Van Sickle: It's a Cash Grab

Another bad review is in. Not surprisingly, SI's Gary Van Sickle isn't a fan of the new FedEx Cup "playoffs."

No doubt you've still got permanent goose bumps from last week's exciting disclosure about the PGA Tour's new would-be playoff system, the FedEx Cup, that culminates with a four-tournament showdown and a $10 million bonus to the winner.

And that's just the lead. 

This is the chance for Tiger Woods, who has won more than $58 million in PGA Tour winnings and was listed No. 5 on Forbes's annual rankings of celebrity earnings with an estimated annual income of $90 million, or Phil Mickelson, who has won more than $25 million on the course and at least that much off the course in endorsement deals, to scoop up another $10 million that they really, really need. It's a pure money grab in a sport in which money means little to the top players, who already have more than they can possibly spend. But if Tag Ridings and Tim Petrovic end up duking it out for the $10 million, it'll mean something to them.

The beauty of the idea, he wrote sarcastically, is that scoring a $10 million bonus is sure to improve a player's incentive to play more the following season and not be tempted to stay home more and scuba dive off his yacht or spend time with his family and, say, be a real person.

Van Sickle then goes on to lay out many previously undisclosed bonus points you won't want to miss.

Women's Open Final Notes

Dave Anderson writes about Annika moving into a new category of greatness with this win.

If some people fail to appreciate Sorenstam's mastery, Woods apparently is not among them. "He's been calling me every day and cheering me on, which has been really sweet of him," Sorenstam said after defeating Pat Hurst by four strokes with a one-under-par 70 in yesterday's 18-hole playoff at the sunny and virtually windless Newport Country Club. "I think he has been on vacation, and for him to tune into women's golf I think says a lot."

Yeah, a lot about the PGA Tour.

Meanwhile this AP notes column has two fun anecdotes about Pat Hurst having trouble finding a place to eat Sunday night and a question she asked Annika during the playoff.

Mark Your Calendars: Chicken Soup For The Women Golfer's Soul Coming In 07!

Ah, the benefits of a GWAA membership...

Chicken Soup for the Soul is heading back out to the golf course and this time it’s all about women's golf!

Today's LPGA stars are building on the solid foundation made by the game's female pioneers.  It is the most exciting time for women's golf in the history of the game and we want you to be a part of it.

Chicken Soup for the Women Golfer's Soul is set to tee off in early 2007 and we want to solicit every GWAA member for your best female theme golf stories.  Here is a look at the chapters we are considering:

It's Our Time! Theme:  The changing face of women's golf

 I think that's where they'll put my ode to Carolyn Bivens.

More than a Game Theme:  Self revelation and insight

Gosh, I have so many in the portfolio to submit for that chapter.

A Game for All Generations  Theme:  Friends and Family and Life Partners

Oh okay, I added the Life Partners part to see if you were reading.

Golf is a Beautiful Walk  Theme:  Inspiration

Unforgettable Moments   Theme:  The game's ability to be a vehicle for transcendence

Joy and Sorrow   Theme:  Golf causes us to experience a full range of emotions

Tomorrow's Tee Time  Theme: Golf is a game of constant renewal, learning and unending optimism

Oh that just screams me. Or Dan Jenkins. Frank Hannigan, I know you have material for that chapter!

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen will be joined by Jeff Aubery, coauthor of multiple Chicken Soup books, including Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul, a 2nd Round.  Jeff has literally grown up in the game of golf.  Completing the foursome will be Matthew Adams.  Matthew is also a coauthor of multiple Chicken Soup books including Chicken Soup for the Soul of America and Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul.  Matthew is a twenty-year veteran of the golf industry and a regular on The Golf Channel in addition to being the author of Fairways of Life, Wisdom and Inspiration from the Greatest Game.

We’re looking for inspirational, true stories, 1000 words or less that will touch the souls of our readers and make them laugh, cry, sigh or just say, “Wow!”  Stories should be positive, hopeful, universal, and non-controversial. The  “point” or “message” should be evident without preaching. No essays, eulogies, commentaries, tributes, sermons, philosophical or biographical pieces will be accepted.

What about Hootie Johnson's letter to Martha Burk? Oh okay...just a thought.

Here's where we learn how the Chicken Soup authors make their money...

You may submit more than one story.  For each story selected in the book, a 50-word biography will be included about the author and a permission fee of $200 will be paid. The submission deadline is June 30, 2006.  Providing you own the copyright to your work, previously published work is Okay.

Gee, so big of them. A whopping $200 and a 50 word biography!

Please submit your story through the Chicken Soup for the Soul website at www.chickensoup.com.  Please be sure to select the correct book title. 

