PGA Tour Fines Department Looking Into Kuchar's Alleged FedExCup Criticisms**

/

Surely a sweety-pie with a smile like that, a family man to boot, a Southern gentleman, couldn't have said this. It just couldn't be!

Matt Kuchar must have been misquoted by the subversives in the media center. Paul Newberry reports:

Not that he had any idea what was going on, given the complex nature of the points system.
“It’s impossible to be aware of it,” Kuchar said. “Who really was aware of it? Maybe some kid in front of a computer. But certainly I was not.”

Kuchar was preparing to tee off at the final hole when thunderstorms swept into the area, leading to a two-hour break. Even then, he didn’t bother looking at the possible FedEx Cup scenarios.

“I watched football,” he said. “I had no real idea and was completely unconcerned with it today. It was not even on my radar screen. I was out there trying to hit good shots and really didn’t give the FedEx Cup one ounce of thought today.”

Hicks, Sands May Vie For Emmy In Lead Actor Comedy Series

/
Of course, the FedExCup would have to qualify as a comedy but I think Sunday's tape would convince the nomination committee in no time that this farce should be recognized for the passion and salesmanship of NBC's Dan Hicks, and The Golf Channel/soon-to-be-nauseatingly-reinforced-NBC-sister-network announcer Steve Sands, given the hideous job of trying to make sense of the FedExCup points chase. Steve Elling wrote:
Read More

Ryder Cuppers Rounding Into Dismal Form As Cup Nears

/

With four of the five contenders for the $10 million FedExCup prize and the format leaving the points chase up to a riveting algorithm race, attention is already turning to how the Ryder Cuppers are faring.

Luke Donald has the round one lead while Paul Casey is right there so…oh well, one bit of good news for Monty. I was, however, surprised by Donald's quotes about the omission of Casey in this Lawrence Donegan story.

"I was certainly – what's the right word? – surprised he wasn't one of the three picks," he says. "I thought his name would have been before mine. He's a great match player, with a great matchplay record. He hits the ball long and straight off the tee, which is not a bad thing to have around Celtic Manor, and he is a decent putter. I'm not sure if we should blame Monty or the selection process for what happened."

Meanwhile as Casey eyes a possible $13 million payday, Padraig Harrington fired a 68 at the Vivendi Pro-Am and trails by seven. But he offered some Yogi Berraesque thoughts on his beleaguered game.

“If I had putted well it would have been a tremendous score,” Harrington said. “You have to hole putts to shoot a low number. I could see the two weeks of practice I’ve just done and I got stalled over the ball a bit, but another three rounds will do me no end of good.”

On the American side, Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton are stinking it up, but at least Bubba knows why, according to Jason Sobel.

"The golf course doesn't set up good for me," Watson said. "I've never played good here -- never played close to good here -- and that's the difference. Just not a fan of the golf course. It just doesn't set up good for me."

As for Overton, his round was doomed from the beginning.

"I missed a 2-footer on the first hole, then hit a bad 8-iron on the second hole," he explained. "It's just one of those things where I really didn't get into the round right away, for some reason."

Finchem On Cume Audiences, Brand Interweaving And Striking Distance Retirement Acceleration

/
Ah, I remember when the ASAP folks called Tim Finchem's latest b-speak favorite cum audience. But after fifteen internal meetings and one memo I'd sure love to read, the latest buzzword is now cume audience. For the life of me, I don't know why they tweaked it, but boy were those cume audiences the topic of the day at East Lake when the Commissioner sat down with the slingers to talk about the state of the tour.
Read More

"There are so many ways the Tour could have regulated Tiger to East Lake next week, starting with the stipulation that the defending FedEx Cup champion gets the chance to defend."

/
I thought Cameron Morfit was going for a tongue-in-cheek/April Fool's deal with his suggestion that the tour should have figured out a way to get Tiger to East Lake--kind of like when NBC scrambled to figure out a way to keep Charles Van Doren after he intentionally lost on Twenty One. But it appears Morfit is serious in his criticism that the FedExCup has taken a hit because the PGA Tour did not rewrite the rules to get Tiger to the Super Bowl, even though he's got a .500 record.
Read More

The Worst Thing About The FedEx Cup?

/
FedEx Cup groveling seems pointless these days since (A) the PGA Tour will not admit what a convoluted mess they've created, (B) the likeliehood of FedEx returning after 2012 doesn't seem great, and (C) the opportunity to have created something water-cooler worthy seems to be the last thing the risk-averse legion of play-it-safe VP's would ever consider.
Read More

"Besides, is a respectable crowd 1 out of 4 days going to cut it? I think not."

/

Ed Sherman notes the issues with Cog Hill's greens and also points out the noticeably smaller crowds compared to when the Western Open event was played around July 4th.

However, it still was stunning to see a shot of "Pork Chop Hill" behind the 14th green. During the Western years, it would be jammed with wall-to-wall people. Late in Saturday's round, the gallery barely was one-person deep.

On Sunday, I walked a few holes with the leaders. When I took my kids in previous years, it was difficult for them to see anything from behind the ropes. They wouldn't have had much of a problem Sunday.

The crowd, though, was much better Sunday, approaching the old Western Open levels. Then again, it was a perfect day; you had a Woods-Mickelson pairing; and you got a wonderful winner in Dustin Johnson.

Besides, is a respectable crowd 1 out of 4 days going to cut it? I think not.

The date definitely is a challenge for the WGA and BMW. But it is incumbent on tournament officials to find ways to generate more buzz about the BMW next year. It might be time for some thinking out of the tee box.