When Leading the Money List Really Means Much More
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 13, 2010 1:24 PM EDT
in Pro Golf
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PrintListening to Matt Adams' Fairways of Life on XM/Sirius this morning, he raised a good point. Matt Kuchar has said he is shutting down for the season - no more Fall Series for him. After the kind of summer and fall he had, I really can't argue with him. But Matt (Adams) can.
Kuchar leads the PGA Tour money list by some $100K over Jim Furyk, the FedExCup winner. If Kuchar can end the season as the money champion, he gets a five year exemption on Tour. For as crazy as it sounds given the '10 that Kuchar has had, this is a big deal.
Jim Furyk got a similar exemption for taking the FEC, which doesn't mean as much to a likely Hall of Famer. There is an off chance that his season is not over yet. He may play in Las Vegas at the Justin Timberlake event. Were he to do well there - and he usually does - Kuchar's money title could be in jeopardy, as well as the lengthy exemption.
On the flip side of the coin, the race to stay in the top 125 is actually more difficult now than ever. In prior years, Tiger Woods has run away with the top spot on the money list. Winning $8-10 million each year, Tiger makes the dispersal of money thinner at the bottom of the money rankings. Having a winless PGA Tour season in '10, Woods has allowed more money to trickle down into the middle of the Tour - into the hands of the rank-and-file.
That'll make keeping a Tour card more difficult. Instead of having to make the $662,683 it took in '09 to slip inside the top 125, the Tour expects that figure to be closer to $775,000 this year. You know those guys near the gate number will be playing, but will Matt Kuchar tee it up just once more?
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cool
i did not realize that tiger’s tourney was official money
Also now has Official World Golf Ranking points, which is cool.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 13, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Somehow, I get the feeling
that another Media Type is trying to push his own agenda…Maybe didn’t occur to the guy that Kucher is kind of played out ? Already has 2 year exemption, and all the loot he needs this year after taxes…so..Good for him…march to his own drum, never mind the media…Hey Court…why arn’t ya climbing on this guy for being a lousy media type…common here….STUB
Matt Adams ? He’s very good. Seems like a pretty good question to me. Five years exemption as opposed to two, and the one guy who can take away those three years is going to play one or two more tournaments ? Furyk finished T-4 in Vegas last year, so that $100k isn’t as big as it looks. What’s the harm in asking ? Maybe Kuchar didn’t know about the 5 years or how close he was to the extra three years.
Who knows – he might change his mind in a week or two. There are worse places to spend a week than Vegas, and he doen’t have to decide for certain until the Friday before.
Kuchar’s a fun guy – he’s great with the give and take. You can kid around with him, “challenge his manhood” kinds of things like we all do, and he’ll get that you’re just playing – and might even fire back. He played the AT&T here in Atlanta a few years back – with a former UGA Bulldog on the Tour. We had them going at it pretty good about school pride and side bets. (Kuchar was first out with the old “there’s no gambling at Bushwood, sir” line.
And you could be right – he played a lot this year – he might just want time at home with the wife and kids.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Oh, I get it
It’s OK for someone from Georgia to want time with the wife and kids. But gawd forbid if someone from England wants to participate in family life. Yep, that seems fair.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
That’s Georgia Tech, missy ! :-)
What in the world are you talking about ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Thank you, Eas!
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
When did I ever say that Westwood shouldn’t spend time with the family at home in Europe ? When did I ever say he shouldn’t play on the Tour he wants to play on ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Oh Bu******
I wanted to say that, DM/Easing. Court, how come so many of us think that is exactly what you were getting at then? We obviously think you have been hoisted by your own petard!
Wow, such language...
I’m sorry, but I agree with Court here…The discussion is money and exemptions….Kuchar has the money, and 2 years already….the fact he comes from JAWA has no bearing on anythin…Where is Jim F. from ?….he is in the same oat as Kuchar….all this precludes anyone from the UK getting there….Sorry Wendy/Easy….Diane seems to be pushing the idea it’s OK for a US player to do it, but not a Brit….doesn’t even equate in this topic….IMHO, Kuch is probably thinking…Heck, I have the money, and a 2 years exemp….I’m tired…why go on and risk injury…I will win again next year and push the exrmptions another 2 years ahead….makes good sense to me….and Wendy…whats a petard? jis sayin…..STUB
My, we are irony deficient today, aren’t we, STUB?
