ATLANTA – Heading into last week’s BMW Championship, Webb Simpson was third on the playoff points list and exactly where you’d want to be for a postseason push.

Simpson’s response to his position was to take last week off.

“I felt like within my right of playing or not playing, I wanted to be most ready for this week,” Simpson said. “I hated taking it off. BMW is an awesome sponsor. I wanted to play in a tournament with only 70 guys and no cut, but I felt like it was best for me to stay home and get ready for this week.”

Simpson’s decision to skip the penultimate event looks more like a shrewd competitive move in hindsight. He slipped just a single spot on the points list which means he’ll start the Tour Championship at 6 under, trailing front-runner Dustin Johnson by four shots instead of three.

The extra rest may end up being worth the extra stroke for Simpson, who had played four consecutive events starting with the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. It also allowed him to be home with his daughter, who had her tonsils removed last week.

“I'm coming off of an off-week fresh and more rested,” he said. “I'm actually more excited to be here than I used to be, because it used to feel more like work. Now it feels like, man, I get to go play in a golf tournament.”