Breaking Down Rory McIlroy's Chances to Win the 2014 FedEx Cup
Even in fourth place heading into the Tour Championship, Rory McIlroy remains the dominant force to beat in the hotly contested 2014 FedEx Cup race.
McIlroy will cap off an amazing year should he be able to capture the season-ending crown and the $10 million bonus that goes with it.
And the odds are looking pretty good for him. Even if he finishes in second place or tied for third, he has a mathematical chance of winning the Cup.
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Here are the current standings:
| Position | Name | Points | Reset Points |
| 1 | Chris Kirk | 4314 | 2500 |
| 2 | Billy Horschel | 4305 | 2250 |
| 3 | Bubba Watson | 4058 | 2000 |
| 4 | Rory McIlroy | 3735 | 1800 |
| 5 | Hunter Mahan | 3363 | 1600 |
Not since 2012, when he finished second after winning a major and two of the four playoff events, has McIlroy been in such a strong position to win.
This has been an even more exceptional year for McIlroy, if possible. He has made every cut and has 11 top-10 finishes in 16 events. In a dominant show of force, he won three straight times at The Open Championship, the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship.
It looked like he would sweep through the FedEx Cup playoffs that followed, but he took a bit of a breather, finishing tied for 22nd at The Barclays.
He amped it up at the Deutsche Bank Championship, ending in a tie for fifth place.
In the recent BMW Championship, he proved human when he triple-bogeyed the par-three 12th hole in the third round. Strangely, he four-putted the hole on both Saturday and Sunday. Even so, he shot a 66 on the final day to gain momentum going into the final event.
He last played East Lake, where the Tour Championship will be held, in 2012, and it proved his comeuppance. Entering the tournament as the FedEx Cup leader, he scored an uncharacteristic 74 on the final day and finished in a tie for 10th, which eliminated his chances for the title.
Still, is there any question that he is the most feared competitor on tour?
He currently ranks first in scoring average, first in birdies, first in strokes gained tee to green, first in strokes gained total and first in driving distance. If he has a downside, it is in his driving accuracy, where he is 112th.
But he is remarkable out of the gate, ranking first in scoring on the first and second days of events. Should he gain the lead at East Lake, he may run away with it like he did The Open Championship, where he went wire-to-wire.
With his two major title wins and his No. 1 world ranking, McIlroy is probably a lock for Player of the Year.
So how important is a FedEx Cup title to him? And how fearful of the 25-year-old Irishman should his fellow pros be?
Just prior to the Deutsche Bank Championship, McIlroy was in a winning frame of mind when he told reporters, "I am very relaxed, I'm going out on to the golf course, and I'm not really putting a whole lot of pressure on myself. I'm just going out and playing, and I know that if I play well, that I'll have somewhat of a chance to maybe win the tournament.”
Although he has yet to win a playoff event this year, he sees the FedEx Cup as a great way to finish the year.
"Not winning a couple of years ago did add a little bit of fuel to the fire and probably makes me a little bit more determined to try to win it this year," he told the media.
That can’t be good news for anyone else who will be teeing it up at East Lake.
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