"We didn't join the playoffs to lose money for our caddie scholarships"

/

Considering that the lone consolation prize in the Western Open's demise was a promised increase in Evans Scholar revenues, this came as a surprise in John Hawkins' Golf World game story:

Tournament director John Kaczkowski took a glass-half-full overview of the event, but WGA President/CEO Don Johnson said, despite a weekend rally at the box office, he expected his organization's bottom line for charity wouldn't equal that from the Western. "We didn't join the playoffs to lose money for our caddie scholarships," Johnson said. "But we had no choice." (Some WGA officials believe, conversely, that taking the tournament to new cities might actually increase contributions to the caddie scholarship fund.) If it hadn't acceded to tour demands and joined the FedEx Cup process, the Western would have been consigned a death slot, one week before or after the U.S. Open. That's because the Fourth of July slot for 2007 had been awarded to Jack Vickers and the International. Remember Jack Vickers and the International? Might not be only the commissioner and the players who are growing apart.

 

"This way they can rub elbows with a lot of different players, hear them tell stories and get to see them under different circumstances."

/

Stan Awtrey says the Tour considered moving the Super Bowl to TPC Sugarloaf, but decided to stay at East Lake and it's dead greens.

Tour player Robert Allenby was not sympathetic to the club's troubles. "They've had all year to prepare and to say it's not ready is pretty disappointing, especially for a major event. We've come down to the final event and it's a non-event. It could be Mickey Mouse. Who knows what the greens are going to be like?"

Wow, can't imagine why his caddy quit on him.

And this from the Tour's Henry Hughes: 

With no competition permitted, the pro-am format has been altered. All 30 players — including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson — will be required to take part in at least one portion of what's being called an "Ultimate Tour Clinic."

"In a typical pro-am, you spend the day with one guy," Hughes said. "This way they can rub elbows with a lot of different players, hear them tell stories and get to see them under different circumstances."

Yes, circumstances where they are dreading the day even more than a typical pro-am. 

"One torture is substituted for another."

/

Reader Jack Sprat correctly notes that with the greens demise at East Lake comes the Tour's makeshift clinic/pro-am, where "one torture is substituted for another."

Sounds like a great chance for the boys to interract with MBA types...

Wednesday pro-am
Despite the cancellation, tournament officials have scheduled activities for Wednesday to bring a unique and worthwhile experience to pro-am participants.  All 30 players in THE TOUR Championship field will honor their commitment to the pro-am by participating in a Q&A session in the morning, followed by the “Ultimate TOUR Clinic,” in which amateurs will cycle through three stations with PGA TOUR professionals for tips and instruction in driving, chipping and putting.  The day will conclude for amateurs at a luncheon and additional Q&A session with the TOUR players.

And just in case you boys thought you might fly back to Atlanta on Wednesday...think again, that's a morning clinic!

On a serious note, if the concept of playoff pro-am's was in fact one of Phil's beefs, this will not exactly make him more agreeable, will it?

Wait, no, Phil loves corporate America and interacting with pro-am types. I don't know what got into me.

"Now there's room for everybody else to pile on. The timing could not have been worse."

/
Steve Elling looks at the odd manner in which the PGA Tour notified players about the East Lake greens and has this from Jim Furyk:
 "My thoughts?" veteran Jim Furyk said Sunday morning, weighing his words carefully as he looked at the player advisory posted on the Cog Hill locker room bulletin board. "It's very poor timing. There's already a lot of rumblings and negativity about how things have been working out already.

"Now there's room for everybody else to pile on. The timing could not have been worse. Those are my thoughts."

"Another innovation is the fact that the old Western Open has a new set of wheels."

/

If the Chicagoans weren't fired up, this John Maginnes piece from PGATour.com ("Playoff format overcoming criticism") ought to get Western Open fans riled up:

But the old Western Open changed its stripes this year. The inaugural BMW Championship brings a new name, as well as a new face to this historic event. From the stark white trimming of the corporate tents and grandstands to the expo village filled with vintage cars, this tournament has a new look. In typical BMW fashion, the tournament has taken on a sleeker, more modern, tone while keeping its traditions and history close. Another innovation is the fact that the old Western Open has a new set of wheels.

