PGA TOUR announces changes that will further fan engagement, understanding and drama of FedExCup

[GMR]

I can't believe they're actually going through with that nonsense. It sounded like such an absurd rumor. Giving the leader a 10 stroke advantage on the field?! How is that fair in any sense of the word? Why is the PGA so hung up on making sure the Tour Championship winner also wins the FedEx Cup? Am I the only one that doesn't care if the two trophies go to two different people?!

 

What if players "protest" this new change by refusing to play/enter the playoff events next year?

Why would they do that? They literally stand to gain nothing, vs potentially making up to $20mn by playing those same events. What do they care what silly format the PGA Tour throws out...go out and win and take home the check.

[jacobEDGE]

 

Can you imagine, say the Broncos starting down 21-0 against the Bears in the Super Bowl?

 

Okay, I'd enjoy that, but still . . .

 

As an Illinois native and Bears fan living in Denver...I'd really enjoy that.

 

But, also as a Bears fan, I know we'd still blow it in the 4th quarter.

[jacobEDGE]

I can't believe they're actually going through with that nonsense. It sounded like such an absurd rumor. Giving the leader a 10 stroke advantage on the field?! How is that fair in any sense of the word? Why is the PGA so hung up on making sure the Tour Championship winner also wins the FedEx Cup? Am I the only one that doesn't care if the two trophies go to two different people?!

 

What if players "protest" this new change by refusing to play/enter the playoff events next year?

Why would they do that? They literally stand to gain nothing, vs potentially making up to $20mn by playing those same events. What do they care what silly format the PGA Tour throws out...go out and win and take home the check.

 

If I started off an event 10 strokes behind the "leader", without a single stroke being played, I'd protest from a moral standpoint. If you're already in the Top 30 in the standings, you've made enough money to be comfortable and afford to protest.

 

Because if I went out and shot a 62, and the person at the top shot a 71 and beat me...I'd be livid.

[GMR]

I can't believe they're actually going through with that nonsense. It sounded like such an absurd rumor. Giving the leader a 10 stroke advantage on the field?! How is that fair in any sense of the word? Why is the PGA so hung up on making sure the Tour Championship winner also wins the FedEx Cup? Am I the only one that doesn't care if the two trophies go to two different people?!

 

What if players "protest" this new change by refusing to play/enter the playoff events next year?

Why would they do that? They literally stand to gain nothing, vs potentially making up to $20mn by playing those same events. What do they care what silly format the PGA Tour throws out...go out and win and take home the check.

 

If I started off an event 10 strokes behind the "leader", without a single stroke being played, I'd protest from a moral standpoint. If you're already in the Top 30 in the standings, you've made enough money to be comfortable and afford to protest.

 

Because if I went out and shot a 62, and the person at the top shot a 71 and beat me...I'd be livid.

Yeah but you're only down 10 because you didn't do well enough over the rest of the season and playoffs to put yourself in that position. You really think you are going to see guys play the first two playoff events only to then get discouraged that they are too far back (with 4 rounds to play) and just refuse to show up?

 

Also, it's not like 10 strokes is insurmountable. Guys have won tournaments by more, and in this case you are only spotting that number of strokes to ONE GUY. Sure it's not likely someone will come from the back of the pack to win it, but this format is an improvement in that if someone pulls off a miracle they get rewarded. In the current system a guy who comes into the tournament at the 30-seed could win by 15 and still have basically zero chance of winning...as a player that to me would be more a reason not to show up.

[MattyO1984]

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding was that main reason the Tour invented the FedEx Cup race was to keep people interested in the golf season after the return of American Football. The thought was that the added suspense of which millionaire golfer becomes even richer would keep us (I say us but don't really mean it because American Football is not my thing at all) intrigued until the final putt dropped.

 

Turns out that the desired effect simply wasn't there and the number of people watching golf over American Football was pretty much the same as it was before. As a result of that, they are now bringing the the entire season to an end in August (as of next year). By finishing in August, the American Football season will not have started so people will still want to watch golf.

 

The question that leaves me with then, is what is the point in the FedEx Cup? It didn't achieve anything beyond making a bunch of rich guys even richer and the winner of the so called playoffs even with another rejig of the format could still be the guy that got hot at the right time as opposed to the guy that was the best player over the season.

[Bad9]

If they want real playoffs and drama have the Tour Championship, at minimum, have zero points at the start. Any player who makes it to the final can win it all. I think they should wipe out all points at the start of the playoffs but at least do it for the last one. All they are doing is making it more contrived than it already was.

[jacobEDGE]

In the current system a guy who comes into the tournament at the 30-seed could win by 15 and still have basically zero chance of winning.

