"As golf enters its own Moneyball Era, every number counts..."

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It's been a longtime coming, but the Moneyball mentality has finally come to golf, reports Tim Rosaforte in this week's Golf World.

Most notably, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson are attributing some of their recent success to more numbers crunching by outside sources, and it's not all ShotLink stats helping the players prepare. Snedeker won't reveal much other than the role Mark Horton has played.

"The lines [between a good and great season] are so thin, so I'm trying to find any edge I can get," Snedeker said. "Mark's done a great job for me of understanding who I am as a golfer. We, as professional golfers, have a tendency of thinking we're strong in particular areas, and that may not be the case at all. He does a great job of identifying what I need to work on, what my strengths are so I play to those, and what my weaknesses are, so I can play away from them."

At East Lake a year ago, Horton worked his computer in the clubhouse, and Snedeker executed a game plan that resulted in a sweep of the final playoff event and the FedEx Cup title for an $11.44 million payday. At the end of the year, Snedeker said Horton was the difference for him in jumping from 38th to ninth on the World Ranking.

Johnson was less secretive about his work with Peter Sanders, whose Shot By Shot website is part of the numbers crunching process.

Sanders, who works out of his house in Connecticut, contends that ShotLink stats are "myopic" and "one-dimensional answers to multi-dimensional questions." The blunt comments point to the theory that identifying tangible areas of improvement that can truly help improve scoring comes from a more focused exploration of the data.

Finchem: "I can't find too much wrong in what we're doing."

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Commissioner Vader appeared on Morning Drive for da full hour and if you like an arrogant, dismissive and a steady monotone, this was television gold!

As usual, the Commish put out all of the fires of the current tour, of which there are many created by the thirst to fill every week on the calendar with PGA Tour golf. (Kudos to Williams, Hack and even Finchem fishing buddy Rolfing for picking sensitive topics).

A few quotes to remember from Finchem.

On players skipping playoff events: "I don't see it developing as some kind of trend."

He did concede that the FedExCup points have "too much volatility" but summed up the current state of the tour by saying, "I can't find too much wrong in what we're doing."

Gary Williams left the interview (AFTRA rules forbid listening to Commissionerspeak for an hour straight) and Finchem fishing buddy Mark Rolfing took his place, and the topic of rules came up. Unfortunately, the one really bizarre moment was not part of the Golf Channel uploads posted below.

In a nutshell: when the topic of Tiger's ridiculous final round drop at The Players came up, Finchem revealed his axe to grind with Johnny Miller for basing his analysis on Mark Rolfing's initial reaction and the blimp shot, whereas Finchem took the evidence in and as he said this morning, declared to himself, " no problem here."

How anyone could watch that situation play out and not even concede it looked bad, is pretty disturbing.

Anyway, Finchem's rambling answer on simplifying the rules where he essentially says the PGA Tour has no desire to get into the rules business and that the Rules of Golf, as written, are "not that far off now."

On fan rulings he tries to explain why they aren't the end of the world, but doesn't go so far to say that getting rid of phone-in help would create the perception of cheating or incompetance.

Senator Introduces Legislation To Deny Tax-Exempt Status To Non-Profits With Revenues Greater Than $10 Million

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Rick Cohen of The Hill reports on Senator Tom Coburn's legislation that would deny tax-exempt status for "professional sports leagues with revenues greater than $10 million."

The bill has not been posted but you can read the Senator's talking points here which include a misspelling of Commissioner Finchem's name.

Ryan Ballengee broke down the talking points and noted this:

In his talking points, Coburn also suggests PGA Tour executives and its players — labeled “independent contractors” — make way more through the 501(c)6 structure than other trade organizations. For example, PGA Tour players and sponsors have raked in millions while taxpayers effectively subsidized the tour’s operations. In 2010, the tour paid its (sic) five of its most successful golfers a combined $37.4 million. That same year, sponsors — who pay to have their brands advertised at tournaments and on television broadcasts — received $44 million of the tour’s $1.4 billion revenue (sic). Tim Fincehm, PGA Tour’s commissioner, received a handsome sum of $3.7 million in 2010 from the nonprofit PGA Tour itself and $1.5 million from its related organizations.

Wait until the Senator sees Finchem's 2011 pay and the other executive compensation.

A New Low: The FedExCup Rap

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The word pathetic comes to mind annually when watching the PGA Tour attempt to make FedEx feel like they are getting their $50 million or so dollars for sponsoring the lamest "playoff" in sports, but rarely are the attempts in any way awkward, brutally annoying or disturbing in the amount of man hours so clearly devoted to the cause.

Until now.

Alex Myers posted the video of the agonizing "FedExCup Rap" put together by the PGA Tour, perhaps in conjunction with NBC because I do think I remember waking from one of my Tour Championship naps to the frightening image of Charl Schwartzel attempting to be cool, then turning the channel.

If you want to feel the agony of the entire sad spectacle, Ryan Ballengee has transcribed the lyrics.

FedEx this baby down to Guantanmo. Priority Overnight!

WSJ On Tour Wives: "They are, as a rule, uncommonly pretty, but mostly under the radar."