On Sunday, it will fill up the tank and head south where it will set up shop in St. Louis. On the even-numbered years the BMW Championship will alternate between the city with the arch and Indianapolis, returning to Chicago in between.

See that change stuff is progress.

Issue Of FedEx Cup Scheduling Intensity Resolved!

/

Well, this year anyway.

Does anyone remember something like this happening before? It is hard to imagine that keeping thirty players and a pro-am off the East Lake greens could make that big of a difference, but it's admirable of the Tour for trying everything it can to ensure good uh, Super Bowl conditions. A ban on spikes would have been nice too.

From the PGA Tour:

Practice rounds restricted, pro-am canceled at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola to ensure best possible playing conditions for tournament

Course closed to public until Thursday, tickets to be honored

ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2007 – As a result of severe heat and drought in the Atlanta area this summer, the bentgrass putting green conditions at East Lake Golf Club, site of next week’s TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, have suffered.  In order to present the best possible playing conditions for THE TOUR Championship, the final event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, tournament officials and the PGA TOUR have restricted the players’ practice rounds and canceled Wednesday’s pro-am.

“We are working diligently to improve and present the golf course in the best condition possible for next week’s tournament,” said Henry Hughes, executive vice president and chief operating officer, PGA TOUR.  “While restricting players’ practice rounds and canceling the pro-am is not an ideal scenario, we felt this was the best decision in order to allow us a few more days to prepare the greens for the event.

“The weather has improved this past week, and the forecast is for continued good weather through Wednesday, allowing for additional growth and recovery of the bentgrass.  Despite the challenges, we are confident that THE TOUR
Championship will provide an exciting, dramatic culmination to the FedExCup season.”

Tickets
With the course closed to the public until Thursday, all Tuesday and Wednesday tickets will be honored Thursday through Sunday.  The tournament will staff the general parking lot at Turner Field to exchange spectators’ tickets, as well as add additional volunteers and staff to the admission gate on-site.

All Tuesday and Wednesday tickets that are marked “Clubhouse” or “Delta Crown Room Championship Club” will be honored; however, those will be exchanged for GROUND tickets.  These tickets were only sold on a weekly basis, and therefore, those purchasers will also have a ticket that they can use for Thursday - Sunday.

Restricted practice rounds
Players will not be permitted to practice on the greens at East Lake Golf Club, although they and their caddies can walk the course Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, hit drives on par 4s and par 5s and approach shots on par 5s if they do not reach the greens.  The driving range, putting green and short game practice area at East Lake Golf Club will be available to players all week.

Wednesday pro-am
Despite the cancellation, tournament officials have scheduled activities for Wednesday to bring a unique and worthwhile experience to pro-am participants.  All 30 players in THE TOUR Championship field will honor their commitment to the pro-am by participating in a Q&A session in the morning, followed by the “Ultimate TOUR Clinic,” in which amateurs will
cycle through three stations with PGA TOUR professionals for tips and instruction in driving, chipping and putting.  The day will conclude for amateurs at a luncheon and additional Q&A session with the TOUR players.

East Lake greens, Atlanta weather
The strain of grass at East Lake Golf Club is Crenshaw creeping bentgrass. It was introduced in the Southeast in the 1990s and offers a superb putting surface most of the year, but when temperatures reach the 90s, the greens can be susceptible to more diseases, shorter roots and dry spots.

During the month of August, Atlanta reported record temperatures of 90-plus degrees for 28 days, including 10-straight days with temperatures reaching or exceeding 100 degrees.

The average daily high in Atlanta in August was 96.5 degrees, compared to a normal average of 87.9, and the average daily low was 75.2, compared to a normal average of 69.9.  New high-temperature records in Atlanta were set
on nine days last month.  The area experienced 25 consecutive days without rain, and year-to-date rainfall is at 20.90 inches, a deficit of 17.84 inches compared to average rainfall totals.

Plans for 2008
Although weather patterns may improve in future years, the PGA TOUR has reached an agreement with East Lake Golf Club to replace the bentgrass greens with Bermuda grass before the 2008 TOUR Championship.

"The atmosphere hasn't been quite the same."