Yes, we wouldn't want your award-winning piece on Meg Mallon to end up in the highly anticipated 9th Serving of Chicken Soup For The Soul.

Due to the volume of stories we receive, we are unable to respond to each contribution. Finalist, only, will be notified prior to publication. Thank you for being apart of what will surely be the most important book for women's golf ever published!

Until I put the finishing touches on my own book of heartwarming essays, Inspirational Stories from The Forward Tees, featuring a Foreword by Linda Hartough and an Afterword by Carolyn Bivens.

MacDuff's Post Hartford FedEx Cup Standings

Even as the Tour follows 2006 with its newly announced point structure, running clock (181 days to go!) and silly 144 cut-off number to qualify for the "playoffs," we can still imagine what a points system handing out points equally would look like thanks to MacDuff. More importantly, we can picture how this would play out if the cut off was at 70 or even 100 players. Well, okay, it would still be boring, but at least the season might have some meaning.

_{^{1    Mickelson    22459        14
2    Singh    20134.37        15
3    Furyk    19587.5        13
4    Gf. Ogilvy    18487.5        12
5    Pettersson    16658.33        15
6    Toms    16196.87        11
7    Weir    16021.87        13
8    Van Pelt    15940        17
9    Glover    15879.16        12
10    C.Campbell    15587.5        13
11    Pernice    15525        12
12    Cink    15421.33        13
13    Donald    15189.37        10
14    B. Quigley    15075        12
15    Appleby    14987.5        12
16    Oberholser    14637.5        13
17    Pampling    14622.5        13
18    Immelman    14612.5        11
19    A.Scott    14575        10
20    Bohn    14238.33        14
21    Z.Johnson    14212.5        12
22    Funk    14025        15
23    Olazabal    13862.5        10
24    Sabbatini    13754.16        12
25    Gay    13400        13
26    Mayfair    13291.66        14
27    Verplank    13175        11
28    Goosen    12937.5        10
29    Vn Taylor    12525        11
30    Senden    12475        11
31    Harrington    12450        10
32    Purdy    12375        12
33    T.Clark    12285        12
34    Choi    12212.5        12
35    Jerry Kelly    11687.5        10
36    Imada    11667.5        13
37    JJ Henry    11662.5        10
38    Crane    11585        12
39    Watney    11510.71        12
40    Villegas    11475        12
41    Love III    11412.5        11
42    Herron    11222.5        11
43    Els    11140        11
44    D.Wilson    11112.5        12
45    Lehman    11075        11
46    Warren    11050        11
47    Hoffman    10987.5        12
48    Ames    10862.5        8
49    J.Ogilvie    10830.71        11
50    Leonard    10820.83        12
51    Parnevik    10767.5        12
52    Sluman    10762.5        14
53    T.Woods    10659.37        6
54    Flesch    10655.71        15
55    Chopra    10567        12
56    S. Maruyama    10550        11
57    Allenby    10350        9
58    RS Johnson    10305        10
59    N.Green    10265        12
60    Bryant    10257        10
61    Wetterich    10175        8
62    Austin    10150        14
63    Poulter    10062.5        10
64    Curtis    9762.5        12
65    Stricker    9725        7
66    Branshaw    9662.5        10
67    D. Howell    9587.5        8
68    F.Jacobson    9587.5        9
69    Palmer    9466.66        11
70    Lonard    9273.21        11
71    Howell III    9187.5        14
72    Garcia    9112.5        8
73    Waldorf    9087.5        11
74    Rose    9041.66        11
75    JB Holmes    8945.83        9
76    Jobe    8905        10
77    Estes    8837.5        9
78    Maggert    8812.5        9
79    Bertsch    8793.75        12
80    Slocum    8737.5        11
81    Hart    8680        9
82    G. Owen    8662.5        9
83    Barlow    8612.5        11
84    Azinger    8562.5        11
85    Rollins    8537.5        9
86    Andrade    8482.5        10
87    Couples    8437.5        10
88    Baird    8242.5        8
89    Pavin    8200        8
90    Br.Davis    8192.5        10
91    Mahan    8187.5        12
92    Gove    8175        8
93    Beem    8168.75        10
94    Micheel    8162.5        9
95    Franco    8112.5        9
96    Sutherland    8050        10
97    DiMarco    7959.37        9
98    Gronberg    7937.5        9
99    Kenny Perry    7925        10
100    Sean O'Hair    7912        10
101    Olin Browne    7812.5        13
102    J.Smith    7775        9
103    Sindelar    7787.5        12
104    Cook    7700        8
105    Lowery    7700        10
106    Kaye    7650        10
107    Geiberger    7393.75        10
108    Calcavecchia    7367.5        13
109    Fischer    7325        10
110    Triplett    7175        8
111    Faxon    7125        10
112    O'Hern    7100        5
113    Langer    7079.16        9
114    Lickliter II    7050        9
115    Bjornstad    7005        9
116    Baddeley    6962.5        8
117    JL Lewis    6937.5        11
118    J.Byrd    6862.5        5
119    Bub Watson    6850        7
120    Goggin    6675.25        6
121    Barron    6606.25        9
122    Armour III    6425        8
123    M.Wilson    6415        7
124    Pat Perez    6262.5        7
125    Dickerson    6175        9
126    Cabrera    6162.5        6
127    B. Haas    6050        8
128    Allen    6050        9
129    Durant    6031.25        12
130    Gamez    5937.5        9
131    Overton    5862.5        10
132    Leaney    5712.5        7
133    Atwal    5650        6
134    Gore    5525        6
135    David Duval    5525        7
136    Ws Short Jr    5462.5        11
137    Frazar    5375        8
138    D.Clarke    5275        5
139    Matteson    5225        9
140    Westwood    5187.5        5
141    Petrovic    5187.5        8
142    S.Jones    4980        9
143    Kendall    4923.21        6
144    K. Cox    4887.5        5}}