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John Paul Newport hangs out with tour wives and provides a nice picture of the behind-the-scenes life.

He also tells us about a few wives who are multi-talented and play a role in their husbands' job.

Like many of the wives I talked to, Diane Donald can't believe she's married to a sports star, much less that she doesn't have a career of her own. She grew up in Chicago, the daughter of a working mother. "I was in day care from 3 months old, that's how much of a career woman my mom was," she said. She got a journalism degree at Northwestern (where she met Luke). After graduating she started in a job that paid $25,000. "That was for an entire year," she said. "That's less than Luke was making in a bad week." Especially once the kids came, it made no sense for her to continue.

Unlike athletes in team sports, pro golfers are independent contractors, so wives are key parts of the family business. A handful are involved directly with the golf side of things. Patrick Reed's wife, Nicki, was on the bag last month when he won his first Tour event, at the Wyndham.

Billy Horschel's wife, Brittany, serves as a kind a traveling coach. She played golf at the University of Florida (as did Billy) but had to abandon her own pro dreams after a series of wrist surgeries. She sits in on Billy's lessons with instructor Todd Anderson and helps during tournaments to keep Billy on plan. She has a sports-management degree from Florida.

"All the wives help manage their husbands in one way or another," she told me.

Medinah No. 1 A Possible BMW Championship Host Some Day?

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Teddy Greenstein says Conway Farms was a big hit and is likely to host again in 2015 after Cherry Hills hosts the BMW next year--assuming Colorado hasn't washed away by then.

But a couple of intriguing venue names have come up for the long term, including the newly renovated Medinah No. 1 that sports a camel bunker in Tom Doak's first ever homage to the later work of Desmond Muirhead.

Beyond 2015, the tour and Western Golf Association will consider other Chicago venues, though few present a rigorous enough challenge, can handle 40,000 spectators and have an open membership policy.

A new option that Kaczkowski called "intriguing" will open for play next summer, when the renovation of Medinah No. 1 is completed at a cost of $6.4 million.

Architect Tom Doak, who designed such celebrated courses as Lost Dunes, Pacific Dunes and Ballyneal, is vying to give Medinah's members a worthy partner to the famed No. 3 course, which hosted the 2012 Ryder Cup.

The par-71 layout will be roughly 6,900 yards with deep-faced bunkers and a par-3 finish. If it lands an event of the BMW Championship's caliber, length could be added and the nines could be flipped to create a 600-yard finishing hole.

"Any time you are talking about a championship opportunity, our membership has demonstrated excitement," said Medinah official Mike Crance. "We will see how it plays out."

Calendar-Year PGA Tour Schedule Hits; Masters Is Week 23!

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Bob Harig breaks down the 2013-24 PGA Tour schedule which starts next month. I wasn't on Twitter much but judging what I read and the emails that came in, the absurdity of a year-round schedule finally hit home when the Masters turned up as event No. 23 and the prospect of a new season starting after the last one ends finally hit home.

But hey, no cent must be left on the table. Commissioner Blankfein's pay package needs to reach eight figures!

Oh and this will be fun next year when stars skip the playoffs...

• Unlike this year, the FedEx Cup playoffs will be contested over four consecutive weeks, with no break. That is in deference to the Ryder Cup, which will be played in Scotland. The PGA of America requested from the PGA Tour a week break prior to the biennial competition, meaning the Tour Championship in Atlanta will be contested Sept. 11-14, 2014. The Ryder Cup is two weeks later.

Today In PGA Tour Sponsorship News...Tampa, Maui Editions

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Nice Friday afternoon news from the PGA Tour if you like the Tampa and Kapalua stops.

First, Tampa:

Valspar Commits to Four-Year Title Sponsorship of
PGA TOUR Event in Tampa Bay and is Named 
“Official Paint Supplier” of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour

Valspar Championship to be Played in March at Innisbrook Resort;
 BB&T Named Local Presenting Sponsor

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., and MINNEAPOLIS (September 6, 2013) – The Valspar Corporation (NYSE: VAL), a global leader in the paint and coatings industry, and the PGA TOUR today announced a four-year agreement for Valspar to become the title sponsor of the Tampa Bay area’s professional golf tournament on the PGA TOUR.

Named the Valspar Championship, the tournament will be contested March 13-16, 2014 on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla. The Valspar Championship will be the third of four straight tournament weeks in Florida.

In addition to the sponsorship, Valspar will join the PGA TOUR’s Official Marketing Partner program and receive the exclusive designation as “Official Paint Supplier of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour.”

And Maui...

Hyundai Renews Title Sponsorship of Tournament of Champions

Two-year deal carries through the 2014-2015 PGA TOUR season

COSTA MESA, CA, and PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL (September 6, 2013) – The PGA TOUR and Hyundai Motor America announced today a two-year extension of Hyundai’s title sponsorship of the exclusive field Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, through the 2014-2015 season.

The upcoming Hyundai Tournament of Champions will be held January 3-6 at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Maui, and will mark the PGA TOUR’s resumption in January following a 1½-month break of the 2013-2014 tournament schedule.

