TOUR Championship

Do You Really Care About the FedEx Cup?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

The FedEx Cup is intended to be an interesting golf competition because of the “play well – move on” format. However, over the past few years, my view on the FedEx Cup has started to change. At the Barclays, 125 players will start, but only 100 players will move on to the next event at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The third week at the BMW championship will only have 70 players competing; then at the TOUR Championship, 30 players will be left to vie for the 10 million dollar grand prize.

In previous posts, I suggested that the FedEx Cup would become infinitely more excited by adopting the World Cup format. Keep narrowing the field, but base it on how a player performs that week, not on the accumulation of points throughout the year.  Continue reading →

Jason Day is a Cool Character

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Jason Day is so cool! I just had to share these two comments from his interview at the Tour Championship today!

Day went on to state that Jordan Spieth was the Player of the Year for 2015!

What a class act! How can you not respect this guy!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

FEDEX Cup – The Tournament within a Tournament

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Today is moving day at the BMW Championship! All eyes are on the top players as they slug it out for the top spot. Most of the media focus for Saturday will be on Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson (ok I threw Phil in because I always watch his progress). And why not, these are the leading contenders for the FedExCup championship! But, little focus is actually on the tournament within a tournament!

The race for the top 30, in order to advance to the Tour Championship, is just as heated as for the top spot. There is much riding on advancing to the next stage of the playoffs and right now, 10 players are in a battle to improve their position in the FedExCup standings.

The list below is of the current FedExCup standings of positions between 26 and 35. The first number is the predicted position if nothing chances between now and the end of the tournament. The second number is their current standing  within the FedExCup. And the last number is the movement up or down the standings at the end of the tournament if nothing changes.

Moving Day at the BWM

These players are all within striking distance of fall out and making their way to East Lake GC in Atlanta, GA. I would suggest that these players have just as much, if not more, pressure on them to succeed than the top players! The payoff for moving on to the Tour Championship is tremendous and none of these professionals want to left out in the cold.

There are two tremendous battles going on at the BMW Championship! The battle for the top spot and the battle to make it into the top 30! Which do you prefer? Any predictions?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Unexpected Results in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

Golf continues to provide unexpected results. This past weekend was exciting, disappointing, and surprising at the same time. Many pundits are wondering if the last leg of the FedExCup playoffs will offer the same drama as the BMW Championship last weekend.

First, congratulations to Billy Horschel for winning the BMW Championship. His steady play of four, sub-70 rounds paved his way to the winner’s circle. His win resulted in an 18 position rise in the FedExCup standings to second place. If he plays well at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, Horschel is in for a huge payday!

True Patriot Love Foundation - Out of the Sand

Out of the Sand Like A Pro

Keegan Bradley withdrew because of a moving ball controversy. “This is Bradley’s first career withdrawal on the PGA Tour, and it stemmed from lingering questions he had over an embedded-ball ruling he received on the 18th hole of his opening round. Bradley took relief under Rule 25-2 for an embedded ball in the grass face of a greenside bunker after conferring with a rules official, but a subsequent conversation with a fan cast doubt for Bradley over whether the ball was truly embedded.” (Golfchannel.com)

This type of controversy is hurting golf. After a discussion with a rules official, Bradley took relief and continued to play. That should be the end of the conversation. That is what rules officials are paid for; are they not? Regardless, the disheartened Bradley can now focus on the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland, on 23-28 September.

Phil Mickelson withdrew from the BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship. He cited fatigue and the desire to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup. Having little chance to make it to the TOUR Championship, Mickelson chose to put an end to his poor golfing year. His decision has merit, but does highlight the challenges of a long and grueling golf season.

Sergio Garcia self-destructed on the 17th hole on the final day of the BMW Championship. Firing a triple bogey after a near flawless round caught everyone’s eye. The triple bogey was not the real issue, but the manner in which he did it caused golfing pundits to question his mental fortitude when the pressure is on. Having watched Garcia play poorly, I would have to disagree with the golfing analysts. It is possible his focus waned for a moment. As a result, two bad shots in a row. Garcia is still in the hunt to win the FedEx Championship and should not be counted out this weekend!

