Kostis: Fed Ex Cup "Failed" In Its Mission

Boy it's getting to where you can't get a positive thought out of Peter Kostis anymore! Peter, you must pick up that positive thinking book you recommended for me, because this kind of criticism is just so called for!

So far this season we have seen Paul Goydos, Charley Hoffman, Aaron Baddeley, Mark Calcavecchia, Boo Weekley and Scott Verplank all win PGA Tour events.

Don't get me wrong, each of these guys can play and deserved to win, but one of the selling points of the FedEx Cup was it would encourage better players to compete more often. It's failed in that mission. The allure of FedEx Cup points has not persuaded the game's best players to adjust their schedules; if anything, they have taken it easy in anticipation of a big push between the PGA Championship, the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Tour Championship itself. And that has opened the door for more and more players to not only get Top 10s, but also compete for wins.

The FedEx Cup has also created a greater separation between the Have's and the Have Not's amongst the tournaments. It was announced in April that the Masters will extend an invitation into the 2008 tournament to all winners of FedEx Cup events starting with this season's Verizon Heritage. Tournaments that are not a part of the FedEx Cup schedule—which is everything after the Tour Championship, which concludes September 16th—won't have that carrot to dangle in front of players who will not have qualified yet.

You know it doesn't bode well for the FedEx Cup when Norman Vincent Kostis is already declaring the FedEx Cup dead on arrival at the halfway point. And of course, his points are absolutely correct. Though they were made by many pundits long before the season even started.

Comments

[Wayne]

I'm not sure why anyone thought the FedEx Cup would make the stars play more. Top players care mostly about the majors and they set their schedules so they are playing their best at those tournaments. You don't offer a starting pitcher a bonus if he pitches on two days rest. The FedEx Cup will be about those final four weeks.

If anything, by squishing tournaments - Colonial followed by Jack two weeks before US - they are probably going to get lighter fields - as they have this week.

[Bob G.]

Kostis is pointing out the facts without stating the culprit, Tim Finchem has failed to make tournaments compelling, and has widened the gap between tournaments that happen to donate to Tiger's foundation and those that don't.

Well, it is compelling in another sense.

[Ben H.]

It's criminal how the Colonial's been diluted.