When you hear that the playoffs have begun, you immediately think of the history, the tradition and the excitement that goes into the quest for the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup. Dramatic do-or-die situations, single-elimination games, and seventh-and-deciding games are all a part of these sports and their lore.
And then there”s golf. We are now in the second year of the PGA Tour”s version of March Madness, namely the quest for the Fed Ex Cup. There”s a $10 million bonus for the winner. Even on today”s PGA Tour, $10 million is not the sort of sum to ignore. There”s week-to-week volatility, elimination of players from 144 to 120 to 70 to a final field of 30 at the playoff-concluding Tour Championship, and all kinds of big money on the line.
However, unlike the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and Lord Stanley”s Cup, the two words that best describe the Fed Ex Cup race could either be “ho hum” or “who cares?” While the folks at Fed Ex have plowed a lot of prize, endorsement and advertising money into this endeavor, it just doesn”t have the season-ending hype that the four major team sports and NASCAR have at the conclusion of their seasons.
There are several reasons for this ho-hum reaction. First and foremost is the current structure of professional golf with its four major championships. When all is said and done, a win at the Masters or the U.S. Open or the British Open or the PGA Championship is the type of feat that will make a season. Win two majors in the same year, just like the way Ireland”s Padraig Harrington won the British Open and the PGA Championship in 2008, and you”ve got a career-defining season.
Even if he never wins another major title, Trevor Immelman will forever be identified as the 2008 Masters champion. Winning the Fed Ex Cup is sort of like winning the tour”s money title. Things like money or the Fed Ex points race reward those who play a lot. After all, wins in the Greater Milwaukee Open and the Quad Cities Open add up to more cash and more points than a victory in the United States Open. You”ve got Vijay Singh and his three wins or Kenny Perry and his three wins ranking higher in Fed Ex points than Harrington and his two majors. Any chance Singh or the majorless Perry would trade all three of those wins for just one of Harrington”s Grand Slam victories? You bet they would.
Finally, the Tour”s elite won”t totally buy into the Fed Ex Cup process. Last year, Tiger Woods skipped the first playoff event, the Barclay”s, came in second in Boston, won in Chicago and Atlanta, and ran away with the Cup. If the Boston Celtics had skipped the first round of the playoffs with the Atlanta Hawks, then they would have been eliminated. Tiger was not alone. After beating Woods in an exciting head-to-head duel in Boston last year, Phil Mickelson skipped round three of the playoffs at the BMW in Chicago.
This year, Vijay Singh has a big lead in Fed Ex Cup points following back-to-back wins at Ridgewood and the TPC of New England. A top-five finish in St. Louis this week means that Singh can just show up at the Tour Championship in Atlanta the following week, come in last place with four rounds in the 80s, and still collect a cool $10 million. That”s not exactly the drama of the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. Ho hum.
The conclusion of the professional golf season doesn”t mean the game will lack for drama during the month of September. Following the playing of the Tour Championship, the biennial Ryder Cup matches between the United States and Europe will commence on Sept. 19 at Valhalla in Louisville, a two-time site for the PGA.
Even in rout years, the Ryder Cup is entertaining because of its unique format. The Ryder Cup features morning and afternoon rounds on Friday and Saturday of fourball (best ball) and foursomes (alternate shot) competition. On Sunday, all 12 players on each side play one-on-one matches. If a match is tied after 18 holes, it stays that way.
This year”s Ryder Cup team for the Americans includes familiar faces such as Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard. It also has six rookies including veteran Steve Strickler, who has played on Presidents Cup teams, and relative newcomers such as Anthony Kim, Ben Curtis, Boo Weekley, Hunter Mahan and J.B. Holmes. Chad Campbell rounds out the 12-man U.S.A. team.
The Euros are led by such Ryder Cup stalwarts as Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Miguel Angel Jiminez. Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey and Robert Karlson have Ryder Cup experience. Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Oliver Wilson and Soren Hanson are newcomers to the matches.
Of the 24 golfers in this year”s competition, merely half of them have found the winner”s circle in 2008. Harrington has two major titles, Perry has won three times, Jiminez and McDowell have won twice in Europe, and Kim has two U.S. tour wins to his credit. Consistent winners such as Furyk, Westwood, Casey, Rose and Poulter are winless this year. On top of that, no one is playing all that well as we enter the buildup stage to the Ryder Cup.
Kenny Perry is totally fatigued. Mickelson hasn”t played well since he won the Colonial in May. Sergio Garcia is hanging around at the top of the leader board, but he just can”t seem to seal the deal. Justin Rose is far removed from the form that made him the European Tour player of the year in 2007. J.B. Holmes, Boo Weekley, Oliver Wilson and Soren Hanson will learn a whole lot more about themselves as golfers as they will face pressure they”ve never before experienced. Only Harrington, Furyk, Leonard, Curtis and Mickelson among the 24 have a major title to their name.
September is here and the PGA Tour is in the midst of its Fed Ex Cup playoff series. Following the playoffs, the Ryder Cup will take place in Louisville. That”s when the real golfing drama begins.
