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The 19^th Hole

September 10, 2007

The Cup Has Been a Gem

The FedEx Cup – its design, scheduling, and payment plan – has been the subject of a lot of criticism in recent weeks.  It has been taking a beating from the media and players.  I have received several emails to my inbox bashing it or getting questions about it from fans.  There has probably been a lot more talk about what is happening off of the course related to this new concept than what has been happening under its guise.

This column is a means of trying to steer that conversation for a few moments.  Look, the FedEx Cup is not perfect.  The golf tournaments and competition that has happened in the past three weeks has been, though. 

The Tiger-less Barclays event in Westchester actually turned out to be a blessing.  Two positives happened as a result of a tournament without the world’s best player.  First, fans were treated to the completion of the comeback of Steve Stricker.  The Wisconsin native was the 2006 Comeback Player of the Year on Tour.  Having been a bridesmaid on several occasions in the 2007 season, the win down the stretch against KJ Choi was emotional and validating.  With Woods in the field, it was probably a likelihood that the same battle would never have taken place as it had. 

Tiger likely would have placed strongly at Westchester despite never cracking the top ten in previous tries.  The guy has been nearly invincible lately and probably would have finished very well, if not won the event outright.  Were Tiger victorious in Westchester, he would have assumed a daunting FedEx Cup lead and reduced some of the inherent drama surrounding the Woods-Singh-Mickelson threesome in Boston the next week.

Speaking of Boston, the Deutsche Bank Championship turned out to be one of the top three or four events of the year for the excitement on the course and among fans.  Tiger and Phil engaged each other in direct battle for 54 holes of the event and culminated with a back nine showdown for the ages in the Monday finale.  The call and answer of birdies at the TPC Boston was a delight for fans of Lefty, Tiger, and the game in general. 

There were really no losers in what happened.  Yes, Phil Mickelson subsequently deflated whatever rub the FedEx Cup format got from the Monday action by immediately turning his win into a chance to blindside Commissioner Tim Finchem.  That situation, though, could not undo Mickelson’s first final group head-to-head victory against Woods.  It is a round that will be remembered long after the impact of Mickelson’s comments are truly understood and certainly long after whatever becomes of the FedEx Cup concept.

Woods arrived in Chicago this week on a mission to redeem his status as the showstopper and to be crowned champion at Dubsdread for the fourth time in his career.  The no show by Mickelson did take a little something out of the first and second round festivities, but the suddenly forgotten Steve Stricker and Aussie Aaron Baddeley were more than willing to take Lefty’s place.  Two of the Tour’s best putters lit up Cog Hill in a way that it had never seen and got themselves into position for another potentially classic weekend showdown – the third in a row.

Suddenly, Tiger Woods took special notice and decided that he wanted to make it a three man show.  This weekend, he played some of his best golf of the year.  He hit thirteen of fourteen fairways on both Saturday and Sunday – a statistic nearly unheard of as it relates to Woods.  The putter that had been stone cold on Thursday and Friday began to catch fire at the level of Badds and Strick on Saturday.  By Sunday afternoon, Woods had the money stick working even better than his competition.  The BMW Championship turned into a putting contest on the front nine on Sunday.  By the time the back nine rolled around, it had turned into a putting clinic.  Woods was making almost every birdie opportunity in sight on his way to a stunning 63, a two shot win, and his 60^th career PGA Tour win.

Writing the above recap of the past three weeks has me excited for this week at East Lake for the Tour Championship.  The golf has been so good that it only seems logical for it to continue in the finale event of these Playoff events.  The quality of play has been so exceptional that I am willing to overlook that only five guys (realistically three) can win the FedEx Cup, that the greens at East Lake are so baked that there will not be practice rounds, and all of the other piled up criticism that has been going around off of the course.  No matter what is happening outside of the ropes, there will be a rematch of Woods-Mickelson from Boston, and Steve Stricker will likely want to have something to say about the outcome as well.

I am still annoyed at the FedEx Cup concept.  Tim Finchem has still made the Tour look kind of bad.  Phil Mickelson has, too.  The winner of the race will not be paid in present cash.  Lots of complaints aside, I just wanted to take a moment and call to your attention just how great the past few weeks have been for the game.  Whatever changes are made to the Cup format, I hope that this spirit of competition and great drama continue on into the next edition of the Playoffs.  Actually, if this kind of competition could happen more frequently on the PGA Tour, then the FedEx Cup would never have to exist.  Or, could it actually be that the FedEx Cup has something to do with it?

Ryan Ballengee is host of The 19th Hole Golf Show, found at The Golf Newsnet.com.  Having graduated from the University of Maryland in 2004 and 2006, Ballengee brings the perspective of the younger golf fan to the microphone and his columns.  Over the nearly five years he has been broadcasting and writing, Ballengee has developed a reputation for a unique interviewing style that asks both the difficult and fun questions. You can also get The 19th Hole on the go through podcasting by clicking here The Golf Newsnet Contact Ryan via e-mail at the19thholeshow@hotmail.com.