Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Half full, no wait, half empty
The FedEx Cup reminds me of an old Far Side comic about the four kinds of people in the world: those who see the cup as half full, those who see it as half empty, those who can't decide, and the guy who grumbles, "I ordered a cheeseburger."
A lot of golf fans seem to be waiting for their cheeseburgers, and it's not hard to see why. It's not just that the system is confusing -- it's unneccesary. The four majors have always measured golf's best. No one remebers who won the Tour's player of the year award, but everyone in the gallery can look at Corey Pavin and say "U.S. Open champ" or point to Mike Wier and remember him in the green jacket. By adding a playoff in a sport that already has four well-spaced meetings of the world's best players, the PGA is basically trying to force feed us a cup of water and act like it's a tasty burger.
I know what you're thinking: Does he really think this analogy is working? Is he just trying to confuse me to simulate the idiotic FedEx Cup points system? Are there any horse socks?
The PGA line has been to just watch and wait -- it'll make sense when you see it in action. You'll like it. Trust us. Well, here's how much sense I gleaned from round one: Steve Stricker won the Barclays, so he's now in first place. (OK.) Tiger skipped the first event and dropped all the way to fourth place. (Er?) Bob Heintz finished tied for 17th at the Barclays, but because he started the playoffs ranked #132, he missed the 120-man cut for round two. (Huh?) Harrison Frazer, who came in ranked #116, will move on, thanks to his impressive 75-75-CUT performance. (Wha?)
I understand that the PGA wants to include as many players as possible in the playoffs so that everyone gets a cut of the cash, and I also can see why they want to give points for the regular season, to reward top players and keep the big names around longer. But nine of the 24 players eliminated after round one made the cut at the Barclays. Where's the reward for playing well IN THE PLAYOFFS? Isn't that the idea? In other sports, top regular season teams get modest advantages like home field, but they still have to win to advance. At the very least, there should be a guarantee that if you make the tournament cut in rounds one or two, you move on to the next round.
Expect much tweaking after this thing wraps up, and a possible penalty for no-shows, if the PGA is feeling bold. Just don't expect to see another cheeseburger until the 2008 Masters.
A lot of golf fans seem to be waiting for their cheeseburgers, and it's not hard to see why. It's not just that the system is confusing -- it's unneccesary. The four majors have always measured golf's best. No one remebers who won the Tour's player of the year award, but everyone in the gallery can look at Corey Pavin and say "U.S. Open champ" or point to Mike Wier and remember him in the green jacket. By adding a playoff in a sport that already has four well-spaced meetings of the world's best players, the PGA is basically trying to force feed us a cup of water and act like it's a tasty burger.
I know what you're thinking: Does he really think this analogy is working? Is he just trying to confuse me to simulate the idiotic FedEx Cup points system? Are there any horse socks?
The PGA line has been to just watch and wait -- it'll make sense when you see it in action. You'll like it. Trust us. Well, here's how much sense I gleaned from round one: Steve Stricker won the Barclays, so he's now in first place. (OK.) Tiger skipped the first event and dropped all the way to fourth place. (Er?) Bob Heintz finished tied for 17th at the Barclays, but because he started the playoffs ranked #132, he missed the 120-man cut for round two. (Huh?) Harrison Frazer, who came in ranked #116, will move on, thanks to his impressive 75-75-CUT performance. (Wha?)
I understand that the PGA wants to include as many players as possible in the playoffs so that everyone gets a cut of the cash, and I also can see why they want to give points for the regular season, to reward top players and keep the big names around longer. But nine of the 24 players eliminated after round one made the cut at the Barclays. Where's the reward for playing well IN THE PLAYOFFS? Isn't that the idea? In other sports, top regular season teams get modest advantages like home field, but they still have to win to advance. At the very least, there should be a guarantee that if you make the tournament cut in rounds one or two, you move on to the next round.
Expect much tweaking after this thing wraps up, and a possible penalty for no-shows, if the PGA is feeling bold. Just don't expect to see another cheeseburger until the 2008 Masters.
# posted by Budds @ 9:25 AM 
