Playoff Fever! Stars Looking Forward To The Off-Season

Maybe golf's Playoffs(C) are so rigorous and stressful that they invoke longing for a vacation. Or, not.

Nothing screams playoffs like athletes telling us how they are looking forward to a break. But this is the FedExCup, where stars are coddled by points resets that help get them through all of the stages. Something tells me if these were actual playoffs with traditional eliminations for poor play, that Rory McIlroy's and Bubba Watson's wouldn't be telegraphing their much needed breaks.

Rory on Tuesday, courtesy of Kyle Porter at CBSSports.com:

"I'm not at 100 percent, but I'm at a percent where I feel like I can still compete," McIlroy told reporters. "I want to get a win before I shut it down for the season, so I'm excited for the next few weeks, but I'm excited for the next three months after that. Because more than likely I'll take some time off and regroup.

"When's the last time I've been able to take that much time off and focus on myself and my game. We don't get an off-season anymore, so to be able to get that time to afford myself, I'm really excited about that as well."

After an opening 73 on top of many okay finishes by his high standards, might these playoffs be more interesting if they were sending McIlroy home early? And given that he's not getting any help from his caddie, as David Dusek at Golfweek points out following a day watching Rory play, might the urgency be there with a format that endangers his ability to advance in the playoffs.

Then there is Bubba Watson, who has worked twelve weekends in 2017 even after getting a major wake-up call a year ago when passed over for the Ryder Cup team. Still, he's ready for a break as soon as the playoffs are over.

From Rex Hoggard's Golfweek story:

“You know, truthfully, when I'm done with the playoffs, no matter where that is, I'm taking at least four and a half months off. I won't play until next year,” said Watson, who opened with a 3-under 67 and was tied for fifth at Glen Oaks. “I don't know about you, but traveling every week, my kids started kindergarten. ... If I had to choose golf or family, I'm going family every day of the week.”

Algorithm writers: let's figure out a points reset that helps these stars begin their hard-earned vacations early!

FedExCup Renewal: Complications And Concerns

For fans, there was only one piece of news that should have come out of FedEx's renewal that matters: an improved format and better flow to the PGA Tour schedule.

Given the complex nature of the changes being discussed, neither happened. But it's worth waiting to see how things play out in hopes of turning an odd algorithm-driven competition into one that is a true playoff at season's end. Because as Adam Schupak  notes at MorningRead.com, the FedExCup extension brought more questions than answers.

Given that Commissioner Jay Monahan insisted there were no plans to move The Players back to March, the possibility of a a schedule change still seems up in the air. Yet FedEx's rep, Patrick Fitzgerald, gave away his excitement at the potential schedule refinement in a Monday gathering of select press:

There is some exciting potential when you look at the schedule and other things, but I don't know what the best answer will be yet, and that's why we are so fortunate that we have a close collaborative working relationship with the TOUR, and they have a very clear view of some potential things that could change and how that would affect things.  So I'm confident that if the schedule changes, it will be in the best interest of golf and of the FedExCup.

Format tweaks were not discussed but seem possible. They even seem a priority based on some of the comments made by both men.

However a bigger question remains: is securing FedEx's sponsorship more important than any other relationship the Tour enjoys?

Doug Ferguson asked about this in Monahan's press conference:

Q. Can you just ever see a day where a tournament that performs well in its community and charity and everything else, there's not room for it on the schedule?

JAY MONAHAN: No, I think there will always be room. Using that fact pattern, there will always be room because you're talking about a tournament that's performed very well, that's performed well for us and we have got a strong relationship with, so I could see change in the schedule, but I can't see a removal of a partner from our schedule, because we have a duty and a commitment the to do everything we can to build those partnerships. I don't know, but that would be my response to it; we're certainly not thinking that way.

Yet contraction seems likely in some markets and a longtime charity could be hurt in the effort to tighten up the "product". 

And now player pocketbooks may take a hit at the behest of FedEx.

An exclusivity clause was part of the new 10-year agreement, reports GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard. This could be harmless, or could set off dreadful corporate boundary wars that also target players not endorsed by preferred partners. 

