The hype machine for the PGA Tour’s Fed Ex cup is going full speed in advance of the first tournament in the series this weekend in New York. But there are a few problems. First, Tiger Woods is skipping the Barclays Open event because he is “tired” after his PGA Championship victory. Commissioner Tim Finchem was on the telecast of the Wyndham Championship this weekend expressing his disappointment that Tiger is sitting out the Barclays. The reality is that if Tiger isn’t playing, the tournament is not going to draw TV ratings. The other reality is that Tiger is so far ahead in Fed Ex points that skipping the Barclays will do little to damage his chances of winning. Check out the Fed Ex hype on the tour’s web site…flashy new color scheme, a printable cheat sheet on the formats and formulas, etc. But there is not indication that golf fans care about the Fed Ex Cup and you have to wonder how much the players care. Phil Mickelson pointed out that the $10 million first prize, touted by the tour as the biggest payday in sports, isn’t real money. It’s an annuity that the winner can collect in the future. Mickelson suggested the tour follow the example of the World Series of Poker and put the cash on the first tee of the final tournament. As my old uncle used to say, “You can put lipstick on a pig but you can’t hide the ugly.”
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Rik Massengale.
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About Me
- Mr. Fairway
- Mr. Fairway’s love affair with the game of golf began in junior high. He once made his living as a journalist covering high school sports, cops and robbers and politics. Today, Mr. Fairway is a public relations consultant and a widely-published freelance golf writer. His current USGA handicap index is 9.3 and he averages 50-plus rounds a year.