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Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > September > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USPro golf in Atlanta jinxed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Somewhere in Atlanta, there is a Voodoo doll fashionably attired in Lacoste and Footjoy, with needles sticking out of its forehead.
It’s as if the pro golf scene here is dropping into a black hole. The LPGA pulled the plug at Eagles Landing two years ago. The AT&T Classic at Sugarloaf exited in May after tournament organizers phoned 125 potential sponsors over six months and then heard this: Click.
The Tour Championship? It looked great on paper. Tiger Woods was on that paper. Playoff drama was on that paper. Somebody lost that paper.
Boo Weekley, goofball centerpiece of last week’s Ryder Cup, doing the Happy Gilmore gallop from the clubhouse to the first tee would’ve been a nice way to kick things off Thursday. But Weekley isn’t here. Also, there’s some football game in Athens on Saturday drawing attention.
“Tour Championship” should be two powerful words. But only two other words could’ve pushed Thursday’s opening onto the radar locally: Free gas.
Instead, we were left with relatively empty bleachers and connect-the-dot galleries for a season-ending tournament that pays $1.26 million to the winner. It was all a bit deflating.
“Atlanta will survive this,” said Dave Kaplan, director of the outgoing AT&T Classic, who on this day announced competitors as they walked up to the 18th green.
“When I think of the years we played the tournament the week before the Masters, we only made two cuts on Friday in eight years because of weather issues. In 2005 when we had total rainouts on Thursday and Friday, then on Saturday I’m sitting on the patio club at Sugarloaf and it starts to snow. Hail, sleet, snow, rain — I think we had it all in eight years.”
Yes, the PGA will survive. The Tour Championship will survive. The FedEx Cup will survive, although somebody needs to run this system through a food processor quick.
This is supposed is to bring together the top 30 players on the Tour. But because of a convoluted point system, the field includes Bubba Watson, who’s a great guy, colorful figure and solid golfer, but declared: “I’m here and it’s not right. If we really had a tournament with the top 30 players, I’m not here. I’ve never won a tournament in my life. I’m 97th in the world. I’ll take the checks and if they say, ‘You can go to the Masters,’ I’ll go. But nobody in the world would say I’m top 30.”
Anthony Kim was the only one who looked top 30 on Thursday. He shot 6-under. The course finished second. Everybody else followed. Only five golfers broke par. Vijay Singh was 3-over. Sergio Garcia was even. Stewart Cink 5-over.
If you’re a sponsor or a TV executive, you once embraced the possibility of an $11.26 million putt on Sunday to win the tournament and the FedEx Cup. Now, you’re sitting at the other end of the cache spectrum.
The embankment in front of the 18th green has the word “Playoffs” painted in large white letters. Presumably, there wasn’t enough paint for, “Exhibition.” Unless he collapses, Singh has the $10 million bonus locked up. He could lug a six-pack around East Lake every day and it wouldn’t make a difference.
Come to think of it, it would help the ratings.
“The playoffs have been kind of quiet, obviously,” said Ryuji Imada, the former Georgia golfer whose first Tour win was the final AT&T Classic. “Without Tiger, there’s probably only about half the excitement. We have a lot of good players and good golf here, but there’s only one Tiger.”
It’s unfortunate. This tournament and East Lake officials deserve better. D.J. Trahan, an Atlanta native and Clemson alum, believes golf fans will still pay attention this week. But he knows the Georgia-Alabama game is dominating the landscape.
“I guess I should say, ‘Go Dogs,’” he said, smiling. “Alabama kicked the living daylights out of my Tigers, and I never liked Alabama, anyway. I don’t know. Maybe we can be the second-biggest draw this week.”
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Comments
By Kevin Smith
September 26, 2008 1:37 AM | Link to this
I don’t know why we need this points system in the first place. What’s wrong with using money, like we have always measured ultimate success on the course.
I propose breaking up that 10M prize into a 1M,2M,3M,4M bonus for each of the tournaments going to the winner. Still lots of drama and barring a sublime performance in the first three events, the winner of the fourth would most likely prevail overall in the money total.
By Courtney
September 26, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this
Why is Jeff Schultz writing about golf ? Excuse me - not writing about golf - writing about something that he clearly doesn’t know a whole lot about, but doesn’t mind taking cheap shots ?
Granted, he’s writing for a paper that is quickly failing and getting rid of its real writers - so how much could we really expect ?
Jeff - if you’re going to start off by empathizing - taking shots based in ignorance sort of takes the genuine feeling from that empathizing.
By Jim
September 26, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this
Bellsouth/AT&T Classic was never the same after the greedy PGA moved it from ACC to Sugarloaf. In a good economy, businesses were willing to throw money at the stray dog. In times like now, that dog dies. The only way they could support the event is if Augusta National offered spots in the Masters to the top 5 finishing positions. That would make it interesting.
FedEx cup is another blown model. The finals in Atlanta should be a reset winner takes all amongst the 30 players who qualified. With or without Tiger, people would watch to see who can hang on through Sunday to collect $10MM annuity. This year highlights all the deficiencies of the FedEx cup.
By Oneiron
September 26, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this
I think we should be taking shots at Finchem and the Tour, not Shultz on this one. Finchem wanted to copy the NASCAR “playoff” and got a lousy format. FED EX got a bunch of publicity and advertising. The fans get little but another round of tournaments. We don’t need this type event in golf, the money list and the scoring averages are all the real fans care about. FED EX points are bogus - that’s why the tournament this week means so little except to the 30 players here. I say ditch the format - hell, I don’t like the NASCAR chase either.
By cheese
September 26, 2008 6:19 PM | Link to this
you want drama? the tour championship should be the 30 best players 4 day tournament match play.