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This Time It Counts! Let's Try The FedEx Cup For A Third Time

It's that time of year again!  No, not the FedEx Cup Playoffs.  Rather, the kvetching about the format of the FedEx Cup playoffs!  We have arrived at the third iteration of the Playoffs and seemingly no one is still happy about the format - not even the two guys that have won an easy $10 million because of it.

This year, the FedEx Cup playoffs are a little different than last year's format that gave way too much credence to the Playoff events.  In '09, there is no points reset to start the Playoffs.  That happens before the Tour Championship, which will give players in the top five an assured $10 million if they win at East Lake.  But, if there is a half moon on the Wednesday before the Tour Championship, swine flu kills seven of the 30 players in the field, and Chuck Liddell lasts one week on Dancing With the Stars, then someone NOT in the top five can win the FedEx Cup.

In other words, the format is kind of confusing.  It has been from the get-go.  While I supported the FedEx Cup concept, the implementation hasn't worked so well.  I like the idea of a shorter season with a meaningful finale.  I don't like that the finale takes four tournaments and a confusing points reset to decide. 

I stand by the notion that the Tour Championship should be one of three formats:

  • A 30 man free-for-all tournament that presents the winner of the Tour Championship with the $10 million;
  • Some kind of stroke play/match play event that crowns a season champion in one big match for $10 million;
  • The ADT Championship format that everyone seems to love except the LPGA Tour because they drove ADT away as sponsor

More than that, the Playoffs need to really be populated like playoffs.  As Shane Bacon points out at Fanhouse, way too many guys are getting into The Barclays.  Adam Scott - who I think I might have a chance to beat right now - gets in this week.  Even the NBA doesn't allow in as high of a percentage of its teams into their playoffs!  And the NBA playoffs are like a participation trophy!  Maybe you start with just Tour winners, as Shane suggest.  Perhaps it is the top 60.  And just shed the points system.  The money list works just fine.

Look, this thing can work.  Michael Arkush at Yahoo! says that golf doesn't need playoffs.  He's right.  We have majors.  But golf can still be interesting in late August and early September while Ohio State is beating Youngstown State 70-9 for the 40th straight year. 

The FedEx Cup isn't out to become the fifth major - the PGA Championship occupies that role.  It's trying to generate headlines.  What better way to generate headlines than to make it very selective, high stakes, and guarantee that Tiger Woods is a part of it?

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I think I’m just going to watch the golf from now on – too many “experts” in the media who should be paying attention to Waggle Room posts. :-)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Aug 26, 2009 12:02 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yawn

I long for the days the tour would go to Columbus Georgia, Sutton Massachusetts, and Endicott New York after the last major of the year. Anyone feel similarly?

by Bill Jempty on Aug 26, 2009 12:18 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

well – I’m with you on Columbus, GA – that’s about an hour from here. :-)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Aug 26, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Absolutely not. Yuck city.

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 26, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Which is yuck?

Columbus? Endicott? or Sutton? I been to Endicott.

by Bill Jempty on Aug 26, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Columbus isn’t exactly the Riviera, either – it is mostly built around the army base. Callaway Gardens isn’t technically in Columbus – it is in Pine Mountain – a small resort, camping, and trailer park area just north of Columbus.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Aug 26, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

ADT was spun off of its parent company, Tyco International, and didn’t have the same support in marketing itself through sports as it did when it was part of Tyco. In fact, Tyco would likely have dropped it in any case when their former CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, was incarcerated thank to his corporate malfeasance.

by Old Man Par on Aug 26, 2009 1:06 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

ADT actually said they wanted to work it out with the LPGA Tour to keep sponsoring. They got hard lined too much so they said forget it.

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 26, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

The word here (clue) is that all sports sponsorships would be cut due to a re-emphasis on EBIT.

by Old Man Par on Aug 26, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

but they are still invested with the Skills Challenge ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Aug 26, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Don’t know. They are a different company entirely now, post-divestiture. Tyco split into four different entities last year. ADT is now part of Tyco International, which is not the toy company or Tyco Electronics. Ed Breen is their CEO and he is very focused on bottom line results with few frills along the way.

by Old Man Par on Aug 26, 2009 1:58 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

(I got the hint. Haha!)

Anyway, at the time, ADT/Tyco said they were going to focus on their sponsorships of other sports that produced higher ROI. They are still with the Skills Challenge, but I could see that going away.

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 26, 2009 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yup, no more sailboat race sponsorships or any other of the former regime’s hobbies are making the cut.

I could see ADT staying sports in some quarters, because as a consumer-goods company, it can be a pretty effective way to raise their impressions in the marketplace cost-effectively.

by Old Man Par on Aug 26, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, they’re just going to be a whole lot pickier about it now.

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 26, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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