Rob Carr / AP file

We can thank Tiger Woods for bringing credibility and some sense of symmetry to the FedEx Cup (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

No matter. Whether the going gets tough, or tender, Woods gets going. He shot a closing 66 on Sunday to slam-dunk the final piece of the playoff puzzle by eight strokes. It was a 1997 Masters flashback.

The performance, once again, had critics groping for fresh superlatives and peers shaking their heads. “The man is a freak of nature,” Masters champion Zach Johnson said, in a most-complimentary way.

The Freak brought some much-needed foundation to these imperfect proceedings. He photo-shopped the whole playoff picture, cropped out the ambiguities and brought everything into focus. The best player in the world won the Tour Championship - that follows. The best player in the world won the FedEx Cup - as it should be. The player of the year is the Player of the Year – brilliant! 

It all adds up, comes out even, makes sense.

What professional championship series worth winning would not be won by Woods? What point standings or playoff is more legitimate than one that has been pursued and appropriated by Woods?

Golf’s newest papa has now won four of the past five tournaments he has entered. OK, yeah, he slipped up and tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He played 12 rounds of FedEx Cup playoff golf at 75-under par and averaged 65.75 on his scorecard. He showed the PGA Tour he can win these playoffs with one event  (he skipped The Barclays) tied behind his back.

At the age of 31, AKA prime time, Woods has 61 PGA Tour wins, one behind the legendary “King” Arnold Palmer, two behind the immortal Ben Hogan. Silly as it sounds, Sam Snead’s remarkable lifetime achievement of 82 wins is no longer an “if” but a “when.” Woods has won seven times this year, the fifth season in his 10-year tenure that he has collected at least six wins. If he stays healthy, mark a date on your 2012 calendar.

He keeps fooling us, Sir Eldrick. He makes us think he has set the bar, had his career year, reached the mountaintop. Then he climbs a little higher still.

And so, thanks to Woods, the PGA Tour got some of the sizzle it was hoping to capture with its season-ending series. Thanks to Woods, the working press did not to have to choose on Sunday between the winner of the Tour Championship and the winner of the FedEx Cup. 

The PGA Tour has to work out some obvious kinks if it is going to get the most out of these FedEx Cup playoffs. But there is at least one thing it can not improve on - the winner.