Algorithm And Reset-Decided FedExCup Goes Out With A Resounding Thud

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For over a decade we were annually told that what we saw before us was not as bad as most suspected: the FedExCup was wonderful and not the most poorly constructed competition in sports. It was even exciting—Bill Haas!—and beyond the massive bonus money, was so much better than merely ending the season with a fall Tour Championship.

Which was true, if you were a PGA Tour player or executive cashing a bonus check.

Mercifully, the final version of the points-reset, algorithm-decided iteration ended with Justin Rose’s clinching 73 Sunday at East Lake. Rose made just 18 starts in 2018, killing the notion that season-long play starts were rewarded.

Questions loom about the purity of the next format with $15 million now on the line, but Tiger Woods thankfully helped everyone forget about that issue until we get to next August. But in reading David Dusek’s Golfweek account of the 2018 conclusion, it’s pretty easy to envision a scenario where anything will be better than what we’ve long been told was so exciting and fun to follow.

I explain more in this column for Golfweek on the pros and cons of the new format, one that sadly keeps clinging to attempts at rewarding season-long play in an effort to get players to tee off more often.

Also, The Forecaddie chimed in on the math behind the new Wyndham Rewards program and figures most will have to play six weeks in a row to get stars to the Wyndham Championship. Good luck with that!