LEMONT, Ill. – It’s become good sport to malign the FedEx Cup. Depending upon who you ask, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem’s grand “playoff” experiment is too much (tournaments), too little (absentee stars) or too confusing (points, resets, lists and whatnot).
Let’s head to neutral corners and wait for next week’s final lap before we roast or toast the FedEx finale.
At best, the “playoffs” have drawn the deepest fields to New York, Boston and Chicago this side of major season and electrified the sporting world with an epic Phil vs. Tiger duel last Monday. At worst the Tour has sacrificed a handful of fall events to economic Darwinism and alienated some of the game’s marquees.
Besides, if there’s a flaw in Finchem’s FedEx format it is the lineup’s lack of inherent volatility.
Earlier this year, as the powers in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., were peddling the circuit’s “New Deal,” officials mused that the perfect FedEx Cup storm would include Tiger Woods, a smattering of familiar challengers and an out-of-the-rank-and-file Cinderella. Postseasons of any kind need a dash of the “Little Engine that Could” to liven things up for the locomotives.
Had the St. Louis Cardinals started last year’s MLB postseason in the type of hole Tim Clark or Rich Beem or Ken Duke began the Tour’s final four, the Motor City would still be celebrating a Detroit Tigers world championship.
Where’s the love for the little man? Is there no place for the “Lunchboxes” among legends? The world needs its “Seabiscuits” as well as its super stars.
Consider the plight of Clark – a player that meets all of the Tour’s FedEx Cup requirements (he plays often and he’d be a media hit if he were to challenge the game’s perceived giants – think “Rudy” with a South African accent).
Clark began the week here in the Chicago hinterlands 33rd in FedEx Cup points, opened with a 3-under 68 and as he waited to tee off Friday morning watched as he slid two spots down the list.
“I could finish sixth and lose spots this week,” Clark mused after his second-round 69 at Cog Hill left him tied for ninth. “There probably needs to be more points (awarded) to make it easier to move.”
Clark likely doesn’t spend his spare Saturdays watching left turns but he suggests the Tour continue to follow NASCAR’s post-season lead to help give the system a boost from the bottom up.
“NASCAR awards points off laps, right? They give points for the number of laps you lead. We could give points if you lead after a round or have a good round,” Clark suggested. “If it’s a playoff, wouldn’t you want to build some excitement.”
At Cog Hill, the stage was set for a miracle on grass. Clark (on the bubble to earn a spot in next week’s Tour Championship), Camilo Villegas (34th) and Henrik Stenson (35th) were paired together for Rounds 1 and 2 – Spiderman (Villegas), the Iceman (Stenson) and the Minuteman (fast-playing Clark). All three should have been bubbles racing to the surface of a strange, postseason brew.
But the mathematical truth is that despite solid rounds from Villegas (69) and Clark the group did little to help their East Lake fortunes. On a projected points list, Villegas will have to maintain his spot on the leaderboard (T-3) to crack the top 30. Clark is perched at 28th despite his position in the top 10 and No. 29 Arron Oberholser’s withdrawal on Thursday.
For any player outside the top 40 in points, East Lake may as well be the Far East.
Ken Duke began the postseason 34th in points, missed the cut in New York, dropped three spots, made the cut in Boston, dropped three spots, and needs something just short of a victory at the BMW to make the Tour Championship.
“You really can’t move up unless you finish second or third,” Duke said. “It’s great to reward someone for playing well all year, but there needs to be a way to narrow the gap between players.”
There will be FedEx fixes. The Tour tinkerers will massage and come back next season with a fresh offering.
“The way (the FedEx Cup) is next year is not like it is this year and (the lack of points volatility) is one of the things that need to be changed,” said one member of the Tour’s Player Advisory Committee.
Let’s hope for a little more light for the dark horses. Seabiscuit didn’t have to win
every race.
Posted: 9/7/2007
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