"Either make it a true playoff, or call it something else."

You know the FedEx Cup is a still a mess when Peter Kostis, who has to pretend to like it on the air for CBS, doesn't hold back on golf.com:

Two years ago we were told that the FedEx Cup Playoffs were going to ensure exciting, meaningful events at the end of the season and culminate in a riveting conclusion at the Tour Championship. And for the second time since, the PGA Tour was forced to go back to the drawing board and modify the points system after the Tour Championship was made meaningless. For 2009, the point totals for each player who makes it to the Tour Championship will be reshuffled on the eve of the event.

They just don't get it. You can't call something a "playoff" if you are trying to protect the players who had a strong season while simultaneously giving everyone in the field a chance to win. Either make it a true playoff, or call it something else.

Comments

[Doug]

Kostis is absolutely right. What if the NCAA b-ball tournament re-shuffled the seeding in the four brackets after each round of games so the teams who were ranked highest during the season had the best chance of advancing to the next round? People would be up in arms. Getting to the playoff is the reward for the regular season.
The problem with the PGA Tour's playoffs is that their goal is misaligned with what the general public perceives as the goal of a playoff. The PGA Tour's goal is to have a meaningful finish to the season. Playoffs in the other major sports are designed to crown a single champion for that particular league - and that is what fans expect as the result. Because the Tour Championship is never going to be the 'crown jewel' of the PGA Tour schedule (...the 4 Majors will always be more important) the PGA Tour Playoffs will never be meaningful.
(Arguments that making the winning payout high enough - like the Race to Dubai - don't work either because at that point you just have a glorified skins game that's about the money and not about the title).

[Steven T.]

It's sorta like the BCS- not a series and not a championship. What if the NCAA did away with "March Madness" and chose the Final Four based on the polls?

The FedUp Cup is nothing more than a money grab by the PGAT since they don't own a major or the Ryder Cup. They own and do promote The Players and the President's Cup as if they were something important,just like the FedUp Cup.

[Stanley Thompson]

The Fedex Cup is a total bore to everyone except Tim....and we're not sure about him.