The Tour Championship: Top Five Stories Of The Week

1) Can Dustin Johnson cement his place as golf’s next big thing?

No player under the age of 30 has won more PGA Tour events than Dustin Johnson.

A win this week would not only secure a $10 million payday for the 26-year-old South Carolina native, but it would also earn him his first PGA Tour Player of the Year Award.

If Johnson were to win the 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year award, he’d be the youngest recipient of the award since Tiger Woods.

Three PGA Tour victories, a chance to win two majors, a FedEx Cup title, and a PGA Tour Player of the Year Award—can anyone even remember the names of the other so-called “young guns?”

2) Who, if anyone, will secure a Player of the Year award at East Lake?

There are no less than seven players (Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson) with a chance to win the 2010 Player of the Year award with a strong performance this week at East Lake.

Of course, it’s possible that none of seven will do anything on the golf course that screams “I’m the player of the year.”

But then again, one of these stars might emerge from the pack this week and make the 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year voting a rudimentary process.

3) Someone who has never seen a $10 million check will see one this weekend.

Since the start of the FedEx Cup back in 2007, only two men have won the title: Tiger Woods ('07 and '09) and Vijay Singh (’08).

Well, neither Woods nor Singh qualified for the Tour Championship this year, which means that someone in the field will be looking at the largest check they’ve ever seen in their lives come Sunday afternoon.

If Matt Kuchar manages to tack another $10 million onto the more than $4.7 million he’s already earned in 2010, the dude should just retire and enjoy country club golf for the rest of his days.

Just to put the modern-day PGA Tour into perspective: If Kuchar were to win the FedEx Cup this weekend, it would bring his yearly earnings to $14.7 million.

Folks, that’s more than Greg Norman earned in his entire career.

The fact that touring pros complain about “bumpy greens” or “unfair” contours, or that they are being “forced” to work three whole weeks in a row is nothing short of laughable.

Fellas, sponsors are GIVING you a boatload of cash each week—keep your mouths shut and enjoy it.

How many other sports are there where you can finish 19th, never sniff victory, and take home a $95,000 check for four days of work?

Here’s a bit of information that’s known by many but spoken about by few: this obscene amount of money in professional golf is not going to last forever.

The bubble is on the verge of popping, after which golf could very well go back to the old days when you actually had to win in order to become wealthy.

Could you imagine such a thing? 

4) Will someone finally face a $10 million putt?

From the moment the FedEx Cup started back in 2007, we didn’t understand the point system or how the PGA Tour could possibly run a four-tournament playoff at the end of the season.

However, the one aspect of the FedEx Cup that peaked our interest right from the start was that someone could find themselves standing over a $10 million putt on the 72nd hole of the Tour Championship and if that doesn’t classify as entertainment, I don’t know what would.  

But as we all know that $10 million putt has yet to take place.   

Tiger Woods ran away with the cup in 2007.

Vijay Singh won the FedEx Cup before the Tour Championship even began in 2008.

And Woods once again won the cup in 2009, despite the fact that Phil Mickelson won the Tour Championship.

With Woods at home in Orlando this week, about the only thing that can save NBC from a ratings disaster is two men battling it out for $10 million on the back nine.

We don’t care who they are, what accolades and accomplishments they may have on their resume, we simply want to see two able-bodied golf professionals fighting tooth and nail for a $10 million prize.

Entertainment like that may just save the FedEx Cup, with the operative word being “may.”

5) Will Paul Casey make Colin Montgomerie look like a fool?

Come on now, we all love to see Monty look like a fool, don’t we?

He’s grumpy, he’s ornery, and he’s arguably the most irritable guy associated with professional golf. 

We have to assume that next week’s Ryder Cup pressure is going to at least bring home close to the boiling point, especially if Paul Casey wins the FedEx Cup this week at East Lake.

Several weeks ago, Monty selected Edoardo Molinari, Luke Donald, and Padraig Harrington with his three captain’s picks while leaving Paul Casey, currently the seventh-ranked player in the world, off the European squad.

Needless to say, a firestorm of criticism and second guessing followed, particularly when comparing Casey to Harrington.

Harrington has not won a sanctioned event in more than two years and has been horrific in his past two Ryder Cup appearances.

Casey, on the other hand, won twice in 2009, finished second at the this year’s Accenture World Match-Play Championship for the second consecutive year (an all match-play event), tied for third at the Open Championship, and tied for 12th at the PGA Championship.

Harrington missed the cut at three of the four majors in 2010 and his last top-five finish on the PGA Tour came back in June at the Travelers Championship.

If Casey were to win the FedEx Cup this week at East Lake, Monty would be bombarded with questions next week about his decision to leave Casey off the European team and it may just be enough to make old grumpy explode, which is always an entertaining sight.

For more PGA Tour news, insight and analysis, check out The Tour Report.