FedExCup = A Waste of 10 Million Dollars

[johnclayton1982]

I think the point of the OP was not that its a bad idea in and of itself, its just executed horribly.

And he is right.  Its either the playoffs or it isn't.  You can have little carryovers like home-field in other sports (maybe a bye through the Barclays?), but the keep the points then play the playoffs thing is dumb.  If its the playoffs, make it the playoffs.  A certain number make it, and the winner is the winner.  Thats playoffs, thats drama.  This is in-between, and as a result unsuccessful.

It might be pretty good to have a real playoff.  Think about it: after you "make" the top 125, you cut down every week.  And I mean literally cut down.  You have a winner, but every week you cut.  125 to 70, 70 to 40, 40 to 15, winner of the 15 man tournament is the winner.  Won the first week then got 41st the second week?  Tough.  Thats what "playoffs" means - plenty of NFL teams blow out their first round opponent then lose - they don't get a second chance because they did "so well" the week before.  That gives drama and is what a "playoff" is.  Heck, throw in some Nationwide players (top 5 ML make the first round?), the top 4 of the amateur, maybe some PGA club pros, and you add some underdog drama.  One will catch fire every year and become a story (like in the NCAA MBball tourney).

Its not the "playoffs".  Its just more of the PGA tour.  Thats the gripe, and thats why its uninteresting.  Its the best golfers in the world, using a scoring system nobody gets, having "playoffs" that take into account the entire year, playing courses that all look *Exactly* the same.

How much more interesting would the "playoffs" be if they were real playoffs with final cuts and played four rounds: first round on a relatively standard course, then a long course, then a short course, then the Tour Championships on a US Open style setup?  What if they threw in a playoff round on a links course?  That is interesting.  Watching guys play the same-looking course week after week after week using a scoring system nobody gets is not interesting.

Is it better the FedEx cup exists than doesn't?  Obviously.  Thats not the point.  I'm not sure they could have constructed a less-appealing "playoff" format if they tried.

[michaeljames92]

That's probably the dumbest thing i've ever read. So a guy can win every tournament in the year and lose the tour championship and not win the fedex cup? Sure they want to make it exciting, but you still have to make it fair to the players.

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

I think the point of the OP was not that its a bad idea in and of itself, its just executed horribly.

And he is right.  Its either the playoffs or it isn't.  You can have little carryovers like home-field in other sports (maybe a bye through the Barclays?), but the keep the points then play the playoffs thing is dumb.  If its the playoffs, make it the playoffs.  A certain number make it, and the winner is the winner.  Thats playoffs, thats drama.  This is in-between, and as a result unsuccessful.

It might be pretty good to have a real playoff.  Think about it: after you "make" the top 125, you cut down every week.  And I mean literally cut down.  You have a winner, but every week you cut.  125 to 70, 70 to 40, 40 to 15, winner of the 15 man tournament is the winner.  Won the first week then got 41st the second week?  Tough.  Thats what "playoffs" means - plenty of NFL teams blow out their first round opponent then lose - they don't get a second chance because they did "so well" the week before.  That gives drama and is what a "playoff" is.  Heck, throw in some Nationwide players (top 5 ML make the first round?), the top 4 of the amateur, maybe some PGA club pros, and you add some underdog drama.  One will catch fire every year and become a story (like in the NCAA MBball tourney).

Its not the "playoffs".  Its just more of the PGA tour.  Thats the gripe, and thats why its uninteresting.  Its the best golfers in the world, using a scoring system nobody gets, having "playoffs" that take into account the entire year, playing courses that all look *Exactly* the same.

How much more interesting would the "playoffs" be if they were real playoffs with final cuts and played four rounds: first round on a relatively standard course, then a long course, then a short course, then the Tour Championships on a US Open style setup?  What if they threw in a playoff round on a links course?  That is interesting.  Watching guys play the same-looking course week after week after week using a scoring system nobody gets is not interesting.

Is it better the FedEx cup exists than doesn't?  Obviously.  Thats not the point.  I'm not sure they could have constructed a less-appealing "playoff" format if they tried.

[Frank-0-Sport]

Greetings .... There are two ... and only two ... requirements for winning the $10 million FedEx Cup prize. (1) Be a regular full-time member of the PGA Tour. (2) Earn more Fed Ex Cup Points than anyone else. Suppose that the FedEx Cup prize was only $5 million, but could be doubled to $10 million if certain conditions were met. That could possibly make the Chase for the Cup more interesting, and occasionally very dramatic. Making PGA Tour tournament victories part of the prize doubling process would draw some attention to events that usually do not get much noteriety. If wins in -ANY- official PGA Tour event became part of the prize doubling process, then the Fed Ex Cup chase could be conducted from beginning of the current year's Fall Series up to the conclusion of the following year's Tour Championship. Adjustments to the current play-off format may have to be made to accomodate such changes. Thanx-A-Lot, Frank-0-Sport

[johnclayton1982]

Well, yes, if you are going to advertise it as a playoff.

Most sports (virtually all) do not award their championships in a "fair" manner.  They award them in a dramatic manner.  If golf wants to have "playoffs", and have drama, and advertise as such, they should do it that way.  It would be much more dramatic as elimination.

