CARMEL, Ind. -- Call it the vagaries of youth, the unrelenting demands of stardom, or simple homesickness. But two years ago, Rory McIlroy wanted nothing to do with the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs.

McIlroy, then 21 years old, was so disillusioned that he would forgo his PGA Tour membership in 2011. McIlroy thought the demands of his schedule -- he also competes on the European Tour -- were too much. His then-agent, Chubby Chandler, also felt it was better for McIlroy to concentrate on just one tour, making limited appearances in the United States.

McIlroy talked of how he turned on a televised European Tour event in Switzerland while playing the FedEx Cup and longed to be there instead. And he was burned-out from a long season that gives virtually no break between the PGA Championship and the four FedEx Cup events.

"The FedEx Cup is only about money, and you shouldn't be going over to play thinking about how much you can make," McIlroy said in 2010. "I needed a break after the PGA, but only had one week. There is no flexibility in your schedule as the FedEx Cup forces you to appear at those events. I didn't like that."

How does he like it now that he's in great position to win the whole thing?

McIlroy, 23, can certainly be excused for trying to figure out what is best for him in his young career. And perhaps getting away and sizing things up in 2011 is the reason he's in the spot he finds himself now, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and leading the FedEx Cup standings.

Many questioned the move two years ago and wondered if Chandler was orchestrating a slap at the PGA Tour -- another high-profile client, Lee Westwood, also was not a tour member at the time. But whether it was prudent then or not, it has worked out beautifully for McIlroy.

McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open and rejoined the PGA Tour for 2012. The Northern Irishman has made a U.S. base in Florida and won the nearby Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens. Now he's added another major at the PGA and two playoff events, the Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship.

McIlroy has won nearly $3 million in prize money in the past three weeks, with another $8 million purse on the line next week at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, where the FedEx Cup will be decided. If he ends up on top, that'll bring a $10 million bonus. Even if he finishes second, it's an extra $3 million.

Some perspective helps McIlroy now. And so does playing better.

"It is a grind," he said. "It's not just these playoffs, it's everything that's comes before it. You've got the British Open, then you had one week, and then it was Akron [WGC-Bridgestone Invitational], PGA, and then some guys might have played the Wyndham, and then straight into Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BMW. It's a lot of golf in a row. I think a lot of guys will be looking forward to that week off [now].

"But I think it's a lot easier when you're in contention and you do have a chance to win the tournaments or you're up there in the FedEx Cup rankings. I mean, I was grinding just to try and make the Tour Championship the last time I was in these playoffs, and ended up not doing that. So of course it's easier trying to win tournaments than it is grinding your butt off trying to finish 20th."

McIlroy will play in the Tour Championship for the first time next week.

For those who follow it closely, the FedEx Cup points structure has been fairly simple to this point. During the regular season, winners got 500 points for a victory, with 550 awarded for World Golf Championships and 600 for majors. Once the playoff events started, the points carried over, except winners now receive 2,500 points for a victory.

The big difference occurs when the playoffs get to the final event, the Tour Championship. While the winner still gets 2,500 points, the total is reset for each golfer heading into that last playoff event, based on the rankings.

"It's interesting; you can go and win the first three playoff events, finish second in the last one and not win it," Tiger Woods said last week. "So it's a different type of format, but it's what we have, and the whole idea is if the guys who are near the top five or just outside the top five win the last two events, you know you're going to win it, so the idea is to go out there and get W's."

Woods said that prior to the BMW Championship, and while it hasn't worked exactly that way, it is close. Rory McIlroy won the past two playoff events and has more than a 3,000-point lead on Woods. The FedEx Cup would already be clinched if the points were not reset.

But when the golfers get to Atlanta, they are assigned a points value based on their ranking from 1-30. McIlroy will have 2,500 points. Woods will have 2,250 for being in second place. The others in the top five -- Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker -- are all mathematically assured of winning the FedEx Cup if they win the Tour Championship.

And everyone else in the field has a mathematical chance of winning the FedEx Cup -- even No. 30 Scott Piercy, who is given just 210 points. If he wins the Tour Championship, his total would be 2,710 -- which under some extreme scenarios could get him the FedEx Cup, provided McIlroy, Woods and others finish far down the leaderboard.

Still, Woods' scenario could come true. McIlroy could finish second next week to Woods, Watney, Mickelson or Snedeker and not win the $10 million bonus -- even though he's built up a huge lead to this point.

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.