There has been a constant refrain all season in the United States and it has been easy to hear. One player after another has said that they do not know much about the inaugural FedEx Cup or how it will pan out.

It is a tad unfair on Tim Finchem, Commissioner of the PGA Tour in the US, who has shown ingenuity in thinking up a play-off system for golf that is expected to generate considerable excitement, at a time when it traditionally suffers in comparison with other sports in the US. It is almost incidental that the play-offs offer a first prize of $10 million (about £5 million) to the winning player’s pension fund and that a total of $35 million is at stake.

It is a little complicated, though. Since the start of the season players have been earning FedEx points by their performances on the US tour. The field at The Barclays, which starts today, comprises 144 players, who include Padraig Harrington, the Open champion, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Brian Davis.

Only the leading 120 players will advance to the second event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, and only the leading 70 will move on to the third, the BMW Championship in Chicago. The Tour Championship is the climax, contested by 30 players.

The winner of the FedEx Cup will be the man who has accumulated the most points from these four events, not necessarily the winner of the last event, so Tiger Woods may be taking a risk by skipping this week’s event.

Woods leads the points table going into today’s event.