On one hand, a really big, a really selective, a really, really high profile and high-paying golf tournament.
On the other, Week Three of the NFL season.
Even Jordan Spieth, golf’s once and future king, must admit that it’s a bit of a mismatch. “Football took a day away from God, so it’s not like golf’s really going to be able to compete that much with it,” he said, accompanied by a resigned smile.
This week’s Tour Championship at East Lake, concluding on an NFL Sunday, will decide the winner of the PGA Tour’s playoff device, the FedEx Cup. It turns 10 here this week, and the anniversary will be marked by the ultimate winner bathing in a $10 million bonus.
Surviving a season-long points race and the down-sizing of three prior playoff events, 30 players arrive at East Lake seeking the FedEx Cup title. It is not a sure thing that the winner of the Tour Championship also will win the FedEx Cup bonus — although the last six years have played out that way — but the events at Bobby Jones’ old course are sure to have large money-making implications.
In concept, the playoff funnel leading to Atlanta was designed to keep the PGA Tour relevant after the four majors had been played and into what had been for golf a fallow lead-in to autumn. It was designed to put an exclamation point at the close to a season rather than an ellipsis. And to give fans another month of golf with star-laden fields.
If nothing else, golf figured it might grab the attention of some already anchored to their couch for a weekend of contact sport.
“When the FedEx Cup was first proposed it was proposed to cut the season short and end before football,” Matt Kuchar, playing in his seventh Tour Championship this week, said.
“Then it went into kind of weeks two and three of football. There was the idea that there would be a rollover of eyeballs — kind of like the program that follows the super Bowl, people are just in front of their TVs, they’re going to be watching. It’s hard to compete against the NFL. I think that the PGA Tour’s working to combat that.”
Complicating matters further is that the big finish happens in the heart of college football country. National championship runner-up Clemson will come to call on Georgia Tech on the night of Tour Championship’s first round. Georgia plays its first ranked SEC opponent while the third round is underway.
It is natural to take stock of the profile and presence of the FedEx Cup as it turns a nice, round 10.
The final act of the FedEx Cup has produced some nice moments over the preceding nine years. Bill Haas (2011) getting up and down from the water in the playoff’s playoff. Buttoned down Jim Furyk (2010) celebrating madly in the rain on the final green at East Lake, his cap rakishly backward (2010). Billy Horschel (2014) adding his own celebratory twist, doing the Gator chomp on No. 18 in front of a Georgia audience. A reservoir of history slowly gains depth, although still ankle deep compared to golf’s major championships.
More dramas await now that East Lake has been flipped, and the closing holes representing more opportunities to score rather than to simply hang on.
From the players’ standpoint enthusiasm generally has replaced doubt.
Furyk, who did not make it to East Lake this year, has been quoted as saying the FedEx Cup has been “the best thing to happen to our tour since I’ve been on it.”
That after admitting he was among the skeptics when PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem presented the idea. “Honestly, I didn’t understand the vision,” he recalled.
For Brandt Snedeker, the 2012 champion and back in the field this year, the FedEx Cup was a career defining accomplishment. No question that he would count among the playoff’s biggest proponents.
“It has been great, awesome,” he said. “You have four of our best fields of the year late in the year. You’ve got great venues. Look at the list of those who have won at East Lake and see the leaderboard they’ve had there you see a bunch of world-class players there every year. I think it has worked out perfectly, kind of how we envisioned it. Every year it seems like it’s getting better and better.”
Since the beginning there has been a handful of alterations to the points system, designed to gin up the intrigue through the playoff events and particularly reward those playing well down the stretch. The volatility of the points standings in the final month can be a little disorienting.
Then there is this possible scenario for this week: Paul Casey’s one PGA Tour victory came seven years ago. Yet with a Tour Championship victory, he would claim the FedEx Cup as well.
Is there call for further tinkering? Opinions vary.
“It has really gotten to the point with the points system and everything that they wanted to accomplish, I think they have got it dialed in now,” Phil Mickelson said.
“I still think there are still adjustments necessary to really crown the FedEx Cup as the true year-long champion on the PGA Tour,” Spieth said.
From the fans’ standpoint, there remains the question of how much math are they willing to do while watching a golf tournament? Those spectating from ground level can’t immediately know the playoff implications of each shot. Those in the TV audience are almost overwhelmed by the second-by-second changes in the points situation.
But chaos can be entertaining, Kuchar believes. “I think people really enjoy not just who moves on. Who doesn’t move on is of interest, too,” he said.
Then, of course, there is the fans’ eternal question: How much golf do I want to watch if there is some slobber-knocking going on at the same time?
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