/

Good news for the Commissioner: fewer people are talking about Phil's defection.

Bad news: because everyone is talking about the lousy attendance and lack of buzz at normally amped up Cog Hill.

Read Four-putt posted a few thoughts on this, while Steve Elling wrote that Chicagoans can be comforted by the fact that 2008 will likely see more star defections at all of the season ending playoff events.

Chicago was a fantastic musical, and the media types have been crowing and dancing in both unison and perfect harmony to express their outrage that a burgh with 10 million folks will be left holding the bag in two of the next three years.

Let's not have a Mrs. O'Leary-sized cow, OK?

As much critical fire as the FedEx Cup plan has drawn from fans and sponsors for failing to deliver on its implied promises to put Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els on the same stage over four consecutive weeks, the real issues are fast becoming apparent.

By next year, the fields from this season's inaugural FedEx run are going to feel like the stars were present in perfect attendance. The potential potholes for 2008 with regard to scheduling, barring an organizational miracle, make this year's foibles seem like minor nuisances.

While the 2008 schedule hasn't been formally released, based on its likely structure, top players will be asked to compete seven times in an eight-week span, culminating with the greatest cauldron of pressure in the game, the Ryder Cup. When it comes to finding excuses not to play next year, gentlemen, start your search engines.

Meanwhile, Tiger was asked about the crowds, after getting some hard hitting questions out of the way...

Q. Did you go home from Boston or did you come straight here?
TIGER WOODS: I came straight here.

Q. Did you wear that shirt last week?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah.

Q. When is the last time you wore a shirt twice?
TIGER WOODS: I wear it all the time, actually. I'm not that way.

Q. I know it sounds really gay, but I recognized it (laughter). It looks good.
TIGER WOODS: Thanks. I love it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Q. How were the crowds today?

TIGER WOODS: There were a few more people. Still, it's not the same as the Western, that's for sure. Granted, the weather was a little sketchy, so maybe they didn't come out because of that.

And I thought this was interesting. It seems Tiger thought so too:

Q. This is a public course, you obviously play really well here, and some of the other public courses you play really well. Is that a coincidence? Do you play well at these types of places? Do you feel at home? It's an odd question, but you grew up and cut your teeth on them.

TIGER WOODS: I certainly did not grow up on a country club, that's for sure. Yeah, public courses is where it was at. I grew up on a par-3 course, just with -- the longest hole was 150 yards I believe it was. Granted, I couldn't get there -- I used to hit driver, 7-iron when I first started playing it. That's what we did. The great thing with playing Southern Cal junior golf is you got a chance to play country clubs every now and then, and it was like the coolest thing in the world. Oh, my God, the greens are great here, that kind of thing.
I don't know, that's a good question.

Q. What was the par-3 course?

TIGER WOODS: Hartwell. It's in Long Beach.

Back to the sensitive subject at hand...

 Q. Do you see any difference in the tournament from last year to this year with the tournament having BMW as a sponsor?

TIGER WOODS: Well, the crowds haven't really come out this year so far. The atmosphere hasn't been quite the same. Granted, we moved the tee times up yesterday and then the bad weather today, so it's been kind of a double dip against the tournament. But hopefully this weekend people will come out and we'll get some great weather, and hopefully we can play some good golf and get everyone fired up.

Super Bowl Site Issues

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image_5810592.jpgBecause they don't have enough problems, the PGA Tour is facing potentially poor greens at East Lake, according to the AJC's Stan Awtrey. And it sounds like the members aren't wild about the Tour's hope of converting to the new Champion bermuda strain...

Finchem said plans had been made to resurface the greens, but the schedule didn't work out with the club. Such a change would require club to close for member play for three or four months.

"We are now again in discussions, we knew we would be anyway, even if it was a cool summer," Finchem said. "Going forward we've got to prepare for this to be the norm and deal with it, and we can."

Players and members shouldn't be afraid of the change, Cink said.

