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Mark Wilson is back at Cog Hill this week after a big 2011 season.

If Chicago resident Mark Wilson looks like he’s at home this week, it’s because he is. That is why it stung so much to miss the 2010 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup: It also meant he would have to sit at home, 20 miles away from Cog Hill, while the PGA TOUR’s best teed it up in his backyard.

On his practice grounds.

So when Wilson walked off the 18th green in January at Waialae C.C., he had one thought: I’m back in the Playoffs.

The Sony Open victory, with its 500 FedExCup points, made the Playoffs a lock for Wilson, who missed a shot at the FedExCup in 2010. Missing the Playoffs in 2010 stung for Wilson, who lives only 20 minutes away from Cog Hill.

"I was thinking about that [when I won]," Wilson said. “I missed the Playoffs last year, so I’m already in that. That’s exciting."

Wilson, working with mind guru Bob Rotella, turned into a consistent winner on the PGA TOUR after thinking like a top 50 player — and not as someone merely content to keep his PGA TOUR card. That was his focus early in his career, and he found himself fighting to keep his card year after year. Once he started believing he had the game to compete with the top players on TOUR, he started winning. His two victories early in 2011 helped him keep the FedExCup lead for 12 consecutive weeks.

The big FedExCup push assured him a rematch with Cog Hill, which he’s called home for years. Wilson moved to the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst in 2004 and immediately started making the short drive to Cog Hill when weather permitted, and sometimes when it didn’t.

"I was trying to find a place that would be convenient to play golf," Wilson said. "[Cog Hill owner] Frank Jemsek has just been wonderful to me, letting me play and practice. I played and practiced a lot when I was home in between TOUR events."

That local knowledge nearly paid off in a big way in 2009, when the BMW Championship returned to Cog Hill after one year at Bellerive Country Club. Wilson fired a 66 in the second round that put him in Saturday’s final group with Tiger Woods. He had to watch as Woods shot 62 (versus his 71) to take control of the tournament, and he poorly on Sunday to finish tied for 10th. The rough weekend prevented him from making his first TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Wilson also saw his Playoffs end at Cog Hill in 2007, when he tied for 25th and was eliminated from the final 30.

He doesn’t have that problem this year. Because Wilson has two victories this year, he entered the Playoffs ranked 11th. He made the cut at both The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship, keeping him high enough in points (17th) that he doesn’t have to worry about qualifying for East Lake. Still, this week’s foray at 7,400-yard Cog Hill is still No. 1 on Wilson’s to-win list, even though the course caters to big hitters. Wilson is 148th in driving distance this year, although he’s hitting the ball straighter than ever.

"I’ve played well on some long courses, which doesn’t make sense," Wilson said.

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