Steve Flesch Tries to Explain the Point of the FedEx Cup
by Ryan Ballengee on Nov 21, 2008 1:02 AM EST
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PrintOn golf.com, Cameron Morfit has an interview up with PGA Tour PAC member Steve Flesch about the FedEx Cup. It's a great interview and well worth a full read. The part that I took away, though, was this exchange at the end about what the FedEx Cup really is.
GOLF: How would you fix the fact that the Tour Championship keeps being a moot point? How hard is it to make it a match play or a winner-take-all? I mean, you can make it up!
SF: I think the guys agree that the $10 million payout should not be decided on one round of golf when you've played the whole year to gain your ranking in the FedEx Cup race. We don't think one round of golf should decide $10 million. Now, if it's between six guys ... we're trying to find the balance of maintaining the integrity of rewarding a great year.
GOLF: But nine innings decided the American League Championship. Why is everyone so concerned about rewarding the entire year? Isn't that what the money list is for? The Vardon Trophy rewards the best year, the trophies on your mantle, the Player of the Year. People are trying to make the FedEx Cup do too much.
SF: I'm not disagreeing with you. I think the terminology of it being a playoff in golf is what players are having a hard time grasping, and the public is having hard time grasping. It's not a team sport; everyone is trying to protect his own interest.
GOLF: What is the objective? What is the FedEx Cup supposed to do? Because after two years of this, I still don't know.
SF: I think the FedEx Cup ideally is trying to identify the best player during the playoff format, which any playoff does. The team that plays the best should win. If you look at the first two years, that's what happened: Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh were the best players. Now did we arrive at those winners in the best way? I don't think we have, and I don't think the Tour would disagree with me. We had not enough volatility in the first year, and too much in the second. We're trying to make it more equitable for the players.
I am thrilled that Flesch gets it. He realizes that the public and the players really aren't sure what the point of the FedEx Cup is or should be. That should be the question answered first before anything else is done to the Cup.
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it's a good point...
…there really doesn’t seem to be a point or purpose to the Fed Ex Cup outside of a lot of advertising for Fed Ex – at least not the way it has been presented and carried out the first 2 years. It overwhelms the Tour Championship – and the format isn’t working.
The first year, they got what they wanted – a big appearance fee for Tiger Woods for a few extra weeks after the PGA.
Last year – the best man won according to the rules – but there could have been a lot more excitement as things turned out. Of course, you can’t blame Fed Ex or the PGA Tour or the players – nobody could have predicted Vijay’s dominant performance the first two weeks – or his screwed up mental state in the finals – or the charge by Villegas, Garcia, and Mickelson.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Yup
I think Flesch made a great few points. Some of his facts were wrong, but still, the points are good.
by Ryan Ballengee on Nov 21, 2008 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
huh?
nobody could have predicted … the charge by Villegas, Garcia, and Mickelson.
You’re kidding, right? These are world-class golfers, whether you like their style or not. If they are in the tournament, they SHOULD charge.
Truth has a well-known liberal bias.
I agree
Like I said, he didn’t have the best facts in the world, but did make some good points.
by Ryan Ballengee on Nov 21, 2008 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
really...
…and how often have you seen them do it ? even Mickelson doesn’t make charges very often. Villegas had never won. Garcia has a bigger reputation for losing tournaments than winning them.
“should” and “do” aren’t the same things.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Rewarding a good year?
The interviewer was exactly right. The money list is for rewarding a good year. Increased sponsorships reward a good year.
The Fed Ex cup is a playoff and playoffs separate the men from the boys. The playoffs are a test of mettle. They test grittiness. The test longevity. The $10 million should be a reward for the player who exhibits these things during the playoffs. Not for a player who played great at the tail end of winter and then trailed off for the rest of the season.
I like that !
That Fed Ex paragraph should be printed up and handed to every player on the PGA Tour, every employee of the Tour, everyone in the media, and everyone at Fed Ex.
The part about the money list, though, I don’t agree with. There is no additional reward for position on the money list – it is just a list.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Right
I should have phrased that differently. The money list is simply a summary of the reward, not the reward itself.
by Double Eagle on Nov 23, 2008 12:59 AM EST up reply actions
Not completely true
There is a reward for position on the money list – entry into majors, invitationals, etc.
by Ryan Ballengee on Nov 23, 2008 3:08 PM EST up reply actions
true enough
but there is no end of the season award for leading the money list – that ’s what we were talking about.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
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