assuming amateurs are invited to play the tweak game, here are my uninvited thoughts. scrap the point system and go with the money list with a million dollar bonus to the winners of the majors. top 100 get into the playoffs and earn their card for the following year.(top 100 on end of year money list also get their card and #101-150 get conditional status with the nationwide tour getting more cards). restore the western and cut the playoffs to 3 tournaments, with cuts to 70 and 40. adjust the readjusted point system to reflect decreasing increments of 100 points, beginning with a 1000 point differential between 1 and 2. #11-20 would be separated by 75 points each, #21-30 by 50 points each and #31-100 by 25 points each. hopefully lots more movement; meets tiger's ideas and desires (nothing is more important to the tour for the next 20 years, see tv ratings) and moves the tour to a system more akin to european soccer with more movement between the top tier and the next tier of ability

I don't get all the bellyaching about not enough volitility or that it is "too hard to move up"

It should be hard to move up.

The reason no one way down on the original playoff standings moved way up isn't because of the point structure, it was because no one way down on the list played all that well. None of them had a top 3 finish.

Going into the Tour Championship, who were the players capable of winning the whole thing? -Woods, Stricker, and Mickelson

And going into the Tour Championship, who were the players who had won playoff events? -- that's right the same guys-Woods, Stricker, Mickelson.

That sounds like a good system to me. Reward guys who actually win golf tournaments, not Joe Schmo who simply gets a top 10.

ok have 100 play in each of the first two events and 50 in the tour championship

It's my understanding that the Torrey Pines locals account for less than 20% of the tee-times there on many days.

I play a lot of golf at Bethpage and we are also the beneficiary of EXPONENTIALLY improved course conditions as a result of the US Open being played on the Black.

Rates have gone up a little, but are still very reasonable and definitely "below market"...but keep in mind Bethpage and Torrey are municipal facilities, not high-end daily fee courses.

One great thing I'll say about Bethpage and the State of NY is they get credit for maintaining the integrity of the tee-time system. I'd say 98%+ of the times go to locals and there's no manipulation or hoarding of times by mgmt.

It can be hard to get a time but this is only because the competition for times is fierce, the system is fair. I'm not sure that's the case for Torrey Pines.

ES

oops, wrong article...sorry!

ES