 

And that's totally fine. That's how it should be. It shouldn't be "winner takes all" at the Tour Championship. Whoever has the best season overall, and a great showing in the playoffs should win the FedEx Cup. Winning the final tournament, regardless how you did all year, isn't an accurate portrayal of who played best over an entire season.

 

Last year is a perfect example. JT had a much better season than Xander. The FedEx Cup went to the appropriate person. Just because Xander won at East Lake, doesn't mean he should have won the FedEx Cup as well. FedEx Cup is to reward the best player over an entire season, not just whoever wins the final tournament.

[Bad9]

making a bunch of rich guys even richer

 

That is and always was the sole point of the PGA Tour "playoffs"

[dcmidnight]

This kind of "scoring" would be fine to me in some opposite field event during the year. But in their final event? Its asinine. It just makes no sense.

 

Who cares if one player wins the FedEx and one person wins the Tour Championship? After all, one is a SEASON long race and one is a WEEKEND event. I'm perfectly happy with there being separate winners. Or if its the same winner, I really dont care, it didnt affect my enjoyment of it one way or the other. Last year the best player that weekend won and the best player won the FedEx Cup. I dont see what the problem is.

 

This is just so...contrived. You know, Nascar fiddled with their playoffs seemingly every...single...year and guess what ratings and attendance have been in the toilet ever since.

[FIRs&GIRs&3-Putts]

So will the TOUR Championship still count as an official win? It shouldn’t really, a guy will be able to win the tournament without shooting the lowest 72 hole score.

[JabbathePutt]

Obviously the TOUR signed the extension with FedEx so this can't happen, but just scrap this entire thing. Very few fans care about the FedEx cup, who wins it, or how much money is in the "bonus pool". After the last major it's "silly season", no contrived point system or playoff is going to draw fans attention away from the start of NCAAF or NFL, even Tiger can't do it. Hey I love the TOUR, know most of the players, follow the money list, but after that last putt drops at the British Open (glory's new last shot?) most fans are done. Giving someone a -10 mark to start the TOUR Championship, it's not golf...To paraphrase East Lake's most famous member "That is a game in which I am not familiar".

[OldTomMorris]

Who cares if one player wins the FedEx and one person wins the Tour Championship? After all, one is a SEASON long race and one is a WEEKEND event. I'm perfectly happy with there being separate winners. Or if its the same winner, I really dont care, it didnt affect my enjoyment of it one way or the other. Last year the best player that weekend won and the best player won the FedEx Cup. I dont see what the problem is.

 

Exactly.

[tcbrewba]

So will the TOUR Championship still count as an official win? It shouldn't really, a guy will be able to win the tournament without shooting the lowest 72 hole score.

I totally agree. The Tour Championship is not a real stroke play tournament any more. It should not count as an official win.

[bucky316]

CLICK ... that's the sound of me changing channels, probably to watch the NASCAR playoffs

[cdnglf]

This kind of "scoring" would be fine to me in some opposite field event during the year. But in their final event? Its asinine. It just makes no sense.

 

Who cares if one player wins the FedEx and one person wins the Tour Championship? After all, one is a SEASON long race and one is a WEEKEND event. I'm perfectly happy with there being separate winners. Or if its the same winner, I really dont care, it didnt affect my enjoyment of it one way or the other. Last year the best player that weekend won and the best player won the FedEx Cup. I dont see what the problem is.

 

This is just so...contrived. You know, Nascar fiddled with their playoffs seemingly every...single...year and guess what ratings and attendance have been in the toilet ever since.

 

I don't disagree with you, but it is easy to see why the majority of players are in favour of a system like this.

There's just a handful of guys who could reasonably expect to win a legit season-long race. There's a lot more guys who could get hot at the right time and do just enough to take the $15M.

[Hawkeye77]

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding was that main reason the Tour invented the FedEx Cup race was to keep people interested in the golf season after the return of American Football. The thought was that the added suspense of which millionaire golfer becomes even richer would keep us (I say us but don't really mean it because American Football is not my thing at all) intrigued until the final putt dropped.

 

Turns out that the desired effect simply wasn't there and the number of people watching golf over American Football was pretty much the same as it was before. As a result of that, they are now bringing the the entire season to an end in August (as of next year). By finishing in August, the American Football season will not have started so people will still want to watch golf.

 

The question that leaves me with then, is what is the point in the FedEx Cup? It didn't achieve anything beyond making a bunch of rich guys even richer and the winner of the so called playoffs even with another rejig of the format could still be the guy that got hot at the right time as opposed to the guy that was the best player over the season.

 

Yep!

 

And now they've pushed the PGA Championship to spring, and still think just the allure of watching phony "playoffs" will captivate people, just isn't going to happen.

