to do with play-offs in other sports.”

When the FedEx Cup series was launched in 2007, the points system was too rigid, leaving players with far too much ground to make up on the leaders going into the final stretch.

Last year, the final play-off event proved to be anti-climactic with Vijay Singh merely needing to show up for the Tour Championship to clinch the trophy.

What had been dubbed as the PGA Tour’s much-trumpeted new era in 2007 ended limply in 2008 as Singh simply needed to complete the final round after winning the first two play-off events.

This year, however, was a different story with every player in the field of 30 having a chance to seal FedEx Cup honours.

The Tour’s bold attempt in 2007 to breathe life into its late-season events has finally caught the attention of the fans, and especially the players.

“It’s provided a lot of excitement,” said Steve Stricker, who briefly edged ahead of Woods in the race on Sunday before slipping back with bogeys on 16 and 17.

“All the players coming in here had a legitimate chance at winning the FedEx Cup. It was certainly a lot closer than it has been over the last two years.

“I gave it a run, and it was a lot of fun,” added the American, who finished third in the standings.

The 2009 FedEx Cup was unquestionably a success, although some have suggested further excitement could be injected by switching the Tour Championship finale to a matchplay format.

Time will tell if further tweaks will be made for 2010.