Doesn't have to even be the player of the year.  But if you are going to have a competition for a trophy and label it the playoffs its much more dramatic and interesting when its, well, a playoff.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by michaeljames92

That's probably the dumbest thing i've ever read. So a guy can win every tournament in the year and lose the tour championship and not win the fedex cup? Sure they want to make it exciting, but you still have to make it fair to the players.

Why's that so dumb? I seem to recall a football team going something like 18-1... with the 1 being in the final game of the year.

[michaeljames92]

I've never liked having playoff or finals series having so many teams involved as it rewards mediocrity. While John's solution may be exciting for watch, it almost makes the rest of the season have such little worth. I do recall you having a lot more emphasis on winning tournaments iacas, with John's proposed system, someone could be winless all season(remember these are the players you don't like the system favouring to keep their card) and win the Tour Championship and win the Fedex Cup. A fair system and a interesting system are usually far apart in sport competitions, but the better players still need to be given a fair to chance to win the thing.

[LankyLefty]

I dont like the FedEx cup, I think its a silly arrangement and I dont think golf needs "playoff" if you can even call this a playoff.

That said I dont dislike it either, If i want to watch golf at this time in the year the FedEx cup events are the best around. I agree the Idea is stupid, but the result is that high quality golf is played later in the year then it ever has been before and that is a good thing.

Personally at this point most of my sports watching is going to be concentrated on Baseball or Football at this point but if I were to want to watch golf it would certainly be the FedEx cup.

[newtogolf]

Maybe the could have the overall FedEx points leader go head to head with the golfer that wins the "playoffs" for the top prize.  This gives more weight to the golfer who does the best during the playoff rounds if they aren't the same golfer.

[johnclayton1982]

Quote:

Maybe the could have the overall FedEx points leader go head to head with the golfer that wins the "playoffs" for the top prize.  This gives more weight to the golfer who does the best during the playoff rounds if they aren't the same golfer.

That is an interesting idea. They could also "pair out" from the cut line - meaning the last to tee off if the cut is at 40 are 39 / 40 or 40 / 41.  Have 1 and 2 go off first, then last and second to last, etc... So in prime time at the end of the sunday you have people trying to make the cut and move on to the next round.

The whole thing i hate about it is that its supposed to be "playoffs" but every week there is a winner just like a regular tour event.  Its silly.

[iacas]

I think it's almost vogue to rip on the "playoffs." I think it's the way some people try to sound like they're really in tune with golf or something.

The simple fact is that we get meaningful golf after the PGA Championship, and if your beef is simply that they're called "playoffs" but don't really act like them, then big whoop. There's no real way to have compelling "playoffs" that span four events and don't end up with the possibility of having a completely flat, boring, no-name "final" matchup.

[stealthduffer]

The Fedex cup isn't perfect and I scratch my head a lot at how any particular person wins it. I also get frustrated that players can skip "playoff" matches but still advance to the next round.

But I do love watching the fall series.  These guys are the ones struggling to keep their exemptions - a real life and death struggle as it were.

[newtogolf]

I'm not trying to be vogue nor do I dislike watching it as it is.  I do think casual fans are confused by how the points system is implemented and PGA Tour's use of the term "playoffs".  Other sports reset the points once the competitors make the playoffs, but in the PGA they don't do that until after the BMW Championship (at least I think that's how it works).   Once teams enter the playoffs in other sports the regular season results don't factor into the playoffs other than for seeding and scheduling purposes, but that is not the case with the Fed Ex Cup.

[Bo the Golfer]

Originally Posted by iacas

Why's that so dumb? I seem to recall a football team going something like 18-1... with the 1 being in the final game of the year.

And what an awful game that was!!!! I like the playoffs in golf. At least it got a the cream of the crop more interested after the PGA Championship. I like the fall finish watching players fight for their card but to go almost 5 months without many chances to see the best players in the world was never fun.

[Jmdmbike]

The idea of having playoffs in golf is something I think is great. You can argue about whether or not the system is exactly right, as you can with most sports, but playoffs add to the sport. $10 mm is a bit over the top, though.

[makaveli]

FedEx Cup is boring from any side you want to look at it... Moreover, the term Playoffs imho would be more appropriate with a match play formula... this tournament is only good for the players because of the big money they can win so yes, it's a waste of money!

[iacas]

Originally Posted by makaveli

FedEx Cup is boring from any side you want to look at it...

I disagree. So no, it's not boring. That's your opinion.

I suppose you'd rather we go back to the time when golf didn't matter at all after mid-August.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by michaeljames92

I've never liked having playoff or finals series having so many teams involved as it rewards mediocrity. While John's solution may be exciting for watch it almost makes the rest of the season have such little worth.

You could say the same thing about the majors...the US Open, Open, Master's and that other one really make the rest of the season have little worth as well.

I like the idea of getting points to get to the playoffs and then just narrowing from there. Do away with the carry overs and the losers get eliminated.

[makaveli]

Hello Erik, sure it's my opinion! ;) Actually FedEx is not boring, it's just that it's really like any other regular event... nothing special!

Originally Posted by iacas

I disagree. So no, it's not boring. That's your opinion.

I suppose you'd rather we go back to the time when golf didn't matter at all after mid-August.