Rory McIlroy four-putting the 12th hole on two consecutive days was very surprising. After playing so well for the past 6 weeks, this momentary lapse in ….. well, I am not sure what to call it, was unforeseen. He is still the best player in the world and will continue to be so for many months to come. McIlroy might be thinking about the ‘what if’ after his two four-putts, but in the big picture all his putting woes did was give the media something to write about.

News of professional golfers challenges always appears to be ‘big news’. I agree that some of the stories are important and are considered real news. However, most stories are really just ‘the rub of the green’. It happens and has no real lasting effect on the golfing world. Personally, I would like to see more good news stories. Here is one of my favorites that lasted about as long as it took to write the article.

“Titleist staff members Todd Huizinga and Mike Russell defy astronomical odds and score back-to-back double-eagle 2’s on Carnoustie’s famed Par-5 sixth hole.” (Titleist.com)

It happened in 2008, but typifies the good news that most amateurs would love to read about. If you have not read the story, it is worth a look.

Reporting about golf can be difficult. Sometimes there is nothing exciting happening, yet media outlets try to fill their columns. I am not sure what the answer is, but personally I would like to see more good news stories than media hype trying to create an issue where one does not exist.

Do you have any good golf news to share?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The FedEx Cup

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The FedEx Cup - a race for 10 million dollars!

The FedEx Cup – a race for 10 million dollars!

The race for 10 million dollars is on! The final tournament, Wyndham Championship, concluded today and set the stage for the four-tournament playoff  that will crown the FedEx Cup champion. This elimination style competition starts with The Barclay’s on Thursday.

For the first time in 2013-14, the PGA TOUR embarks on a wraparound schedule that bridges two years with a total of 45 events played over 43 weeks. The PGA TOUR season is divided into two segments – the FedExCup Season (41 events) and the FedExCup Playoffs (4 events) – played over 43 weeks.

The FedExCup Playoffs once again features four events, starting with The Barclays (Aug. 21-24) at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., onto the Deutsche Bank Championship (August 29-Sept. 1) at TPC Boston and BMW Championship (Sept. 4-7) at Cherry Hills Country Club outside Denver, before concluding at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. (FedEx Cup)

The FedEx Cup is an interesting golf competition because of the “play well – move on” format. At the Barclays, all 125 players will start, but only 100 players will move on to the next event at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The third week at the BMW championship will only have 70 players competing; then at the TOUR Championship, 30 players will be left to vie for the 10 million dollar grand prize.

I have talked about the FedEx Cup before and my view still stands. The FedEx Cup needs to create more excitement! I thought I would share my thoughts from before when I compared the FedEx Cup with the World Cup of Soccer:

Limiting the FedEx Cup field through the final four tournaments is definitely a must!  It does provide a level of excitement that peaks the interest of most sports enthusiasts.  However, this is where real excitement for sports fans fades. The current FedEx Cup format does produce a strong field, but unfortunately the format only ensures the big names in golf make it to the finals. There is no real “David and Goliath” excitement; the underdog remains under; and there is no last-minute heroic sand shot remembered for 60 years!  The FedEx Cup playoffs is like watching the same group of players week- in and week-out win large purses without any real excitement.  6 of the top 10 ranked players in the FedEx Cup are also in the top 10 in the world!  It is somewhat exciting for true golfing fans, but the current format does not generate the enthusiasm of a World Cup event.

The FedExCup should take a page from the World Cup.  Have all the qualifying tournaments to set up the 125-man field for the playoffs.  Then, have all the players start with zero points and let the chips fall where they may.  Lose and go home!

Adopt the World Cup way.  Once the playoffs start, everything should be performance based.  If a pro plays well, they make it to the next stage.  If not, better luck next year.  Regardless of their world ranking, it allows the 125th ranked player the opportunity to reach out and rip the title out of the hands of the giant.

This format will make for great golf!  It will elevate the FedEx Cup to the ranks of a must see sporting event! All sport nuts remember the huge upset, but rarely remember the team that should have won. Creating excitement on any playing field is really what fans want!

This sums up my thoughts on the FedEx Cup. It is great to watch some fantastic golf, however I would like to see more excitement in the event.

What do you think? Could the format change to create more excitement for sports fans?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!