Where Was Johnny?

Johnny Miller was noticeably absent from Monday's U.S. Women's Open playoff coverage.

Now, I know it probably has to do with some contractual nonsense about only appearing on the network. But it was much nicer with Dottie Pepper, and without his references to the "sprinkler system" or that beautiful lush green grass in the Newport fairways.

Still, I have to wonder, was Johnny...

A) At Newport begging Dick Ebersol to let him out of his contract so that he could work the playoff?

B) Doing a previously scheduled Monday outing making some extra cast to offset his low NBC wages?

B) At Prairie Dunes advance scouting Dave Axland and Stan George's recent bunker work?

C) At Golf Digest headquarters in Wilton working with Guy Yocom on his September column?

D) In a Town Car en route to Logan to catch a flight home to California?

Yep, the answer is probably (D).

Mid-Season Review

In anticipation of this week's Western Open, Ed Sherman reviews the first half of 2006.

Hartford Attendance

Jeff Jacobs in the Harford Courant:

This used to be the annual state fair, and it can be again.

There were an estimated 305,000 for four days as late as 2002. In 1994, there were 322,000, and the following year 300,000. It always was more than 200,000.

In 2004, it had dropped to a four-day total of 150,000. Last year, it was 80,000.

Tournament officials don't release attendance figures until the end of the event these days, but before the numbers come out, here's the unofficial first-round count for Thursday.

Dismal.

The attendance was much better on Saturday, definite sparks of glory, a harbinger of good things, but still not like in past years. We've seen 80,000, 90,000, 100,000 for a single weekend round. They couldn't have all been freebies. Those are mind-boggling numbers matched only by the tournament in Phoenix, which, incidentally, is the only place where Henry previously has played in the final group on a Sunday.

Even Paula Creamer Would Just Say No...

In Sunday Styles of The New York Times, Guy Trebay looks at the frightening stuff in men's fall Spring 2007 fashion. I normally would not have noticed the story, but with the photo (left) that accompanied this front pager, how could one not feel pain for our beloved game?

Thankfully, Trebay is not endorsing this look for golf or any other well-lit locale when including it with his "just say no" outfits:

Say no to seersucker swallowtail coats for the beach (Etro); to pastel golf wear seemingly designed for caddies with a sideline in a soft-core porn (Missoni). 

Take that Marty Hackel!

Note how much fun the model appears to be having wearing this ensemble! 

U.S. Women's Open Playoff...

In case you were wondering, play starts at 9 a.m. and will be carried on ESPN.

144=Quest For The Card Demise?

On the comments thread following Commissioner Finchem's teleconference last week, reader Chuck wrote:

...allowing 144 players in the playoff is an admission that there will not be a 'fall finish' or a 'quest for the card', as was originally planned. Guess they can't get any sponsors...

Though they do have a few California events lined up, is Chuck right?

Are the 144 player fields in the "playoffs" a sign that the post-playoff events have little future?

Or are the 144 player fields genuinely a result of the Tour's desire to make it possible for anyone to win "the Cup?"

Either way, I just can't figure out what the purpose of the season points race is when 144 players make these playoffs, with the meaning of the season points diluted?

Thoughts? 

Booz Allen Stories

Obviously I'm still catching up, but there are a few things worth noting in the SI and Golf World game stories covering the Booz Allen's demise. Though neither story questions what would actually require $25 million to redo Avenel (copper irrigation piping?), the handling of Booz's Ralph Shrader was laid out in detail by Gary Van Sickle.