"When the course was redone, we didn't have this kind of bermuda," Cink said. "Now we've got lots of choices that are better tolerant to mold, that cut better. The day of the stigma against bermuda are in the past and members who think otherwise need to take a look at the facts."
Meanwhile, Tiger was asked today about East Lake and he said the darndest thing. I don't think I've ever heard him say this before about a course. 
Q. Can I get you to talk about East Lake as a venue, as a golf course? Do you like it? Do the sight lines fit you?

TIGER WOODS: Well, East Lake is a great golf course. It's right in front of you. The Bermuda rough can be tricky there. The weather can be very interesting there, and when we play the TOUR Championship there we can get some pretty cold days, but obviously not this year.
The greens are always perfect there, so if you drive the ball well there, you can shoot some pretty good scores.

It's right in front of you! We really do need to get him a new throwaway line.

Q. Have you heard anything about the greens there this year?

TIGER WOODS: No.

Q. They're supposed to not be very good.

TIGER WOODS: I haven't heard anything. With the heat? Oh, well.

"I think we're in our own cocoons sometimes and we don't get the information, but yet most of us don't seek it out"

/

I'm curious what you all think, but reading the transcripts from Wednesday at Cog Hill, I found myself again actually feeling slightly sorry for Tim Finchem. Granted, tough questions need to be asked of the Commissioner, but the press has passed on numerous occasions, so it seemed odd reading this interview only to see so many questions finally being asked long after they should have come up and at a time when it seems somewhat inappropriate.

Granted, the timing of this is somewhat understandable because Phil Mickelson made a spectacle Monday and the flaws in the FedEx Cup structure are showing. But after two pretty exciting events that brought a lot of good players together, I'm having a hard time understanding the sudden dismay at so many elements that were questionable a year ago when this concept was revealed.

More disturbing is this collective whining that is beginning to take place from players who apparently have forgotten that their predecessors drove without air conditioning between stops and played as many as two months in a row, and that there are thousands of aspiring players who would gladly have to deal with the burden of playing four weeks in a row for $7 million per and $35 million more in deferred compensation  But even that's fine, I can appreciate that they have different obligations today that help them pay for jet fuel and that you lose touch with reality at a certain income level.

No, the capper was this from Doug Ferguson's story on the player griping:

"Personally, I don't like it," mild-mannered Steve Stricker said. "It's a lot of golf in a short amount of time. I do like the end of the season that it's in the middle of September, where if you play well enough you don't have to chase for your card."

Now here's a guy who didn't have a place to play not that long ago and he's got a chance to win $10 million in deferred compensation and he doesn't like it?

Yes, the system is not perfect and yes the Tour pandered to its two biggest stars, but come on Steve.

This was interesting too, also from Ferguson's piece:

For as much as Els complained about the lack of communication, it's not clear who's responsible for the breakdown. Players rarely attend meetings or read the "green sheet," a weekly bulletin the tour leaves in their lockers and e-mails to them. At a mandatory players' meeting at the Wachovia Championship, more than half of them left early.

"I think we're in our own cocoons sometimes and we don't get the information, but yet most of us don't seek it out," Arron Oberholser said. "And I think to a certain extent, the PGA Tour does its best to get us the information."

"Q. Did you ever think you'd see the day where you would put up $63 million in prize money over four weeks and guys would be bitching about it?"

/

I'm curious about the circumstances surrounding Commissioner Tim Finchem's press gathering today. I suspect it was like last week's scrum where he simply appeared in the press center and the slingers moved in with their antiquated tape recorders.

Anyway, after talking about what a great American Phil is and how he won't divulge their conversations, Ernie Els' press conference came up and I think he did a nice job clarifying the deferred compensation question.

Q. Did you have a chance to read Ernie's comments today because he was pretty vocal and critical in his complaints that the Commissioner's office and the players are growing apart, and the players had next to no input on all of this.

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: No, somebody mentioned the no input question. I've heard that from two or three players. You know, I think if you go back and look over the last three years, the number of player meetings that have been called to discuss the details of the Cup, the number of PAC meetings that have been called, the amount of information that's been distributed to players, you know, in hindsight I feel comfortable that we did a good job in reaching out to players on the details.

Now, over the last six months, we've discovered that a lot of players, regardless of the amount of information that might have been discussed, didn't necessarily for whatever reason want to pay much attention to it. When we got to the Playoffs, the players were calling the office saying, how come I'm not an alternate. There's no alternates in the Playoffs, they didn't pay attention to that.

