If you were to script what a "playoff golf tournament" should be like; it would probably be very close to what we witnessed this weekend.  Hopefully the Olympics didn't occupy all of your time, and you were able to see at least the final round on Sunday.  When the round started, 20 golfers started within three shots of the lead.  18 golfers finished within three shots of the lead.  The winner was determined by a three-way playoff, and we saw two of the worst putters on Tour hit two huge putts on the first playoff hole to continue on.  I think this is what the PGA was hoping for when they came up with the Playoff format a couple of years ago; and if you notice, no one is skipping tournaments this year (as they did last year).  Things are so close, that it would be tough to, and not lose ground.  We've got new FedEx Cup Point Standings this week; they look almost shockingly different than they did a week ago.  This week was why, and here are the three biggest influences on that list.

Gold

Vijay Singh - Vijay surprised me this week, he really did.  This isn't like most of his wins where he's so far ahead that he has to stave off his own choke to win.  No, this week he came back from a couple of shots down; hit insane approach shots (especially on 17, twice) and actually made some putts.  In other words, Vijay went out and won this tournament, and in the process asserted himself as the player to beat in this field.  He shot 70-70-66-70 on the week, to put him in position, and he did it his usual way; T-13th in Driving Distance and T-6th in Greens In Regulation.  He didn't kill himself with the putter either; T-34th in Putts Per Round, and 32nd in Putts Per GIR.  Clearly, those numbers aren't great; but it's not a round-killer either.  Vijay took control of the playoffs this week; and moving on to Norton, he should have a really good opportunity for another big finish on a course that seems to suit him.

Silver

Kevin Sutherland - It was a big-time step up performance by Sutherland; who has already had a tremendous season by any measure.  Five top-10s, and about $1.8 million in earnings would be considered a success by the vast majority of golfers out there.  But I don't think anyone foresaw that Sutherland would make a big move like this in the FedEx Cup Playoffs (even though he has been playing better of late).  He shot 70-69-69-68 to get into the playoff and had a long putt lip out that eliminated him from continuing on.  He was T-21st in Driving Accuracy, 18th in Driving Distance, T-25th in Putts Per Round, 11th in Putts Per GIR and 20th in GIR.  Those are consistent numbers, and also pretty good ones; good enough to get him into a 3rd place; not only in the tournament, but he leapt from 57th to 3rd in the FedEx Cup point standings.  That virtually guarantees him a spot in the Tour Championship at the end of the year, and also puts him in striking distance should Vijay and Sergio fall apart (and that could totally happen).

Bronze

Kevin Streelman - He was this week's "Who Is He", and he was also the third round leader.  For a Tour rookie, this is heady stuff to be sure; but to Streelman's credit, he really hung in there to finish in a T-4th, just a shot behind the leaders.  He shot 67-70-68-72 on the week, surviving almost entirely on his T-2nd in Putts Per Round (He was T-40th in Driving Accuracy, T-47th in Driving Distance, T-39th in GIR).  However, the fact that a Tour rookie could stand toe-to-toe with the big dogs and not completely collapse is more than commendable.  He was already qualified for the Deutche Bank in Norton, entering this tournament at 102nd in FedEx Cup points.  On the strength of his T-4th performance, he's leapt up to 37th on the points list, and is just one more good performance away from locking up a spot in the Tour Championship; which would be quite an achievement for a rookie.