Live at 3 EST...

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Is there any other time zone? Of course not. Anyhow, Commissioner Tim Finchem's "state of the PGA Tour" news conference will be webcast live at 3 today.

I, unfortunately fell asleep just thinking about it, so I'll be reading the transcript later.

Early prediction on big, fancy, law/MBA degree words used by the Commish: 3 platforms, 1 contextualize, 2 brands and what the hell, I'm going with 1 coterminous. 

Oh and scribblers lucky enough to attend in person, don't forget to consider asking these questions. 

The Heritage Campaign Has Arrived

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Somehow, I don't see the kids posting these on YouTube and watching them over and over again...

PGA TOUR DEBUTS “HERITAGE” CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE INAUGURAL FEDEXCUP SEASON DURING THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA, NOV. 2-5

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – This week the PGA TOUR will unveil the first two television spots in a year-long campaign to promote the inaugural FedExCup competition, which launches in January and concludes in September 2007. The campaign is the largest and most integrated in the TOUR’s history and will be supported by television, print, radio and
online promotion throughout the year.

Created by the PGA TOUR and its advertising agency, GSD&M of Austin, Texas, the television spots will roll out in three phases and can be seen during network and cable golf telecasts during the rest of 2006 and in additional sports programming, including professional football. Print ads, also breaking this week, will run in national consumer, sports and golf publications this fall.

The first phase, titled “Heritage,” celebrates golf's storied tradition, while looking ahead to the exciting major changes happening with the sport. “Heritage” comprises :30 and :60 versions of two spots called Evolution and Who Will Be First?

EVOLUTION – is a trip through time with golf’s all-time greats, as they progressed from the early years to modern day. The spot takes viewers through one golf hole with drives from legends like Ben Hogan and Walter Hagen, approach shots from the heroes of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s like Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Greg Norman, and putts by today’s biggest names including Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.
Do we get to see how they've moved the tees back 70 yards on the hole in question? Sorry...
WHO WILL BE FIRST? – takes a look at some of the famous “firsts” in golf and teases the fact that winning the FedExCup will be an important part of the sport’s history. The spot features footage of Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson.
So glad Phil's in there. He's such a supporter of end-of-season tournament play.
“We're ushering in a new era in the history of the PGA TOUR with the inaugural FedExCup, so we're approaching our 2007 campaign in a completely different way,” said Ric Clarson, PGA TOUR SVP, Brand Marketing & Retail Licensing. “It's important that we spend time educating our fans about the season-long points competition and first-ever Playoffs, and how these major changes will lead to more drama, meaning and excitement for everyone.”

Uh huh. 

Money Can't Buy You A Tour Championship Field

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Gary Van Sickle calls the Tiger/Phil WD's this week "incredibly embarrassing," says money doesn't mean anything to the big names anymore, and writes:
With the FedEx Cup playoffs on next year's schedule, players are looking at playing the year's last four events in a row -- the four FedEx Cup playoff events, culminating in the Tour Championship. The playoffs are preceded by the Bridgestone Invitational, a World Golf Championship event, the PGA Championship and the Greensboro tour stop. That means the top players will have to play six out of seven weeks. From the British Open on, they're looking at playing in seven of the final nine events and then, after a week off, teeing it up in the Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup.

It was playing seven weeks out of nine this year that Woods used as his primary reason for skipping the Tour Championship. While he paid homage to next year's FedEx Cup in his withdrawal notice, you have to wonder if part-time warriors like Tiger and Phil will actually play seven out of nine next year, or any year. Because the money, as big as it is, doesn't matter. Not to them.

Fun Notes From Babineau

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Jeff Babineau shows what happens when curious writers leave the press room and share a few notes, quotes and anecdotes. The entire column is interesting, but these bites caught my eye:

The Tour's Player Advisory Council assembled at Innisbrook this week, and one of the major issues (tabled to a later date, as most important issues are) was whether or not to pare down FedEx Cup fields with each playoff week (from 144, to 120, to 78, to 30 for the Tour Championship).

This is an encouraging development for those of us who would like to see the FedEx Cup work (it will not in the current configuration).

As it stands now, the current PGA Tour "playoffs" are structured to include the Durham Bulls and half the Cape Cod league along with the Tiger and Cardinals. The all inclusive approach might be more tolerable if they were actual playoffs, with eliminations occurring each week. But without eliminating players, they are not playoffs and the 144 number remains ridiculous. (I'd take 100 to the playoffs and go from 100 to 78 to 50 to 20, or something along those lines.)

I know, I know, what if, God forbid, one of the stars is eliminated in week one? Well, considering that they are passing on the Tour Championship like it's the B.C. Open, who says they are even going to play in the playoffs? And wouldn't some upsets along the way make it more fun?

Anyhow, this was also fun from Babineau's column...

Walking past Rory Sabbatini as he belted his new Nike Sumo, flying a few balls into a lake nearly 300 yards away at the end of the range, one veteran stared and mumbled, "Is this what golf has come to?"

Guess so.

Ames Out According To...Finchem

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The news of Stephen Ames' WD from the Tour Championship was oddly delivered by PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, and according to the wire service story,"Finchem said Ames was home in Calgary going through tests."

Why is the Commissioner announcing a WD? 

Lesson: Award Tournaments To Completed Golf Courses

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Exhibit #1291 of the PGA Tour's unfortunate disregard for the tricky business of golf course development was noted in Doug Ferguson's AP notes column:

Not quite two months after the PGA Tour announced its fall schedule, it has hit a speed bump with one of them.

Because of construction delays and financial issues surrounding the Running Horse Golf and Country Club, Tour officials will be going to Fresno, Calif., this week to meet with the developers.

