The FedEx Cup... who cares?

[SubPar]

I resent having this thing shoved at me all season long. Does anyone really care about some complex points system that goes all season, then gets reset and then gets played-off over several tournaments... for prize money that goes into a retirement fund?

Here's an explanation of the points system, in case you have a hour or two to try to understand it. Keep some tissues nearby in case your eyes start bleeding.



SubPar

[Thrash13]

You damn right I care. We get major-like fields for three or four weeks in a row. That's good stuff regardless of all the details. Between the FedEx Cup Playoffs and The Ryder Cup, the next 4 or 5 weeks are going to be awesome!

[PEZGolf]

You damn right I care. We get major-like fields for three or four weeks in a row. That's good stuff regardless of all the details. Between the FedEx Cup Playoffs and The Ryder Cup, the next 4 or 5 weeks are going to be awesome!

I happen to agree with you. To me, this is an exciting period and a great way to end the season, with the fields being reduced down the line. From now to October, America's #1 sport---football (college, high school, and pros) and baseball (playoffs and the World Series) capture the attention of many sports fans, and golf will be shoved aside for them.

The Ryder Cup is in a class of its own, especially with the Euro domination and the massacres that occurred the last two matches. American fans resent the fact that we have NOT been competitive, even with the world's #1,2, and 3 players on our team. Many casual fans will watch that instead of football, and that tells us a lot about the interest it generates.

[SubPar]

I happen to agree with you. To me, this is an exciting period and a great way to end the season, with the fields being reduced down the line. ..

The torunaments will be fun to watch but my question is who cares about who wins the FedEx Cup itself. All year long we get this hype about who is #140, or #35, or whatever in the standings, and I personally don't care in the least. All the exciting top level players will qualify, no matter what.

In the end there will be some tournaments to decide the winner and watching those events can be exciting individually. Those tournaments will have big purses apart from the Cup. For laughs I ask random people on the course every week about the standings and no body ever knows. So who was on pins and needles this past weekend waiting to see if Lee Janzen or Justin Bolli made the points for the FedEx Cup. Probably no one whos last name is not Janzen or Bolli. A guy who only played 6 events leads the points and a guy who played 25 and made only 12 cuts with no wins is 135th. BFD. I'll watch the events to see the competition for 1st place in each one, but can't find any energy for caring about their retirement plan. SubPar

[Thrash13]

So who was on pins and needles this past weekend waiting to see if Lee Janzen or Justin Bolli made the points for the FedEx Cup. Probably no one whos last name is not Janzen or Bolli.

Actually, if you would have looked at the DL3 topic, you would have seen where I was keeping up with Lee Janzen's progress. I'm a fan, and it was nice to see him get in at #144. And besides, how many golfers can say they have won two U.S. Opens in their career? Not many, but Janzen has.

I do get your point though, and there are some changes that need to be made to The FedEx Cup Playoffs. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they started with the top 75 or so and narrowed the fields that way. Or they could take the top 50 and let every golfer play all four events. I do think 144 is way too many, but still, that number will be down to 70 in a couple weeks. In a sport that a lot of people will say is boring, The FedEx Cup provides a little something to keep track of. I like it.

[TCCcaddie]

I really can't get my self into this thing. I think that the PGA did it to keep people interested in the tour after the majors were done. Last year it wasn't good when many top golfers skipped the tournements involved and this year it wont be as interesting because many people are waitning for the Ryder Cup.

[gogolfing]

I'm into it more than I was last year. I like the changes they made, and with Tiger out it is wide open. These will be great fields, and with a Ryder Cup thrown in the mix, I think we should be up for some quality golf in the next month.

[BSweet]

I like it alot.

I'm just not a big fan of the points getting reset. I hate how 33 weeks of hard work gets reset just so someone who's number 141 has a chance to win. Instead the points should stay the same and just allow these tournaments to be worth alot more points.

[PEZGolf]

I like it alot.

You make a valid point and I happen to agree with you. However, some people like the excitement of a "crap shoot" where a guy who barely made the Fed Ex playoffs can have A CHANCE to win the whole thing. It is the ultimate reward for an underdog. Contrast this with the baseball playoffs. The wild card teams are still very good teams with winning records. Having #144 win the Fed Ex Cup is like having the teams from Washington or Seattle win the World Series----it might not be fair, but it sure is exciting.

[SubPar]

Interesting read:

In year two, the FedEx Cup is already lost in the shuffle

By Cameron Morfit
Senior Writer, GOLF Magazine


"You've got to hand it to the Tour, really. After all the hype, it's created something that only Rich Beem cares about."

[ClairefromClare]

No disagreement here, but it's nice to have the tour swing by the neighborhood. We get the LPGA every year, but the boys haven't been here since the PGA in 2005 (and Baltusrol gets it again in 2016--whoo hoo).

[bogeyhitter25]

I'm a lot more pumped for the Ryder Cup.

[Thrash13]

The first playoff event couldn't have gone much better for the PGA Tour. The golf course was phenomenal, and it came down to two of the best golfers on the planet. It was very entertaining to say the least, although it would have been nice to see Sergio win it after he sunk the birdie putt on the first playoff hole.

After the first event, this thing is a success so far.

[goblue107501]

I like keeping up with it. I like following my favorite players and watching their progress and seeing if they can make it to the next week. I am a big Camilo fan and loved watching him get top 10's last year to move from 52 to 24 in the standings.

The biggest problem with golf compared to the other sports is that there is never really a champion. There are four major champions, a tour champion, a money leader, a scoring leader, (sometimes these are mostly one person). At least this way we can have one final winner of the season.

[Thrash13]

I would only make one minor tweak to the current system. Last year, they didn't award enough points for high playoff finishes. This year, however, seems to be completely opposite. There is no reason Padraig Harrington should have dropped down to the 20s after his missed cut. And there is no reason Kevin Sutherland should be ranked 3rd or 4th or whatever he is now. The PGA Tour needs to find a happy median between last year's and this year's. Then things should be about perfect.

[wilbur.kay]

I would certainly agree with that as it is now clearly the best player in the final 4 weeks rather than anything like the best player for the season. Having said that I play at Mat Goggin's home club so his jump was good to see. 4 rounds with less than 30 putts and he will contend!

[chingali]

I always thought that looking at the money list gave you a pretty decent idea of how well someone's season has gone for them. The Fedex cup just sort of loses me, if I have to look something up to figure out what it means (and I'm not entirely lacking in mental capacity although the missus may well disagree) then it's too difficult as far as I'm concerned.

[SubPar]

Looks like another exciting FedEx Cup! What kind of play-off system can have someone winning while not even playing the final event? It is very possible that, with a decent finish this week, Vijay could not play the final event and still win the cup.

Would they just mail it to him?

SubPar