ATLANTA -- Is this a better model?
|
|
| While Tiger Woods says 'winning takes care of everything,' in this points scheme, that might not be the case. (AP) |
As with anything, though, the truth is in the details. Moss, for instance, has a slightly squirrelly eyeball. Nothing's truly perfect upon the closest inspection.
Which brings us to the oft-refined, not-so-fine FedEx Cup series, which culminates this week at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Rest assured, it's far from perfect.
This marks the third points-distribution iteration in as many years of the mega-money dash, which features a $10 million bonus to the player who finishes Sunday with the most points. Like with Moss, the details can make anybody feel a bit cross-eyed, creating plenty of questions and caustic comments.
No question, this year's plan has roundly been saluted as the best of the three FedEx scenarios to date, but all the makeup, hairspray and Clearasil can't cover up some of the silly absurdities of the latest scheme.
As the crazy permutations and parameters in play this week have been unearthed, it was no real shock Wednesday when PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem professed both envy and appreciation for the most reviled pseudo-playoff structure in sports.
"I think the BCS is blessed to have the kind of controversy they have," he said. "Everybody talks about it. I hope we get talked about as much and people are strong-willed on both sides and very vocal about it, and write blogs about it, talk about it, go on TV shows, and argue about it. It's great. That's what we want."
Then circle 'round the water coolers, golf fans, because have we got some tongue-wagging talking points as the big-money week begins.
Simply put, the PGA Tour this season wanted the $10 million FedEx bonus to be decided this week, because in the two previous years, the prize was all but clinched after three weeks and the desired Atlanta spectacle fizzled. But sprinkled into their dream drama scenario is the potential for unintentional bits of confusing, Abbott-and-Costello comedy.
Tiger Woods has an oft-used phrase that he loves to employ whenever the brain-stymieing FedEx points scenarios are mentioned.
"Winning takes care of everything," he says.
That all depends, really.
For the sake of context, each of the 30 players begins the week with a re-seeded points total, with Woods atop the pile with 2,500 points and No. 30 John Senden at the bottom with a measly 210. The winner this week is guaranteed 2,500 points, with the points decreasing in each step down the scoreboard. Each of the top five in points entering this week are assured of winning the seven-figure bonus prize if they win the tournament title.
Beyond that, things can quickly turn varying shades of gray. Some of the possibilities, courtesy of the re-seeded seasonal points totals, are enough to make us laugh out loud.
• Because of the re-seeded points, Woods could have won the first three events in the FedEx Cup series and been seeded exactly where he is now, with the same point total, at No. 1. (He finished first, T2 and T11 in the first three).
| Tour Championship links |
|
|
| Video links |
• 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.
• But the world doesn't revolve around Woods, at least not entirely. Let's say that he and the other points leaders finish in the middle of the pack on Sunday, while Jim Furyk and Scott Verplank finish the Tour Championship in a tie. Of course, they'd need a sudden-death playoff to decide the event winner. Amazingly, the math says that if Verplank won the playoff, he and Furyk would finish with identical FedEx points totals, so they'd then have to play off for the FedEx millions, too. How much airtime did NBC book for Sunday night?
• To the victor go the spoils? Not necessarily. While every player in the field has a mathematical chance at the bonus, the scheme isn't designed to ensure that the guy who wins the $10 million will be the same fellow who wins the Tour Championship title.
Furyk begins the week at No. 3 in points after the reset. He hasn't won on tour in over two years, yet can still win the big bonus this week by finishing second at East Lake, provided that nobody else in the top eight in points wins. He can even win the $10 million by finishing third, albeit in less-plausible scenarios.
"I'd be like Sylvester -- I just swallowed a Tweety Bird and that would put a big smile on my face," Furyk said. "But obviously, that probably wouldn't be good for the system."
• Padraig Harrington, who also hasn't won this season and is ranked No. 6 in points, also can win the $10 million FedEx bonus this week by finishing second, as long as Woods finished 10th or worse and the other four ahead of him on the points list finish fifth or worse. That's hardly implausible.
"I don't think that someone should be able to win the championship without winning a golf tournament," said Furyk, who's in a comparable boat with the Irishman. "Obviously it would be a testament to a good, solid season. You've played well, but if you're going to win a championship, you're going to have to win something along the way, in my opinion. I know mathematically it could happen, but at the end, I'd have to sit here and look at y'all and say, it's not my damned fault."
• Two titlists could be crowned on Sunday -- the seasonal FedEx and weekly tournament winners. They could literally toss the Tour Championship trophy to the winner and hustle him off the 18th green, which would be needed if the FedEx points race end in a tie. In NASCAR, the guy who wins the season finale gets shunted aside in favor of the season-long points winner. Hey, congrats on the win, buddy, now get out of the way.
Mostly, players have a medium-tension grip on the nuances of the latest points scheme and mostly are sitting back to await how it all plays out. That might be safer than torturing themselves with some of the crazy potentialities.
Until then, it's left to us to feast on the feasibilities. Or spit them out. Either way, Finchem is happy.
"We're not after a system that answers all these kind of questions," he said. "That's not what we're about. You could argue that until the cows come home, and I think that's great. I think you should."