 

I've never been a fan of the playoffs, and it seems like this new stroke thing (stupid) is out of desperation more than anything else.

 

Q School had to go, wraparound season "necessary", lol, some sponsors had to be appeased, PGA moved - all sorts of things have suffered as a result of continuing to fiddle with something that you aren't going to make more than it really ever was - contrived.

[dcmidnight]

I don't disagree with you, but it is easy to see why the majority of players are in favour of a system like this.

There's just a handful of guys who could reasonably expect to win a legit season-long race. There's a lot more guys who could get hot at the right time and do just enough to take the $15M.

 

I dont think the players really give one rip about the dumb playoffs or the actual details behind some new ridiculous Tour Championship scoring method?

 

Here's how that conversation probably went:

 

Tour: "Hey guys, so we need your approval on the new playoff system. So first, the winner is going to get $15M instead of $10M, second...."

 

Players: "We're in."

 

Tour: "But we haven't told you about the new scoring system?"

 

Players: (have already left the room)

[stickner]

I love the idea. In the past, players had skipped playoff events and still won the FedEx Cup and had wrapped up the Cup before the last event. Can you imagine the Superbowl champion being determined before the game was played or the Patriots deciding to skip their first round of the playoffs and still winning the Superbowl?

 

For me the expectation or comparison to playoffs in other sports in part of the problem, you can't have a "genuine" playoffs series in strokeplay golf.

 

Its a dilemma and I do understand where they are coming from but the handicap compromises the legitimacy of the Tour Championship as a golf tournament.

 

Would be interesting if playoff scoring was cumulative across all events. It essentially becomes a 12 round "super" tournament that spans 3 weeks.

 

After the first 4 rounds, cut to the lowest 90 players

After the next 4 rounds, cut to the lowest 50 players

The "cup" goes to the player with the lowest 12 round total

[RobertBaron]

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding was that main reason the Tour invented the FedEx Cup race was to keep people interested in the golf season after the return of American Football. The thought was that the added suspense of which millionaire golfer becomes even richer would keep us (I say us but don't really mean it because American Football is not my thing at all) intrigued until the final putt dropped.

 

Turns out that the desired effect simply wasn't there and the number of people watching golf over American Football was pretty much the same as it was before. As a result of that, they are now bringing the the entire season to an end in August (as of next year). By finishing in August, the American Football season will not have started so people will still want to watch golf.

 

The question that leaves me with then, is what is the point in the FedEx Cup? It didn't achieve anything beyond making a bunch of rich guys even richer and the winner of the so called playoffs even with another rejig of the format could still be the guy that got hot at the right time as opposed to the guy that was the best player over the season.

 

 

Yep!

 

And now they've pushed the PGA Championship to spring, and still think just the allure of watching phony "playoffs" will captivate people, just isn't going to happen.

 

I've never been a fan of the playoffs, and it seems like this new stroke thing (stupid) is out of desperation more than anything else.

 

Q School had to go, wraparound season "necessary", lol, some sponsors had to be appeased, PGA moved - all sorts of things have suffered as a result of continuing to fiddle with something that you aren't going to make more than it really ever was - contrived.

 

Contrived yes. But ultimately it’s worked in getting great fields for 4 straight regular tour events that wouldn’t have attracted those fields without the FedEx money. Have those fields resulted in better ratings? Idk. But it’s kept me watching more than I normally would be.

 

All in all that’s really the sole purpose in having the playoffs. Determining the Tour Champion or the FedEx Champion is ultimately secondary to keeping players and fans interested in regular tour events after major season ends with pennant races and football season heating up.

 

Nobody really cares who the tour champion is. We know who’s had the best year or at least who the few contenders are.

[nsxguy]

I don't disagree with you, but it is easy to see why the majority of players are in favour of a system like this.

There's just a handful of guys who could reasonably expect to win a legit season-long race. There's a lot more guys who could get hot at the right time and do just enough to take the $15M.

 

I dont think the players really give one rip about the dumb playoffs or the actual details behind some new ridiculous Tour Championship scoring method?

 

Here's how that conversation probably went:

 

Tour: "Hey guys, so we need your approval on the new playoff system. So first, the winner is going to get $15M instead of $10M, second...."

 

Players: "We're in."

 

Tour: "But we haven't told you about the new scoring system?"

 

Players: (have already left the room)

 

Why can't we "like" a moderator's post ??? :good:

[PureSlice]

All they had to do was get rid of points once the playoffs start. Earn the points to be in the playoffs, continue to play well to not be eliminated from the playoffs by finishing in the top xx position for that event, win the final tournament and you are champion.

 

How is that different than other sports?

