AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > September > 14 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USThe Tour Championship (not really)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
This ain’t gonna work. That being said, let me direct your attention to the adjoining insert that reads, “My Opinion.”
It’s pretty well determined who the likely winner is at East Lake this week, which is beside the point. The Tour Championship once was aimed at determining the best player of the year, and while that hasn’t always worked out — would you believe that Tiger Woods has won it only one time since it came into play in 1987 (and that wasn’t here) — this is different. This is for ten million bucks and a trophy called the FedEx Cup.
One year, Bart Bryant won this tournament with a score of 263, six better than Woods. Did that mean Bart was the player of the year? No, nor will the FedEx chase be that decisive every year, though it presumably is the target this time. One publication concluded it moot last week with a headline, “Looks Like It’s Over.” It could be prophetic, but remember, it ain’t over till it’s over.
There are differences among the Tour members as wide as Grand Canyon. Sports Illustrated published an opinion piece by one player whose identity was withheld. Running free and unhindered, this player ran the gamut of complaints, and the list filled nearly a page, all of which have been loudly debated at one time or another. One matter had to do with Tour members having a voice in policy. “They say we discuss the issues, but that isn’t true,” it reads. “I’ve been to meetings where they’ve said, ‘We have three options. Which do you prefer.’ It’s already done. Why don’t they let us vote on stuff like the FedEx Cup?”
It would have been more palatable had the speaker been identified, but the important thing was the fact that all the issues have been batted back and forth like a ping-pong ball. In the first place, there are too many sets of figures, the earnings list and the FedEx points, all of which are dumped going into the four-tournament playoff. Then another set of numbers in the Barclays, Deutsche Bank and BMW tournaments, leading into the Tour Championship. That confuses even pros experienced at trying to keep up with life on the tour.
Stewart Cink is a player held in high regard by his peers and who serves on the Tour Policy Board. He snapped his brethren to attention with an open letter chastising fellow members. “We need to be smarter in the way we handle our individual opinions. The players as a whole seem to have forgotten we are all part of a bigger plan here,” he wrote. “Success and growth of the FedEx Cup … hinges largely on players embracing the playoff system.”
Also embracing the “company line,” concluding with this poetic observation: “A rising tide buoys all ships.” I like that.
Well-spoken, carefully phrased and coming from a person of Cink’s character, it should be sobering to a company of players. But not enough to unclutter the mess which finally came to a head at this particular juncture. Isn’t there something wrong with this final stage, when in a field of 30 qualifiers, only five are left with even a whisper of a chance of winning the Cup? Shouldn’t every player in this field be eligible? Or, is the Tour Championship really not the championship of the tour?
Oh, well, I’ve said it. I look at the program and it says, “The Tour Championship” at the top. At the bottom, “Playoffs/FedEx Cup.” Which is it? It’s not good politics to take such a blunt approach, but when $10 million is the prize and so many investors are disgruntled, seems the thing to do. On the other hand, it was indeed inspiring to see those two old crocks, Mark Calcavecchia and Woody Austin, lumbering down the fairways together, even if they can’t win the vaunted chalice.
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By tyger
September 14, 2007 10:13 PM | Link to this
This is a stupid piece of blabbering!
By Winston Roberts
September 15, 2007 10:13 AM | Link to this
It take a lot of planning to create a golfing event. It takes more to create a Golfer of The Year evet.Tim started this issue, he shoud finish it with the input of the tour players. You can’t please everyone but you can make it fair for everyone.Unfortunately for the tour members, Tiger in a tournament make it unfair to many.He is just that good and you cannot penalize him for his greatness. He accumilated the most poins over the year. Others could have generated more points by playing better. Just call it the most points scored during the year. That is what it is all about.Fedex Cup-Most Points Scored During the Current Year Championship.This by nature reduced the number of winners just like the number of winners usually determine the Money Winner Of The Year. Vaya Con Dos fellow golfers of the world.
By Greg
September 15, 2007 11:20 AM | Link to this
More negative garbage. I’m enjoying it as a golf fan. The FedEx Cup is producing many memorable golf moments, including a further display of Tiger’s brilliance!
By Ken Stallings
September 15, 2007 2:54 PM | Link to this
It’s a stupid concept — an end-of-season playoff for golf!
It is a mad rush for all sports to conform with one formula. Baseball finally caved in with the wildcard.
The formula is to play a regular season, and then wipe it away and play a post-season. It works in some sports, not others. The height of the playoff concept is the Stanley Cup. But it doesn’t work as well in other sports.
In golf, it’s plain stupid!
Golf has weekly events. The best player is the one who performs the best in those events as a whole. The money list should define who the best golfer in the world is for a given year.
Golf has a history, as rich as any other sport in human history. It doesn’t need to chase a formula — it is already rich in tradition and can stand apart.
We don’t need every tournament tied in with a corporate sponsor. We don’t need some cheap chase. There are the major tournaments and the other tournaments.
There is the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open, and the Open Championship. Golf doesn’t need to sprinkle glitter. Simplicity retains its charm.
The Open Championship is the one played in Great Britain. We don’t need to modify it further. It is simply the most cherished and historical golf tournament known to man because it reaches back into antiquity. To adorn it is to cheapen it.
Everyone in the world is open to compete if they are good enough. And if you hoist the claret jug, it means you were the best of that select group that year.
What more do we need?
I’ve never heard a golfer complain that the green jacket was too plain!
There’s a lesson that the two most cherished tournaments in golf remain simple.