I did a minor spit-take watching ESPN on the flip from the Giants-Dodgers Wednesday night — there was a quick clip of Rory McIlroy saying he was ready to kick Tiger’s ass or somesuch. Wow! Was it possible? Had Boy Rory’s stompdown at the PGA given him an unnatural boost of testosterone? Was this weekend’s Barclays tournament, with McIlroy and Woods paired together for at least Thursday and Friday, now must-see TV?

Well… no. Turns out Rory was just joking. And though it sounds like good theater for the moment, it’s appropos that the Barclays opening press conference was a bit of sham theater, since the actual tournament this week is also a bit of a joke. In case you’re not clued in, the Barclays is the start of the season-ending (kind of) FedEx Cup playoffs, where there are three weekend tournaments and then the Tour Championship. If you really have some time on your hands you can dig deep into the FedEx Cup 101 page provided by the Tour and try to delve into the mystery of regular-season points, playoff reset points, and why Jason Dufner can take this week off and still have a pretty good chance at raking in the $10 million that goes to the playoffs winner.

If you figure it out, let us know. We, like just about everyone else in the golf world, just watches these four weekends as kind of one extended long tournament. It doesn’t actually work out that way — you get more points the better you do each weekend — but it’s a massively flawed system that usually doesn’t get tense until the last Sunday of the Tour Championship. I mean, you get some big bucks for winning any of the next three weekends, but — winning any one of the next three is only part of the pinada, like winning a divisional playoff series or a conference championship.

The good news is, even if there really isn’t much at stake each particular weekend, the big bucks involved means that we get online video this week, with the PGA’s own Live@ kicking in each of the next four weeks. Bonus! Coverage starts right here at 11 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, so you can use your PC at work to see if Rory really does go out and kick Tiger’s ass or vice versa. Plus, there will be extended Golf Channel coverage on Saturday and Sunday mornings. And, the Barclays this year is being played at Bethpage Black, the cool public course out on Long Island with a lot of history and long, long, interesting holes. Don’t expect a birdie-fest here.

Though the Duf is taking the week off (he is second in the FedEx standings so he shouldn’t slip much — and the dude has been playing a lot lately, including last weekend at the Wyndham) everybody else will be there, because while the weekly wins may not mean that much, the $10 million that goes to the playoff champ is enough to turn the head of even a mega-rich golf star. So pick your favorite, they’re playing this weekend. I guess that alone makes the playoffs worth watching.

Here’s where to follow the action:

THE BARCLAYS / FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, Aug. 23 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 24 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 25 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 26 — Golf Channel, 12 p.m. — 1:30 p.m. CBS, 2 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m. every day

ONLINE
Live@ video is back this week — with coverage of Bethpage’s par-5 13th and par-3 17th. The PGA’s On The Tee program also kicks in this week, before the Live@ coverage.
Live@ coverage — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., every day

PGA SHOT TRACKER
If all you want is shots and distances (which can be addicting) get your fix via Shot Tracker, which will definitely be in action at the Barclays.

FACEBOOK PAGE
The playoffs begin at the Barclay’s Facebook page.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The Barclays has a Twitter feed. Beware, it seems locally oriented.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Bethpage State Park’s Black course has some strong history, including the great 2002 U.S. Open won by Tiger over the fan favorite Phil Mickelson. (I’d forgotten how charged the fans at that Open were, coming so soon after 9/11; also just read about the people yelling at Sergio to “just hit it!” … remember the waggle?) Though the 2009 Open was also played there (Lucas Glover, anyone?) the 2002 version is recalled in this slightly weird highlights video, with 9 minutes of Pearl Jam music that somehow… almost… kind of but not really… works:

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Dustin Johnson. Who needs to repeat…

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Tiger Woods, 2,269 points
2. Jason Dufner, 2,110
3. Rory McIlroy, 2,092
4. Zach Johnson, 2,019
5. Bubba Watson, 1,777

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Rory McIlroy; 2. Luke Donald; 3. Tiger Woods; 4. Lee Westwood; 5. Webb Simpson.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.