[golfnoob25]

All they had to do was get rid of points once the playoffs start. Earn the points to be in the playoffs, continue to play well to not be eliminated from the playoffs by finishing in the top xx position for that event, win the final tournament and you are champion.

 

How is that different than other sports?

 

This

[DON SVO]

I feel that the Championship needs to be matchplay involving the top 32. If they want an equitable playoff, IMO, that would be the only thing that makes sense. Pretty much every other sport is sudden death (you lose, you're out) no matter how well they did (or didn't do) during the regular season. 36 holes Thursday, 18 Friday, Saturday, and the final pairing Sunday.

 

It just wouldn't be the best TV if it ended up being a Robert Streb vs. Matt Jones finale, sadly, and that impacts everything.

[bmaas03]

I love the idea. In the past, players had skipped playoff events and still won the FedEx Cup and had wrapped up the Cup before the last event. Can you imagine the Superbowl champion being determined before the game was played or the Patriots deciding to skip their first round of the playoffs and still winning the Superbowl?

 

There are 4.5 Superbowls earlier in the year. That’s what players and fans get geared up for.

This is an attempt at making the FedEx Cup and playoffs bigger than anything it will ever be...and in my opinion it will have the opposite effect.

[80sFredriksson]

unless the FedEx cup leader is Smylie Kaufman there is no freaking way anyone from behind can win after spotting 10 strokes!! doesn't make any sense.

 

10 strokes over 4 rounds sounds possible, doesnt mean I like this idea thou

[chippa13]

All they had to do was get rid of points once the playoffs start. Earn the points to be in the playoffs, continue to play well to not be eliminated from the playoffs by finishing in the top xx position for that event, win the final tournament and you are champion.

 

How is that different than other sports?

 

Because the major sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) all reward the top season long performers with seeding in the playoffs, home field/ice/court advantage, and/or first round byes. You haven't accounted for season long excellence by simply saying the top XX regular season guys make the playoffs now have at it, everyone is at square one.

[nsxguy]

I can't believe they're actually going through with that nonsense. It sounded like such an absurd rumor. Giving the leader a 10 stroke advantage on the field?! How is that fair in any sense of the word? Why is the PGA so hung up on making sure the Tour Championship winner also wins the FedEx Cup? Am I the only one that doesn't care if the two trophies go to two different people?!

 

What if players "protest" this new change by refusing to play/enter the playoff events next year?

 

10 stroke advantage on MOST of the field; 2, 3, 4 & 5 stroke leads on positions 2-5. But point taken.

 

Personally, the biggest issue with the FedEx Cup is one of team sports vs. individual. I don't HAVE 1 "favorite" golfer. I DO have a favorite team in baseball, football, hockey and basketball.

 

When my favorite TEAM doesn't make the playoffs, I couldn't care less and watch only a little bit of the playoffs. Since I don't have a favorite golfer I don't watch the FedEx Cup tournaments any more than any other regular tournament. If I'm interested I watch, if I'm not I don't. Simple as that. If a tournament is NOT in doubt I tune to something else.

 

These ideas of starting the guy 2-5 strokes up on the nearest 4 guys and 10 up on the rest, to ME, is silly.

 

If you like the team playoff concept, i.e. if you make it, you all start off (mostly) the same in the playoffs with slight advantages to the better teams during the regular season. Then we start fresh.

 

If you don't like the team playoff concept, and like the "season long" winner concept, then just give the prize to OWGR #1 - no need for 3 more tournaments to "prove" what's already known.

 

Personally I'd rather seen the field whittled down by the first 2 tournaments to a field of 16 and the final being a 4-day match play tournament for the whole ball of wax.

[Slackattack]

They should just have the Tour Championship be a stroke play event, winner gets $10 million. They can do the playoff thing to see who gets in to the top 30, but whoever wins it should win the $10M. I actually think that would be a lot more interesting. Everyone on equal footing with a shot at huge money. All the players would be trying to bring it that week and it would provide great drama.

[bladehunter]

WTF? That made my head hurt reading about it. Sure. Just make it more complicated.

 

Now I care even less. Good job guys!

 

amen was in the proshop this am when they announce it .... 10-12 guys stood silent and listened.... after it was over , silence... and one finally said " so....what did he says ''? not one of us could tell him ...I still dont know wtf he said. at some point it will get to convoluted to watch ... maybe we are there ?

[RobertBaron]

All they had to do was get rid of points once the playoffs start. Earn the points to be in the playoffs, continue to play well to not be eliminated from the playoffs by finishing in the top xx position for that event, win the final tournament and you are champion.

 

How is that different than other sports?

 

In other sports having a great regular season confers a playoff advantage ie home court advantage, first round bye, etc. Resetting points to zero eliminates the strength of a player’s season going into the playoffs.