“We are very pleased to have Hyundai continue as title sponsor of the Tournament of Champions, which has played a distinctive role on the PGA TOUR for more than 60 years by inviting only tournament winners from the previous year,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Hyundai has been very active in promoting the tournament and using it to broaden awareness of its brand and products. We look forward to continuing to work with Hyundai over these next two years to meet its objectives as title sponsor.”    

“The Hyundai Tournament of Champions is an ideal platform to share Hyundai’s premium lineup with golf fans around the world,” said Steve Shannon, vice president, Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “The tournament has continued to grow the past three years with ratings up more than 75 percent in 2013. Not surprisingly, the ratings increase and our involvement with the PGA TOUR has coincided with market share growth of our premium vehicles, Genesis and the flagship Equus. This tournament is a great fit for our brand.”

In addition to Hyundai’s sponsorship, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) continues its relationship with the tournament, under terms of a 10-year agreement that began in 2010. Serving as the tournament’s title sponsor that first year, SBS had the opportunity to bring Hyundai in as title sponsor in 2011, at which time the tournament’s original “Tournament of Champions” name was reintroduced to highlight the exclusive nature of its field. Originally introduced as the Tournament of Champions in 1953, the limited-field event maintained the “T of C” identity in its title until 1994.

A broadcasting partner of the PGA TOUR for nearly 20 years, SBS also will continue to televise PGA TOUR tournaments in Korea through 2019.

Commish Welcomes FOX Sports & Their "Work In Progress" Coverage; Just Loves The European Tour

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Doug Ferguson reports that PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem welcomes the USGA bringing Fox Sports into the golf world because (A) they will now be forced to show and pay for golf highlights on their nightly new shows that no one watches, and (B) they will make CBS and NBC look super while stumbling through the inevitable hiccups that come with trying to launch a full golf telecast operation.

Finchem did not say if the tour was concerned about Fox's ability to handle golf because it had never televised the sport. Miller was particularly critical, saying that "you can't just fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open."

"It's going to be a work in progress," Finchem said. "They've got to build a capability there, working with the USGA, and I'm sure they will. They're professionals. They do an excellent job in producing the other sports that they have. I'm sure they'll get the talent together to do a good job for the USGA, but it will be interesting to see what happens when that lines out. When they get certain people in certain positions, we'll find out."

Now, as a connoisseur of Finchemspeak, anything but a resoundingly positive statement means that when he learned of the announcement, he turned to Ty and mumbled, "what are they smoking back there in Far Hills?"

Finchem's comments Wednesday about the European Tour were much more interesting. It's becoming clear the PGA Tour would like to be in business or partnership with the struggling circuit and why not?

Jason Sobel reports on the cryptic language from the Commish, which included lots of praise, speculation, platform references, and this:

“You just don't do something and turnaround and do something else. So I think the timeframe is fine. And there's nothing urgent about any of this. I think professional golf has made a lot of strides in the last five years, not just here, but around the globe, and continues to do so. And if there's a way we can do it better together then that's good.

“But if it's 10 years or 15 years, I think we're still headed in the right direction. So I don't feel like this is a situation where we have to fix anything. Things are moving very well.”

Right!

Playoff "Vernacular" & Logo Change...Again!

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Disappointingly, the Reset Cup has not become the preferred description of the algorithm infused, two-points reset system best known as the FedExCup Playoffs, until next year when the vernacular changes again.

For Immediate Something:

NEW LOGO FOR THE FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS
 
The seventh year of the FedExCup Playoffs kicks off this week at The Barclays, featuring the top 125 players in the 2013 FedExCup standings.
 
For your use, we have attached the new logo, "FedExCup Playoffs," that replaces the previous version, "PGA TOUR Playoffs." We would greatly appreciate any  references going forward to be the "FedExCup Playoffs" and use of the new logo as well.
 
Additional changes to PGA TOUR vernacular are as follows:
 
·        The Playoffs officially become the FedExCup Playoffs (with new logo).
·        There should be no more reference to the Regular Season.

What about lower case regular season?

·        The 2013 PGA TOUR Season concludes October 6 at The Presidents Cup.  The 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season begins October 7 at the Frys.com Open.
·        Reference to a specific tournament will still be by the calendar year in which it is played.
·        There no longer will be a “Fall Series” on the PGA TOUR; those should be referred to as “season-opening events.”
·        The final four events on the Web.com Tour are the Web.com Tour Finals, ending with the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass (Dye's Valley course).

Finchem Shoots Down Euro Tour Takeover Story

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Doug Ferguson talks to PGA Tour Commish Tim Finchem about two British newspaper reports of a bid to take over the European Tour and the richest redhead in golf says, not true. Well, not entirely.

Finchem said three years ago that men's professional golf might one day have a world tour, though he did not say how that would take shape or when. He says the International Federation of PGA Tours has worked together to create the World Golf Championships and to help get golf back into the Olympics.

He says the tours continue to explore "collaborative efforts."

Euro Tour COO: PGA Tour Bidding To Buy Us "Incorrect"

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BBC's Iain Carter quotes European Tour COO Keith Waters responding to newspaper reports that the PGA Tour was launching some sort of bid/hostile takeover of the European Tour.