The Running Horse Golf Championship is to be played Oct. 25-28 next year, the second-to-last event on the 2007 schedule. Along with falling behind on the course, KFSN-TV in Fresno has reported that the managing partners are trying to sell it.

"Things at the golf course are going slower than we thought they were,'' PGA Tour spokesman Bob Combs said. "I understand there are one or maybe more groups looking at investing in it. But from our perspective, we're playing in Fresno.''

One option for the Tour if Running Horse is not ready would be to move it to another golf course in the area, such as Fort Washington.

"We believe Running Horse is going to be the site,'' Combs said. "If it turns out to be another one, we'll cross that bridge. The key thing is we'll be there.''

You may be there, but so far, there is no there there. 

More Bubble Boy Talk

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With two full field events to go (for some reason I kept forgetting there's the Parallel Fairway Classic Innisbrook event next week...can't imagine why!), Golf World's John Antonini also looks at the bubble boys and the rather meaningless stakes for some players.

He also points this interesting stat out:

Here are some final numbers to throw at you from last year's money list: The players who finished between 116 and 125 in 2005 averaged 25.1 events this season. The players who finished between 126 and 150 in 2005 averaged 21.72 events. The 10 players who didn't improve their status somehow and had to play from that category averaged 19.2 events, and that figure includes two players who were injured for most of this year. However, those outside the top 150 with no other status, have a slim chance of playing on tour. Among players ranked 151-170 last year, 13 had status of some kind in 2006 (past champion, career earnings, Q school, medical); the seven who didn't combined to play just 15 events on tour.

Kids Tagging Along!=Low Scores at Disney

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Steve Trivett in the Daily Sun, the official paper of The Villages--yes, The Villages has a daily and it's online!--puts a rosey spin on the Disney event with it's lousy field and even lousier prospects for next year when it becomes part of the scrap heap part of the post-FedEx Cup schedule.

Anyway, I loved this from the tournament director. I'm surprised it hasn't been wheeled out to justify record scoring by some player trying to suck up to his equipment maker:

The Disney-hosted tournament has been a favorite among players in the past — especially those players with young families who see a trip to Walt Disney World as a chance to mix a vacation with work.

“This is a special place,” Weickel said. “It’s a tournament where the players can go to work and then go out and play with their children.

“And I really believe that contributes to the low scores we see here. The players are more relaxed, and that shows in their play,” he said.
Yeah, right. And more evidence that he's been spending too much time at Disney World: 
And he’s hoping that a change in the game will keep the excitement of the tournament alive.

“If you step back and look at it, there is a natural progression in golf just like there is in any sport,” he said. “There is a generational shift coming in golf just like there is in football, baseball and basketball.

“As the younger players make a name for themselves, they will have a bigger impact on the game,” Weickel said. “And they will become the players who have the kids who want to come here.

“The attraction of the tournament is not going to change,” he said.

He just hopes that a prospective sponsor sees it the same way.

If they do, the magic is still alive.

Las Vegas On Las Vegas

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I watched parts of the rain-delayed Las Vegas final round as it moved yesterday from ESPN on ABC, to ESPN on ABC on and finally, to ESPN on ABC on ESPN2. (International readers...it's a long story. A branding thing.)

Besides the lack of star power, the lack of a fan base was painfully obvious. Ed Graney in the Las Vegas paper notes that it's a problem likely to worsen when the event moves to the "Fall Finish."

Golf is about to undergo a change that will either re-energize an indifferent fan base or continue to keep casual followers at an AccuFLEX shaft distance away from any event that doesn't include Woods, a transformation that could ultimately determine where the Las Vegas tournament fits into the sport's long-term landscape.

The question is not whether the event can improve greatly (if at all) in stature -- Hoffman couldn't be more correct in his assessment that it is what it is -- but whether a newly designed PGA playoff system will lessen its appeal to golfers (and in turn fans) even more.

There always will be a place at the event for the golf purist, for those who truly appreciate the idea of walking alongside the world's No. 2 player (it's Jim Furyk for those who don't know, which means most everyone) and not having to strain their neck glancing over rows of heads to watch him putt.

But when the FedEx Cup portion of the 2007 schedule concludes at the Tour Championship next mid-September and the $10 million payday has been awarded to the first points champion, how much interest will remain for a seven-tournament fall series than includes the Las Vegas stop?

And what can those running the event here do to make it more than just another week for those players merely trying to avoid Q-school or improve their world ranking?

 

The Top 125 Race

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pgatour.jpgHeading into the final regular Tour stop in Tampa, below is a look at the "quest for the card." For what it's worth, I suppose there really isn't much of a race at the 125 spot since 125-150 have status next year...and #123 has already been exempted for next year by the Commissioner.

Then again, since Q-school and Nationwide grads will be lucky to get in 20 starts before the "playoffs," maybe landing in the top 125 is more important than it used to be?

116    115    Jason Gore      28    $717,005
117    113    J.P. Hayes     19    $701,433
118    114    Stephen Leaney     25    $696,599
119    118    David Branshaw       27    $693,705
120    117    Shane Bertsch       32    $685,346
121    120    Mathias Gronberg       28    $674,002
122    124    Paul Azinger     28    $672,675
123    121    Darren Clarke     11    $660,898
124    127    Rich Beem     25    $658,225
125    122    Brian Bateman       24    $645,153
126    123    John Cook     20    $644,505
127    141    Bubba Dickerson       31    $641,252
128    125    Lee Westwood     14    $630,566
129    131    Duffy Waldorf     26    $609,871
130    130    Brent Geiberger     28    $590,478
131    126    Omar Uresti     22    $583,704
132    128    Jonathan Kaye     30    $578,714
133    129    Jeff Overton       27    $577,132
134    139    Tim Petrovic     28    $558,405
135    132    Jerry Smith       28    $554,206
136    134    Bob May     19    $548,712