Hazard
Paul Casey (36th) You know the situation; however, now outside the top-30 in FedExCup points, he's forced to tee it up for his playoff life. A classic fade.
Projection: 26+/WD

Rory Sabbatini (35th): Since winning the Byron Nelson, the South African has failed to crack a top-30 in eight starts, was bumped from a spot on the International squad of the President's Cup when Y.E. Yang lifted his bag at Hazeltine, and was snubbed by captain Greg Norman on Tuesday in favor of, gulp, Adam Scott and Ryo Ishikawa. I'm picturing Sabbatini first off on Sunday morning at Cog Hill and looping in one hour and 51 minutes for his fourth consecutive 77.
Projection: 26+

Nathan Green (65th): The Aussie is the other guy to go MC-MC (thanks to a 45.8 percent GIR clip), yet remains alive in the playoffs.
Projection: 26+

Woody Austin (68th): He's missed the cut seven of 12 times at Cog Hill and has just one top-30 (T-10, 1995).
Projection: 26+

J.B. Holmes (62nd): In 12 starts since his P-2 in Houston, he has just one top-25. This will also be his first-ever look at Cog Hill.
Projection: 26+

Lucky break for Scott
Adam Scott is forever indebted to Greg Norman, which probably means that The Shark's daughter (Sergio Garcia's ex) is off-limits to the bachelor. Not only will the younger Aussie practice his defense mechanisms at Harding Park next month, but you'll know why he'll pop up at Bay Hill, Congressional, St. Andrews and Firestone next year. No, I'm not projecting a strong start to 2010; rather, each of those venues host tournaments that invite members of the President's Cup teams. Talk about a lifeline. Scott isn't in danger of losing his PGA Tour status, but he was closer to scheduling opposite events and tennis lessons before today's presser in D.C.

Final thoughts
Thirty more were cut from the playoffs after the Deutsche Bank Championship, resulting in a field of 70 this week; that is, as long as Paul Casey remains active.

In addition to the Brit, who's been sidelined with a torn interior oblique muscle, Rory Sabbatini and Nathan Green have advanced this far without banking a penny in the playoffs. Casey and Sabbs have fallen 18 slots apiece to 35th and 36th, respectively. Meanwhile, Green, whose earnings from his Canadian Open breakthrough are two-thirds of his season's bankroll, has plummeted 24 spots to 65th. Clearly, the newest version of the scoring system has rewarded those that had at least one great week during the regular season.

That's reasonable considering how many golfers are in play and how many tournaments factor in. And it brings us back to last week's review of The Barclays when I wrote that it was curious that winner Heath Slocum even qualified for the playoffs, which might be the end debate of this year's edition. However, given the 125-100-70 paring-of-the-field start, no one was robbed of the opportunity to advance.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos

Of the 55 golfers eliminated, none bowed out with a top-30 in his final start. Greg Owen, Troy Matteson and Lee Janzen posted top-20s at The Barclays, but couldn't back them up last week. All three started outside the top-90 in FedExCup points, so they can't be disappointed that the system didn't save them.

Frankly, unless you're like me and you study this stuff, a true understanding of any system will always fail in translation to the masses. I think it's safe to say that golf will never be a "playoff" game unless certain benchmarks are reached. In other words, it would be a lot easier for the casual fan to know that Camilo Villegas needs no worse than a three-way T-13 at the BMW Championship to advance than to await the updated calculations following everyone's results. Let the guys chase a firm goal.

Backing up, it would stand to reason that there should be a minimum number of FedExCup points amassed to qualify for the playoffs. That minimum should be hiked up to advance to the next round. And so on. It wouldn't be difficult to infuse incentives for guys atop the standings, if for no other reason than they earned the spoils. Even I have grown tired watching the needle move for every golfer on the bubble.

That said the format is the best of the three thus far. Talk about your left-handed compliments.

Also on NBCSports.com Golf: Euphoric win for Mickelson, crushing defeat for Tiger Beyond the Arc: No. 11 Mich. St. takes big step forward Chandler: Jeremy Lin was special even in 8th grade What NFC teams need this offseason  |  And AFC Follow us on Twitter: @NBCSports  |  And Facebook