When a player comes to me, which I had one do in the last ten days, and say, well, wouldn't it be better if this cash wasn't in the form of an annuity, and I said, well, it's not an annuity. Well, it means that the TOUR puts up less money. No, that's not the case. If you win the Cup you have $10 million in your account. It's not an annuity that you buy something for a certain amount of money and it grows and you get $10 million a number of years from now. That's not what happens. It's $10 million that's earning interest tax-free.

When I hear a player say, well, the problem I have with the deferral is I don't see the money for 20 years. That's not the case. You earn the money and get the money right away in your account. You can spend it starting at 45 or when you retire, whichever is later.

So a lot of players just for whatever reason are focused on some of the details. I say a lot. Some players. I talk to a lot of other players that say, yeah, I knew that.

But the point is right now I think the important thing about the FedExCup and the Playoffs is, is it accomplishing what it was designed to accomplish, not whether we have little details in the structure of it that players didn't focus on or we need to look at going forward.And in my view, my strong view, it's accomplishing what it's set out to do, create a better end of the season, create some really powerful events in business markets around the country, get the best players playing, and most importantly, give the fans something that they can enjoy. I believe strongly that's happening over the first two weeks.

So I don't want to get off on worrying about these detail issues. I'm sure that when we get through with the Playoffs we'll have a complete opportunity for any player to have the opportunity which he may not have chosen to utilize over the last two and a half years to say wait a second, I didn't know this and I'm not so sure I agree with it.

As I was reading the transcript, I had a similar sentiment...

Q. Did you ever think you'd see the day where you would put up $63 million in prize money over four weeks and guys would be bitching about it?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: I don't think they're bitching about it. I wouldn't characterize it that way.

Q. Whining?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: We've got $28 million in cash and $35 million that's going to go into players' deferred accounts. I think that's -- our job is to take actions and make decisions that are in the best interests of the TOUR players generally and the fans, and I think that's what we've done in this case.

Can it be done differently? When you stand back and look at -- you guys are taking a couple comments here, and I understand that, but when you stand back and look at the import of what these comments are about, these, again, are not fundamental questions.

Well, I don't know about that.

Q. Referencing back to Els' comments, did the players actually have an up-down vote on this thing?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: We have a system.

That's a no!

The players get together and give us their comments with our directors present at multiple meetings. We have a Player Advisory Council, and we have a board of directors, just like any company. We call it the PGA TOUR Policy Board. I'm not going to get into the details here, I'm just going to say we worked reasonably hard, I think very hard, to reach out to players over an extended period of time. If something is far off in the distance, perhaps they don't get as focused about it.

If the policy board made decisions without fully understanding the detailed focus of the players, we should correct that. I think it's important to recognize on this question of deferred money, there's no benefit to the TOUR whichever way it goes. The money is either going into an account for a player and the interest is deferred, or it's going into his bank account and he goes and spends it now. That's the only difference. There is no benefit to the TOUR. There is no agenda as to why it's in the interest of the TOUR.

So when the TOUR directors made that decision, they did it on the basis of what they believed was in the overall best interest of the players.

Now, having said that, I would recommend that we do whatever the players basically want to do, within reason. If it's all cash, it's all cash. But what we heard was a lot of players saying that, look, why don't we take advantage of the vehicle, and that's what you would do and I would do and most people would do, but not everybody would do it. And a number of players feel differently for whatever reason. It doesn't matter, they're entitled to that view. There's no point in arguing. The merits are the merits. I think the board should, going forward, make decisions on the basis of what players feel.

And if what players feel about that issue was not properly measured, we should go out and measure it again, because candidly, I certainly don't care, nor does the TOUR care, it's just what's in the best -- from a fiduciary responsibility, we have a fiduciary responsibility to make decisions that are in the best financial interest of the player. So they made that decision and they made a decision to provide more options to the players because, just so you know, I don't know if I mentioned this, this is self-directed investments. The players determine the vehicles to which the funds will be invested to their benefit.

Measure=vote?

