There is no better poster child for the change to the PGA Tour schedule than Bryson DeChambeau, who enters this week’s Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City as the defending champion — as well the player who won the first two of four FedEx Cup playoff events a year ago, but still didn’t win the $10 million prize at the end of the “postseason.”

But this year, the PGA Tour went through a major overhaul of the schedule, and the playoffs now consist of just three events over consecutive weeks, culminating with the Tour Championship the weekend before Labor Day at East Lake in Atlanta, when the season-long prize will be won. This avoids any conflict with golf overlapping football for television ratings, but has made for a big change for the players.

And if the change had been made a year ago, it more than likely would have resulted in DeChambeau winning.

“It’s a great thing that they have it only being three weeks rather than four,” DeChambeau said before heading out for a nine-hole practice round on Tuesday. “It’s a long stretch. I mean, I did win two of them [last year] and still didn’t win the FedEx Cup playoffs. That still chaps me, but it is what it is.”

A year ago, DeChambeau won the first event, at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., then won the next week at TPC Boston. Those events have now been condensed into one, with the location alternating between New York and Boston — a rivalry that hasn’t exactly extended to the polite world of professional golf.

“I’m from California,” DeChambeau said jokingly. “That’s why I won both of them, because I wanted them to feel the same.”

The other big benefit of the Tour changing the schedule was to have its five biggest events in five consecutive months. It starts with The Players Championship returning to March, with the four major championships in subsequent months — the Masters in April, the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June, and the British Open in July.

That leaves August to be dominated by the three weeks of playoff events, with the field getting smaller and smaller each week until only the top 30 in the year-long standings go to East Lake to play for the $10 million.

“It’s going to create a lot of excitement coming into East Lake,” DeChambeau said. “With the new system this year, it’s definitely going to be a test to see what happens, because you can literally be leading and go out on the first hole and double [bogey] it or triple [bogey] it, and you’re right back in the ballgame pretty easily. So it’s a little different.”

There is also a little bit more on the line for DeChambeau, who is currently No. 7 in the standings for the U.S. Presidents Cup team, the biennial team matches between the American and International (non-Europe) teams. The top eight players in the standings after next week’s BMW Championship, at Medinah outside Chicago, will make the team automatically. This year’s captain, Tiger Woods, will round out the team with four picks.

Woods walked by DeChambeau on the driving range Tuesday, and they shared a laugh, but it will be no laughing matter for DeChambeau if he doesn’t make the team.

“I think that [Woods] knows that I’m a good enough player to be on the team,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just about if I’m playing well at the right time. That’s always the question, right? How good are you playing?”

The same can be said right now for the overtly analytical 25-year-old, who again tinkered with his equipment. Known for his set of irons that all have the same length shaft, DeChambeau recently adjusted his driver and irons — toying with different head-and-shaft combinations — in the hope of finding something.

A win would start the playoffs on the right foot — again — and this time DeChambeau would hope it’s enough for the big prize.