Last week there was a thread where many commenters jumped all over Lee Westwood for passing on PGA Tour membership. The speculation, in the absence of a direct statement from Westwood, was that he wanted to stay in England and play the Euro Tour so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time away from family. Now Mr. Kuchar wants to pass on the silly season and many think that’s OK, even though he could risk not getting an extra three years worth of exempt status.
I was trying to point out the hypocrisy of that position.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
I admit to oversight
of the irony….I just thought your post was asine at best….We, or at least most of us started to discuss the money and exemptions….Your the one who wanted to turn it into something else….Maybe your finding yourself a bit attention disorientated….jist sayin…..STUB
I don't buy this bit Ryan...
“On the flip side of the coin, the race to stay in the top 125 is actually more difficult now than ever. In prior years, Tiger Woods has run away with the top spot on the money list. Winning $8-10 million each year, Tiger makes the dispersal of money thinner at the bottom of the money rankings. Having a winless PGA Tour season in ’10, Woods has allowed more money to trickle down into the middle of the Tour – into the hands of the rank-and-file.”
What a load of rubbish. Each event has a winner…wouldn’t matter to the middle of the tour if it was Tiger 10 times or 5 guys 2 times each. Those middle players wouldn’t win and still grab the crumbs on offer…whoever wins.
Easing
Every year that Tiger is hurt and/or struggles you see a spike in the money needed to reach the top 125. When Tiger has one of his near 10 million dollar years he is taking “crumbs” from guys and hoarding them for himself in a sense. When he doesn’t win 8 times (and have 7 or 8 other really high finishes) it spreads the wealth to a degree. Look at this year and 08 for an example. Tiger missed much of 08 and was “just a guy this year” and the money needed to retain a card is quite a bit higher when compared to 06,07, and 09 when he was dominant to a degree.
I agree for the top half of the tour
many players get a win or two that Tiger would have had. This wouldn’t matter to the players that occupy the bottom half year in year out. Rarely any of them win, some get a top ten now and then, Tiger winning or not. The 125th position requires a little more each year…that’s just inflation. Out of the 40 wins so far this year, 75th down has 4 of them. To those players, it didn’t matter if it was Tiger, Phil or any other top player. The 150 million or so won, in a good year, Tiger would get 10 million of it. This topic about Tiger was also on the Golf Channel, who as we all know, will use any excuse to print the name Tiger. So was this.
EASY...isn't this a good argument to get rid
of the exempt tour garbage? If ya can’t play, why get paid….The bottom half should get day jobs and see how the other half lives….To make 700 K and keep your card while being at best, mediocre says what for those of us….WE ARE STUPID FOLKS for accepting anything like this….Would we accept this in our Teachers…never mind their income…Hell no….bring the tar and feathers if they don’t do a great job on our kids….It matters not what the bottom players do…All we care about really, who are the TOP GOLFERS FOR THE YEAR….And if truth be known, we don’t give a hill of beans for the rest….We all love winners….STUB
Dearest Stub,
It’s hard to argue that there are those that love the winners. But as I play out your idea, all I can see is…less events, because the winners only play in their share of select tournaments during the year…less winners, so some of the winners will now be losers…less communities benefiting from being a tournament host…less opportunity for fans from all across the country/world to attend events and seeing their favorite players “live”.
I don’t disagree that there are guys that we’ve probably never heard of that are making great money on the heels of “the winners”…but I don’t hear the winners complaining – there appears to be enough to go around. But I believe every “unknown” still has a story and most likely a story filled with sacrifice and challenges.
I really enjoy the Fall Series because we can get a glimse at some of the guys that are overshadowed by “A-listers” during the regular season….I enjoy Q-school even more, although the coverage is so sparce it’s hard to get a real sense of what’s happening there.
I think everyone deserves a chance to be a winner.
Your friend, Red :)
I write about golf at www.tees2greens.com, too.
Dearest Red...what a loverly
letter, it brought a tear to these old eyes…..thank you….I wasn’t trying to say only winners need to apply, sorry if I convayed that impression…..I have for years railed against the exempt tour….I do believe the “fans” of golf would be better served and see more competitive golf if there was qualifying again….I can’t see someone who won’t win or even have a chance to, because his talent is a bit short, making almost a million dollars by being a hanger on….Is that the type golf you want to see ? Give me the RC type….everyone slugging it out every day….now we see talent……and we get to see a persons character to go along with that….jist sayin….STUB
Agree about the teachers mate..
I was just pointing out the rubbish that Tiger winning 10 million instead of 1.5 million this year matters a hoot to those bottom half players.
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