15 storylines heading into the FedExCup

This is the 13th installment of the FedEx Cup playoffs, golf's version of the postseason. The top 125 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings from the regular season are eligible to take part in The Northern Trust this weekend. The field is then whittled down to 30 golfers for the TOUR Championship finale. There are a host of changes for the 2019 version of the playoffs. To begin, the playoff features three tournaments, instead of four, for the first time since its inception in 2007.

As mentioned, the stretch run of the 2019 season features just three tournaments, so the sense of urgency is there. The fun begins this weekend in the shadows of the Statue of Liberty at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, which is hosting for the third time. Medinah Country Club in suburban Chicago will be the site of the second-leg BMW Championship. While this is the first time Medinah is hosting the event, the famed course has been the site of three U.S. Opens, the PGA Championship twice and the 2012 Ryder Cup. Finally, the TOUR Championship remains at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Here's where things get interesting. For the first time, a strokes-based system will be instituted at the TOUR Championship, meaning, the FedEx Cup points leader after the first two events will start the TOUR at 10-under par. The remaining 29 competitors in the event begin at varying strokes in back of the leader, based on their standings heading into the finale. So essentially, win the TOUR Championship, win the FedEx Cup. But that does not mean the golfer who shoots the best unadjusted score over the four-day tournament will win the FedEx Cup.

The total bonus prize money pool for the 2019 FedEx Cup received a nice bump, up $25 million to $70 million. The FedEx Cup champion takes home a cool $15 million. Already the top 10 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings, based on regular-season play, took a dip in the $10 million bonus pool to be rewarded for their efforts. 

That means regular-season FedEx Cup points leader Brooks Koepka takes home $2 million for his work. It's no surprise Koepka, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour this season, is leading the charge. He's the No. 1 golfer in the world and a guy who has the ability to literally win every tournament he enters. Koepka enters the playoff with a 572-point lead over Rory McIlroy, who is just two points up on third-place Matt Kuchar.

So obviously bookmakers like Brooks Koepka to win the whole thing at the end of the month. According to The Action Network , Koepka opens the playoffs a 2-1 favorite. Rory McIlroy is 7-1, and Dustin Johnson is 9-1. Those are the only golfers getting less than double-digit odds at the moment. Looking to drop some coin on a long shot? How about Keegan Bradley at 200-1.

Congratulations to Pat Perez, who finished 125th in the FedEx Cup regular-season standings to claim the last spot in the playoffs. While guys near the bottom of those standings will have a hard time winning the FedEx Cup, all 125 of these golfers after last weekend's Wyndham Championship earned full exemption status on the PGA Tour for next season.

While pretty much all of golf's biggest names will be part of the FedEx Cup playoff beginning this weekend, there is a handful of prominent golfers who failed to crack the top 125. They include two-time major winners Martin Kaymer and Zach Johnson, 2016 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker and 2019 PGA Tour tournament champs Martin Trainer and Jim Herman. Let's not forget veterans Luke Donald, Alex Noren and Jason Dufner.

In the 12-year history of the FedEx Cup playoffs, only Tiger Woods has won the trophy more than once (2007 and '09). Thus, there has never been a repeat winner. Can Justin Rose be the next back-to-back title holder? Rose enters in the three-tournament playoff 11th in the standings, so there's some work to be done.

We know about the No. 1 golfer in the world, but what about No. 2? Basically, what kind of chance does Dustin Johnson have at winning his first FedEx Cup title? DJ is seventh in the standings but has just one victory in 2019 and that came back in February. Johnson, 2017 winner of The Northern Trust, will be under a microscope this month, and we'll be waiting to see if he can rise to the occasion. 

Rory might have laid an egg in his home country at the Open Championship, but he still could have the best chance of catching Brooks Koepka in the playoffs. McIlroy bounced back from the British debacle by tying for fourth at St. Jude and claimed the FedEx Cup title in 2016. There is not much pressure on him this month, so we're eager to see how things play out.

The only two-time winner of the FedEx Cup, Tiger Woods will give a go at making it three titles. However, Woods is 28th in the standings and has not been at his best of late — as we saw at the Open Championship. Even Woods, himself, knows it will take a Tiger-of-the-late-1990s-run to seriously contend this week. But he'll give it a go and, of course, the golf world will watch. 

We talked about Brooks and Rory. DJ and Tiger. Who else is worth a look and that of serious consideration for the FedEx Cup title this month? From a pure points and positioning standpoint, Matt Kuchar has the potential to make noise if he fares well at The Northern Trust and BMW. The same holds true for Xander Schauffele, who has two PGA Tour wins in 2019 and sits fourth in the standings.

At the moment Webb Simpson is sitting 16-1 to win the FedEx Cup. That's the same as Dustin Johnson and better than Tiger Woods. Yet Simpson does not carry the same cache as the bigger names in the playoff field. The truth is that Simpson is ninth in the standings and finished second at St. Jude and last week's Wyndham Championship. Though he has not won on Tour this season, he's playing well enough to keep an eye on.

It will be interesting to see how the changes made to this year's FedEx Cup playoffs, in conjunction with the overall condensed PGA Tour season schedule, will play out. On the surface, it's intriguing. But the strokes-based system at the TOUR Championship might end up being a love it or hate it scenario, at least to those who make golf appointment viewing. First person through the wall always gets it worse, so let's brace for impact on this maiden tour.