While being wooed by the Tour, Shrader was shown what he calls "exciting" plans for an imminent $25 million renovation of Avenel. The tournament would have to be moved for a year during construction, and favors were called in so that in 2005 the Booz Allen could be played at nearby Congressional Country Club, which has hosted two U.S. Opens. Last year's Classic, played the week before the Open and won by García, was a huge success, but in the meantime not a teaspoon of dirt was turned at Avenel. Finchem blamed delays in getting the needed permits due to Avenel's environmentally sensitive wetland areas, an inexcusable planning lapse if true.

Shrader was equally frustrated in his quest for a preferred date. Shrader wanted the week before the U.S. Open every year, if possible. "One thing we learned in 2004 was that the week after the Open doesn't work here," he says. "Washington is one of those towns where, once the kids are out of school, everybody goes somewhere else and this place shuts down. The Tour said, 'Hey, get in line. A lot of people want to play that [pre-Open] week.'"

But six months before the '05 Classic, Shrader says he got a letter from Finchem. According to Shrader, "[Finchem] said, 'We haven't finalized the schedule, but I'm confident in assuring you that you can have your tournament before the Open three out of four years. Two of those years would be the week before the Open, the third year would probably be another date sometime before the Open, but the fourth year would have to be the week after. We are well aware of your concerns, and we are going forward with our plans for the course.'"

Shrader says he had several conversations with the Tour in succeeding weeks and met with Tour execs during the Presidents Cup in September. Another session was scheduled for two weeks later but was canceled by the Tour. Shrader says he received a subsequent letter from the Tour saying, "Give us another 30 days." Says Shrader, "The next conversation I had was on a Friday morning in January when [Finchem] called two hours before the FedEx Cup and the 2007 schedule was announced. He said, 'We've decided to move your tournament to the fall.' I was surprised, obviously. It was totally different than anything I'd been presented."

And Jim Moriarty writes in Golf World:

In a telephone interview, commissioner Tim Finchem said the tour never contemplated making any changes to Avenel until 2006, yet Shrader secured Congressional as the venue for the highly successful 2005 event held the week before the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. While both sides acknowledge that permit problems have delayed work on Avenel, Funk, for one, wondered, "When we're spending however much money we're spending down at TPC [at] Sawgrass, doing a huge renovation there, do we have the funds to do a huge renovation here as well?"

Enter the FedEx Cup. Lo and behold, when FedEx agreed to ante up $40 million to be the title sponsor of the tour's new year-ending points race, the tournament FedEx used to sponsor in Memphis just happened to get the date the week before the U.S. Open coveted by Booz Allen. With the Players Championship moving to May, "It's just one of those situations where we had too much water to put in the glass," said Finchem. Good for Memphis, not so good for D.C.

Travel Golf Podcast

Yours truly appeared on Travel Golf's podcast with Dave Berner to talk about the old architects and plug Lines of Charm in the process. Here's a breakdown of other topics on the show.

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Week 26

The PGA Tour driving distance average dropped to 288.2 yards following the Buick in Connecticut, down from 288.3 after the Booz Allen.

There were 4 350-or-longer drives, bringing the season total to 969.

Mechem Stepping Down From LPGA Board

This may be old news, but I don't remember seeing it in Golf World or online anywhere. Sports Business Journal's Scott Hamilton reports that former LPGA Commish Charlie Mechem is stepping down from the LPGA Board at the end of the year.

The LPGA will have another management hole to fill at the end of the year. Former LPGA Commissioner CHARLIE MECHEM’s second term on the tour’s BOD expires at the end of this year and he will step aside. Seven top executives have resigned since CAROLYN BIVENS took over as commissioner last September, including three last week (two of whom were recently hired by Bivens). There has been no change on the BOD. Mechem would not comment on the turnover and other LPGA matters, saying, “It’s really up to the chairman of the board and the commissioner to speak for the tour, not for me.” Board members are limited to three, three-year terms, meaning Mechem could have kept his position through ’09. “It’s time,” said Mechem, who was LPGA chief from 91-95. “I’ll be 76-and-a-half years old then. There’s a time when people ought to think of turning it over to younger people. I’ll remain involved, but there comes an appropriate time for others to move in.”

Thanks LPGA Fan for the tip.

Lorne On Links

Lorne Rubenstein shares a few thoughts on Hoylake and also writes about some favorite links holes in Canada.

Update on 2006-07-03 02:20 by Geoff

For some reason when I copy a link from the Globe it reverts to the premium subscribers nonsense that won't let you read the story.

So in the future, FYI, if you want to read Lorne's latest, just search his stories on Google Canada. I'll include a reminder too.