Jim Furyk, Player of the Year?

With a winless drought that sat at 29 months entering this year the odds were certainly against Jim Furyk earning his first player of the year nod in 2010.

But after winning the Tour Championship -- becoming the only player on the PGA Tour with three wins this season -- and the FedEx Cup, that's almost exactly what he will do despite being a non-factor in all four of the year's major championships.

A further analysis of his statistics would show, however, that he may be a worthy winner indeed.

In addition to the three victories and winning the season-long points title, he also made the cut in all but three tournaments -- two of which were majors, unfortunately -- he had seven top 10s and finished inside the top-25 72 per cent of the time he made the cut.

And according to his playing stats, there's no single reason other than overall consistency that stands out as a key factor -- his 276-yard driving distance average ranks him 174th, for example.

Aside from his driving accuracy -- where he ranks 10th on Tour -- the only other categories in which Furyk is inside even the top 50 are the ones that seem to matter most.

Wins (3) Rank: First
Money list ($4,809,622) Rank: Second
Scoring Average (69.78) Rank: Fifth

Matt Kuchar went into the PGA Tour Playoffs as the front runner to be named player of the year based on his consistency and despite his lack of a victory.

When he won at The Barclay's he strengthened his case and if the scoring system for the FedEx Cup had not been changed -- ostensibly to make the finish of the Tour Championship more exciting -- he would have been the recipient of the $10-million instead of Furyk.

But if much of Kuchar's case was based on his consistent play, then certainly that same argument applies to Furyk.