…first of all – SHAME on you for giving Doug Ferguson this kind of credit !! (j/k) :-) This article is full of his usual mistakes and lazy writing. He didn’t make it out of the first paragraph on this one – there IS no “practice green” to hit 5-irons to across the pond. It’s East LAKE, not a pond – he was hitting on the range and not to the practice green. (ok – a bit picky – but he got off to a bad start)

There are $32 million up for grabs this week – not just $7 million. The Fed Ex Cup purse is $35 million, $10 going to the winner – the rest goes to the other 29, plus the $7 million tournament purse.

The reason that The Tour Championship (presented by Coca Cola) has lost some of its prestige is BECAUSE of the Fed Ex Cup and the $10 million first prize. For two years in a row, the outcome has been all but decided before the first ball was struck. Nobody was going to beat Tiger – much less any of the other two guys who had a mathmatical chance (aka “snowball’s chance in hell”) to take the lead – and Vijay just has to play four rounds. (Unless Villegas is winning the tournament, Singh doesn’t even have to do that !) The $7 million just doesn’t look as big, especially with another trophy hogging the spotlight.

It doesn’t help that guys like Phil Mickelson skip the tournament with lame and hypocritical excuses like he has come up with in the past.

“Fergie” couldn’t be more wrong about it losing prestige because of the Ryder Cup. Because the US won, all 10 American cuppers are here. I spoke with Anthony Kim on Tuesday – he couldn’t be more fired up to play this week if he tried. He is thrilled to be here and said he will be freewheeling around the course – being agressive every chance he gets. If the US had lost, I have no doubt that Mickelnuts would have gone home. Now there are 10 guys who are flying high and ready to play more great golf…admittedly, a few of them need extra time for their heads to stop pounding and their vision to clear. :-)

“Fergie” says that some players had a “right” to be at East Lake. DOH ! No they didn’t. They are called PLAYOFFS and in PLAYOFFS, Dougie, people get elimintated. 144 guys earned a spot in the Barclays, and some of them had earned a better CHANCE to play in Atlanta – but once the first ball was in the air in New Jersey (that’s right Dougie – you weren’t in New York), all bets were off. Padraig Harrington said it best – he missed cuts and didn’t play well enough to be in Atlanta – he didn’t whine – he just spoke the truth. Nobody has a “right” to be anywhere in a playoff unless they earn it.

Furyk had to come to “Fergie’s” rescue with his comments – “You just had a player (last year)… Tiger Woods goes out and wins twice and finishes second. You had a player that separated himself. This year, even though the system was totally different, it could have provided a really exciting finish. It did not.” (good job Jim – Fergie needed the help)

The Tour Championship was moved because the PGA refused to work with the PGA Tour on dates. The Ryder Cup had the dates reserved years in advance. The Tour Championship has been moved around. The extra week wouldn’t have been there if the Ryder Cup would have moved to this week and the Tour Championship to the week after The BMW.

And yes – there will be a capacity crowd all week. The Tour Championship is limited to 20,000, with an additional 5,000 corporate tickets. As of this past Sunday, the number of available tickets was down to just a few hundred.

Just enjoy the golf. 10 guys are flying high and are ready to let rip this week – the American Ryder cup team is having a ball and wants to keep things rolling. Sergio is ticked off at how he played and wants to come back better this week. Vijay is…well…Vijay – he never lets up. Villegas is coming off his first Tour win and he wants more…and he’s going to have a SERIOUS gallery full of gorgeous women…I hope he can concentrate). The other 17 guys are going to play hard because there is $32 million on the table and they want as much as they can get.

Shame on Doug Ferguson for mailing this garbage in.

With the response, Court. The Ryder Cup took some momentum out of the TC, but because of it, guys didn’t drop out. I still Vijay locking it up hurts public perception, but there still will be excellent golf on a refurbished golf course.

…what is this “mean something” craze ? It’s sports – what is it supposed to “MEAN” ? The Tour Championship isn’t truly a championship – more like a season ending tournament of the best or, in this year’s case, the hottest golfers on tour.

This sort of thing really ruins pure enjoyment of watching the best play the game.

A scribe asked Tim Finchem yesterday about the potential to rename this event as something like the FedEx Final. He said it’s under consideration.

I think there’s some relevance to what the event means. Not so much from a pure fan perspective – it’s good golf, there you have it. From a business perspective, though, tournament perception, health, and meaning, are real concepts. I just happen to like sports business.

“what to make of the Tour Championship”…remember “Airplane” ? “I can make a hat, or a brooch, or a pteradactyl…” LOVE that movie. :-D