PGA Tour Still Struggling In Third Year With FedExCup Playoffs

The PGA Tour FedExCup concludes next week with the Tour Championship in Atlanta, and the harder the Tour "tries to make this thing interesting, or at least slightly suspenseful, the bigger mess it becomes," according to John Hawkins of GOLF WORLD. Changes in this year's playoff format reduced Tiger Woods' lead heading into next week from 1,504 points to just 250, which is a "funny way to reward a guy for lapping an entire field." PGA Tour execs "need to come to terms with reality" that pro golf "does not lend itself to a playoff format." The current model is "flawed both inherently and procedurally and, thus, has virtually no chance of succeeding." Without the "win-or-go-home scenario that defines playoff competition in team sports, the FedEx Cup will never generate widespread public interest or earn critical acclaim" (GOLF WORLD, 9/21 issue).

BETTER THAN IT SEEMS: The AP's Doug Ferguson noted Jim Furyk, who has not won an event on Tour this season, "could win the FedEx Cup by finishing third" at the Tour Championship, which would "be the nightmare scenario for the PGA Tour." Furyk can capture the title with a third-place finish if six-time '09 winner Woods finishes eighth or worse while Steve Stricker, who has won three Tour events this year, finishes fourth or worse. But Ferguson noted "too much time is spent on what the FedEx Cup is not, instead of considering what it is -- a competition that brings together the best players on the PGA Tour when they otherwise might be home watching football." While it is "easy to poke fun of the points system, this version worked beautifully." The eight golfers with multiple victories all qualified for the Tour Championship, as did the four major winners. With an "emphasis on the last three playoff events, seven players outside the top 30 when the playoffs began made it to the Tour Championship by playing great golf." If there "is a problem" with the FedExCup, "it comes at the finish line" (AP, 9/15). In Toronto, Chris Stevenson writes this iteration of the FedExCup has "been a good one" if only because the world's best players are playing in four straight tournaments. But the Tour Championship "should give everybody who made it this far an equal shot at winning." Stevenson: "Make it simple: Whoever gets into and wins the big finale wins the FedEx Cup" (TORONTO SUN, 9/17).

SYSTEM OF A DOWN: SI's Gary Van Sickle wrote this season's "rejiggered points format created much more volatility." The Tour adjusting the points prior to the Tour Championship is "like letting the field spread out at a NASCAR race and then, with five laps to go, putting everyone on the same lap for a sprint to the finish." Van Sickle: "Why follow the first seven months if the point totals are just going to be reset at the 11th hour anyway?" (GOLF.com, 9/16). In California, Randy Youngman notes Woods' eight-stroke victory in last week's BMW Championship, when Stricker tied for 53rd, had an "equally negligible impact on the points race." Youngman: "Nice system. ... How do you create drama? Simple. Do what NASCAR does after the caution flag comes out. Start over" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 9/17).

Waugh Feels Tour Should Hold Line On Purses

NO REST FOR THE WEARY: In Chicago, Teddy Greenstein noted several Tour players "embraced the concept of getting a week off" between the second and third playoff events next year, and BMW Championship officials will "encourage the tour to alter" the '10 FedExCup schedule for such a break. The Deutsche Bank Championship, which precedes the BMW, finishes on Labor Day, and BMW Championship Exec Dir John Kaczkowski said, "The biggest reason for us is that we'd like a full tournament week, a Monday through Sunday" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/15). But ESPN.com's Jason Sobel wrote, "I wish the PGA Tour pros wouldn't complain about the current schedule." Lobbying for a change "isn't going to help anybody's public image." Baseball players "compete in six or seven games per week, moving to a different city after each road series," while NASCAR drivers "don't have the luxury of sitting out selected events throughout the season, like golfers do" (ESPN.com, 9/13).

STOP, DROP & ROLL: ESPN.com's Bob Harig noted next week's Tour Championship will carry a total purse of $7.5M, as did the previous three FedExCup events -- all up $500,000 from '08 -- and "not everyone thinks that is right." Deutsche Bank Americas CEO Seth Waugh is "not alone in feeling that the tour could have sent a strong message by at least holding the line on purses this year -- or even lowering them -- to either give title sponsors a break or perhaps find a way to funnel more funds to tournament charities." But PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem last week said that he "foresees no purse reductions," all the while acknowledging that "charitable contributions from PGA Tour events this year will be off slightly from 2008" (ESPN.com, 9/16).