In an effort to reduce his overall workload on the season, Masters champion Rory McIlroy decided not to play in this week's St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. As such, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will run with 69 of the top 70 players in the world -- McIlroy the lone missing piece from the start of the three-week postseason.

No two paths en route to a FedExCup title are alike, but the 19th winner of the season-long chase will have in common what the first 18 shared – each had to qua