"Without the win-or-go-home scenario that defines playoff competition in team sports, the FedEx Cup will never generate widespread public interest or earn critical acclaim."

Some prominent writers have very different takes on the FedEx Cup.

First, John Hawkins nails it in this Golf World column:

Pro golf does not lend itself to a playoff format. The current model is flawed both inherently and procedurally and, thus, has virtually no chance of succeeding. Without the win-or-go-home scenario that defines playoff competition in team sports, the FedEx Cup will never generate widespread public interest or earn critical acclaim.

Jim McCabe takes the view that because we've gotten great fields and some nice finishes at a time of year when stars would not normally play, we should look past the fatal flaws which prevent the FedEx Cup from actually becoming a great sporting event and buzz-generating moment for the game.

I think that reasoning is more flawed than ever simply because Tiger Woods and other starts will NEVER play all four playoff events again when they learn this, which I picked up in Tweets today from Doug Ferguson:

Steve Elling picked up on Commissioner Finchem's remarks Wednesday, tabulates Woods as having been the 3 seed if he'd taken three weeks off, and notes this:

Woods could have skipped the first three FedEx events and been seeded No. 3 this week, which means he could still have claimed the $10 million bonus with a victory at East Lake on Sunday. When he learned that fact from a reporter on Wednesday, he muttered disgustedly to himself.

Hey, we know the feeling.

And here's where Finchem was asked about it:

Q. Not to get into details, but are you aware that Tiger could have sat out the first three playoff events and still been seeded as high as No. 3?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: No, and I'm glad he didn't.

Q. Are you comfortable with that?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Tiger is pretty adept at this. Tiger's view was his best chance of winning was to play them all and make sure he was the No. 1 seed. I think the No. 1 seed has an advantage this week. It's like I've always characterized as kind of a home field advantage. You can still get beat, but you've got an advantage. Tiger usually plays to have an advantage.