According to sources, the clause will keep players from participating in the season-long race if they have endorsement deals with one of FedEx’s competitors.

“All I'm going to say on that front is when you're in business with someone for 30 years, and you're about to commit to 10 more, you do some things to protect each other on a long-term basis,” commissioner Jay Monahan said. “That's what we've done in this agreement, and our players know that; our players understand it; our players think so highly of FedEx and what they've meant to them in terms of playing financial opportunities. So we do everything we can to protect our partners.”

Lee Westwood and Louis Oosthuizen both have endorsement deals with UPS but have been grandfathered in and will not be impacted.

Could UPS logos on shirts really have been that terrible for FedEx that the deal hinged on such a request? Call me crazy, but lame points resets and the overall view of a bloated, boring competition should have been priority number one over a corporate turf war.

Overall, these are entirely first-world matters and I sense the end goal of Monahan and FedEx is to create something that is fan friendlier, more entertaining and better in the sports landscape.

But getting there is not going to be easy or, at times, very pretty.

Playoff Pressure! Bubba Aims At Tent; Jordan Goes Home

You can literally see the playoff vibe at Plainfield.

In the form of large, Impact font lettering along the fairway, just in case you forgot these were playoffs where algorithms rule!

That's the good news for Jordan Spieth, who misses his third cut of 2015 but is still very much alive in the FedExCup points race despite stepping on his ball. Reinforcing just how vital these playoffs are, Spieth put new irons in the bag this week, reported Jonathan Wall (and noted by golf.com's Brendan Moehler).

The 36-hole leader, Bubba Watson, apparently doesn't care much for Plainfield due to the blind shots, so he's aiming at tents and not worrying if he moves the ball. He's also using driver on holes where the play seems iffy, but the strategic tactic is to secure a few of the next shot.

Kevin Maguire on the tent play:

The two-time Masters champ said previously this course just doesn't suit his eye. Blind shots, of which there are many on the classic Donald Ross design, are difficult for Watson and he is an extremely visual golfer.

"The reason why I hit driver is to make the hole visually better for me on the next shot," Watson said.

Asked about his hole after the round, Watson simply gave the answer that many a weekend golfer would after making a par in a non-traditional.

"There's no pictures on the scorecard," he said.

But it doesn't really matter because the golf should still be fun. Example 4.5 million of how much more fun golf is when the ground game matters, Jason Day style at Plainfield's superb 7th hole:

Playoff "Vernacular" & Logo Change...Again!

Disappointingly, the Reset Cup has not become the preferred description of the algorithm infused, two-points reset system best known as the FedExCup Playoffs, until next year when the vernacular changes again.

For Immediate Something:

NEW LOGO FOR THE FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS
 
The seventh year of the FedExCup Playoffs kicks off this week at The Barclays, featuring the top 125 players in the 2013 FedExCup standings.
 
For your use, we have attached the new logo, "FedExCup Playoffs," that replaces the previous version, "PGA TOUR Playoffs." We would greatly appreciate any  references going forward to be the "FedExCup Playoffs" and use of the new logo as well.
 
Additional changes to PGA TOUR vernacular are as follows:
 
·        The Playoffs officially become the FedExCup Playoffs (with new logo).
·        There should be no more reference to the Regular Season.

What about lower case regular season?

·        The 2013 PGA TOUR Season concludes October 6 at The Presidents Cup.  The 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season begins October 7 at the Frys.com Open.
·        Reference to a specific tournament will still be by the calendar year in which it is played.
·        There no longer will be a “Fall Series” on the PGA TOUR; those should be referred to as “season-opening events.”
·        The final four events on the Web.com Tour are the Web.com Tour Finals, ending with the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass (Dye's Valley course).

FedExCup, From This Day Forward Your Official Name Is FedExCup Playoffs

After intense merger talks between lawyers for FedExCup(C) and The Playoffs(C), PGA Tour Communications has announced major structural and terminlogy changes to the 2013-14 ResetCup.

The resets are firmly in place and the whole thing is all about the algorithm writers and not the players, so rest assured nothing was changed there.

But we have a new official name for the playoff portion of the proceedings: FedExCup Playoffs. Along with it comes a highly unoriginal caddie bib for the current leader ripped off inspired by the Champions Tour's Schwab Cup, which ripped off took inspiration from the Tour de France.