Q. Did you get a commitment from the high profile players, or at least an understanding from the high profile players, like Phil and Tiger, that they would play in all four events?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: No, I never asked for a commitment. I never ask for a player to tell me, if we schedule the Presidents Cup, will you play it. We go out and say, here's a tournament we're going to play, this BMW tournament with the Western Golf Association, it's got this date on it. Do you like moving in this direction? I don't ask a player to commit to me that he's going to play. It's just not the way we go about things.

"I just feel in certain ways we've kind of grown apart a little bit, especially the players and the Commissioner's office."

/

Ernie Els opened up to the Western BMW Championship press today and ignited a bit of a firestorm...

Q. It seems like the top players, three in a row is the max where they feel they can give everything mentally maybe more than physically. Do you think maybe scheduling four weeks in a row is just one too many?

ERNIE ELS: You know, as we said, when I announced all the changes at the end of last year, beginning of this year, everybody was like, what do you think, what do you think, and we all said, let's see how it all pans out. Nobody knows exactly how this thing is going to work. Let's see how it works out.

Obviously the way things have been going, I haven't realized really through the year, but since the U.S. Open we've had big events upon big events, right through until now. The guys that play Europe events like myself, we played the Scottish Open before the British Open, so there's another two weeks. And then you come over and then there's the Bridgestone, then the PGA. Then we had a week off, and then before now, and then we get a week off and then we play The Presidents Cup. Next year they have the Ryder Cup. I don't know what they're going to do next year.

As we said, nobody really knew how this thing was going to pan out, and obviously now with guys playing and making up all our excuses, but that's the way we feel. Otherwise we can't give it our best shot, so that's the way it is.
Making up excuses? Hmmm... 
Q. You're one of the star players out here. Did they consult with you before this thing went into effect as far as the schedule was going to be so bunched up, and what did you tell them at the time?

ERNIE ELS: That's a good question. Unfortunately, no, they did not express anything to the players. They asked those questions, but they didn't come out and say, okay, look, this is what we're going to do, what do you think. It was all about -- you know, it wasn't directly asked. And unfortunately, we are in this position now because they didn't either listen or they just went on with the decision, and this is where we are.

Ah...revenge!

Q. Would it work to just have a bye week, maybe have an off week right in the middle of the FedExCup?

ERNIE ELS: As I say, you know, I'm just throwing out a little -- throwing out a bone there. Two in a row, look at stuff that's happened this year and see if we can have a bit of a different way forward. You're putting the world golf players really under strain, guys like myself, guys like Tiger, guys like Phil, guys that play on the world stage because you really want to be up for the majors, and then after the majors are now, now you've got to be up for the FedEx. It's tough physically, mentally, on your family, business, everything, to keep yourself away from so-called real life for nine weeks almost. You know, it's difficult.

That's why you need a G5! Oh wait, you already have one right? Sorry. Continue...

Q. Sorry for the bizarre nature of this question, but if you seem at all lukewarm or not sure about the FedExCup thingy or what have you, and this isn't the only scheduling issue you've had with the TOUR in the last three or four years, why do you keep doing so many commercials for them?

ERNIE ELS: I think we like them. You almost have fun with them, and you kind of meet people. I think a lot of players do a lot for the TOUR. Let's face it, the TOUR does a lot for us, too. I just feel in certain ways we've kind of grown apart a little bit, especially the players and the Commissioner's office. We've grown apart from each other because of these big decisions that were made without the real knowledge of the players, you know?

The $10 million deal was a big deal. I don't think Tiger knew about it, Phil didn't know about it, I didn't know about it, a lot of people didn't know. When we heard about it, we thought, geez, that's unbelievable. It still is, but it's -- we're going to see that money hopefully 20, 25 years down the line.

Hopefully?

Q. When did you find out about it?

ERNIE ELS: Kind of when everybody found out about it, the first couple of weeks into the season.
You know, you still want to support the TOUR. We love what the TOUR has done for us, but we just need to get closer to the big decisions because then we won't get into problems down the line, you know? I know there's a board and there's another board. There's two boards. There's a players' board, which I don't think means much. They don't have any ballot. The ballot is all done behind closed doors. That's kind of where we're growing apart.