 The bib is distinguishable with orange accents on the shoulders and pocket.

I guess a few accents are better than dressing up the caddie in a FedEx uniform?

  • The Playoffs officially become the FedExCup Playoffs (with new logo)

Me thinks someone paying lavishly to sponsor the cup wanted more bang for their buck...

• We no longer refer to the Regular Season; we reference the PGA TOUR Season and the FedExCup is the season-long competition that culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs

Got that Lerner? I want that taped to your refrigerator door.

That goes for you, too, Hicks, Nantz, Gannon and the entire Communications Department.

Just curious, do we writers have to capitalize regular season or face parking in the volunteer lot?

 • Once the schedule begins to bridge calendar years, the season reference will include both years, as in: the 2013-2014 PGA TOUR Season
 
• Reference to a specific tournament will still be by the calendar year in which it is played, as in: XXX is defending champion of the 2013 Frys.com Open (which is part of the 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season)
 
• There no longer will be a “Fall Series” on the PGA TOUR; those tournaments should be referred to as “season opening events”

Darn, and I had Fall First in the pool.

 • The 2013 PGA TOUR Season will include 36 events before the FedExCup Playoffs

Therefore prompting Websters to add PGA Tour to its definition for "oversaturation."

• Three Additional Events, played the same weeks as certain Major Championships and World Golf Championships, will offer a slight increase in FedExCup Points (winners receive 300 points, vs. 250 in 2012)
 
• An off week during the FedExCup Playoffs will fall between the second and third events (rather than the third and fourth)
 
• The 2013 PGA TOUR Season and the FedExCup Playoffs end in late September with the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola
 
• The 2013-2014 PGA TOUR Season officially begins 3 weeks later; the season-opening events begin awarding full FedExCup points

Ugh, I spoke to soon. We get three whole weeks off! Thankfully, I know this new shortened off-season and increased workload has meant more pay for the hard working PGA Tour staff. Well, at least at the VP and up level.

• The CIMB Classic and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions become official events on the PGA TOUR (official victory, full FedExCup points, official money; winners qualify for Hyundai Tournament of Champions) 

Alas, no fixing the format...again.

But why fix what's broken?

Snedeker: “That’s all I needed.”

The AJC's Steve Hummer with Brandt Snedeker's emotional Saturday winning $11 million in the Tour Championship/ResetCup but starting the day with a trip 11 miles away to the Shepherd Rehabilitation Center to visit the badly injured Tucker Anderson, son of his instructor Todd.

Only natural the subject of the Tour Championship would arise.

So, Tucker, you think I can beat Rory today?

Tucker Anderson had been involved in a near fatal car accident in Florida two weeks ago and was transferred to the Shepherd Center for treatment of a traumatic brain injury. The teen can’t speak yet. But as Snedeker relayed later, Tucker answered him with a wink.

“That’s all I needed,” Snedeker said.

C’mon, how you gonna beat that?

Bob Harig feels Snedeker's clean victory in the Tour Championship made his ResetCup win better too because the algorithms stayed out of the affair. Those poor calculability codes and rolled up Oxfords in PVB that couldn't bring the attention off the golfers and onto the suits!

The fact that Snedeker won the Tour Championship by 3 shots over Justin Rose and kept the typically contrived and confusing points scenarios to a minimum makes for a nice bow on that FedEx package.
Even Rory McIlroy, who finished second to Snedeker in the final FedEx standings despite two playoff victories, a major championship and a total of four wins this year (to Snedeker's two), was left to give a golf clap to Snedeker while having to "settle'' for his $3 million bonus.

"I'm a little disappointed, but at the same time, Brandt really deserves to win," McIlroy said. "If you look at his stats the whole way [throughout] the week, he played the best golf out of anyone. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to come in here and win. He controlled his own destiny, just like I did, and he was able to come and do that. Because of that, he really deserves it."

Rob Matre posts a lovely album of final day shots and also this awesome shot of Snedeker making a key putt.

Snedeker's entire post round interview transcript.

For those of you counting at home, the aggregate scoring concept for the Playoffs would have finished this way:

Rory McIlroy, 41 under (-1) -42   
Dustin Johnson, 36 under (-1) -37  
   

Tiger Woods, 34 under (-2) -36
Brandt Snedeker, 25 under (-10) -35
Ryan Moore, 24 under (-6) -30
Phil Mickelson, 31 under (+1) -30
Louis Oosthuizen, 34 under (+7) -27

And for those of you favoring the "Plus One" concept endorsed by Brandel Chamblee and Johnny Miller last week, that means the final foursome after the Tour Championship play would have been McIlroy, Woods, Johnson and Snedeker, playing either one round or 36 for the $10 million prize.

Now that's one reset I'd love to see!

ESPN's Sportscenter highlight package:

Update on 2012-09-24 14:49 by Geoff

**Tim Rosaforte in Golf World Monday with more on the bond between Snedeker and Tucker Anderson.

Furyk: "Nope, I have no idea" Of FedExCup Standing As It Unfolds

When former FedExCup Jim Furyk made his comments today at East Lake about having no idea about where he stands in the ResetCup as the Tour Championship unfolds, he was repeating what's been said many times over the last five years. So it's hardly news.

But it got me to thinking, is there any other "championship" in the world of sport where the combatants aren't sure where they stand as they compete in the final moments?

Certainly makes it unique.

"Nope, I have no idea," the American told reporters on Tuesday when asked if he was fully versed in what he needed to do to emulate his 2010 FedExCup success. "I know I would have to win (the Tour Championship), and a lot of (other) things would have to happen. But I'm never really worried about that.

"I had two or three friends try to text me, 'do you know what you have to do?' No. It's hard enough winning a golf tournament. I can't control the rest."

Update: Reset Cup As A Stroke Play

Believe it or not, Doug Ferguson has filed yet another rave review for the FedExCup and it includes a nice mention of all the fawning (well, rear-end-kissing) texts Tim Finchem received for the BMW Championship leaderboard (any follow-up texts today congratulating him on a 2.5 rating that would indeed edge out a poker championship on ESPN).

Thankfully, Randall Mell points out this year's ridiculous oddity and the overall awkward nature of the cup: Louis Oosthuizen can finish second this week and win the Reset Cup without winning any playoff tournaments.

Now, in an alternate universe where the bar is a bit higher than merely celebrating a gathering of stars no matter how silly the competition, we look for ways to actually make this competition appealing to a wider audience.

Gary Van Sickle's suggestion for an aggregate FedExCup continues to appeal despite one (not deadly) flaw: season-long points don't mean much besides getting you in the playoffs. However, the issue of trying to reward good play during the regular season could be remedied and that's not important right now. (It's easy to visualize a stroke-based system that rewards the top players and penalizes the bottom feeders.)

Seeing as how we are through three playoff stages with only the Tour Championship at East Lake next week, Jim McCabe updates us on the leaderboard for those who have played all three playoff events (Dufner and Garcia therefore are DQ'd).

Here are the top 10 (McCabe lists more and has more plus some other good playoff notes worth checking out):

    •    Rory McIlroy, 41 under
    •    Dustin Johnson, 36 under
    •    Tiger Woods, 34 under
    •    Louis Oosthuizen, 34 under
    •    Phil Mickelson, 31 under
    •    Lee Westwood, 31 under
    •    Brandt Snedeker, 25 under
    •    Ryan Moore, 24 under
    •    Adam Scott, 24 under
    •    Nick Watney, 19 under

How would this not be a more interesting race to follow at East Lake along with the Tour Championship itself? Two tournaments going at once and every fan can understand scores to par. And as Van Sickle has proposed, perhaps a five-stroke credit for winning a playoff event to, gulp, incentivize the boys.

More important, would this be fan friendly?

When the PGA Tour's dynamic video scoreboards take a break from showing ads or telling us who the host professional is, they could easily tell us where the tournament and FedExCup stand. Right? And wouldn't the entire affair have more credibility with fans if they could actually understand what is going on? Or is the fan that low on the list of the insulated world of the PGA Tour that they simply do not care about that aspect of the Reset Cup?