Update: Reset Cup As A Stroke Play

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Believe it or not, Doug Ferguson has filed yet another rave review for the FedExCup and it includes a nice mention of all the fawning (well, rear-end-kissing) texts Tim Finchem received for the BMW Championship leaderboard (any follow-up texts today congratulating him on a 2.5 rating that would indeed edge out a poker championship on ESPN).

Thankfully, Randall Mell points out this year's ridiculous oddity and the overall awkward nature of the cup: Louis Oosthuizen can finish second this week and win the Reset Cup without winning any playoff tournaments.

Now, in an alternate universe where the bar is a bit higher than merely celebrating a gathering of stars no matter how silly the competition, we look for ways to actually make this competition appealing to a wider audience.

Gary Van Sickle's suggestion for an aggregate FedExCup continues to appeal despite one (not deadly) flaw: season-long points don't mean much besides getting you in the playoffs. However, the issue of trying to reward good play during the regular season could be remedied and that's not important right now. (It's easy to visualize a stroke-based system that rewards the top players and penalizes the bottom feeders.)

Seeing as how we are through three playoff stages with only the Tour Championship at East Lake next week, Jim McCabe updates us on the leaderboard for those who have played all three playoff events (Dufner and Garcia therefore are DQ'd).

Here are the top 10 (McCabe lists more and has more plus some other good playoff notes worth checking out):

    •    Rory McIlroy, 41 under
    •    Dustin Johnson, 36 under
    •    Tiger Woods, 34 under
    •    Louis Oosthuizen, 34 under
    •    Phil Mickelson, 31 under
    •    Lee Westwood, 31 under
    •    Brandt Snedeker, 25 under
    •    Ryan Moore, 24 under
    •    Adam Scott, 24 under
    •    Nick Watney, 19 under

How would this not be a more interesting race to follow at East Lake along with the Tour Championship itself? Two tournaments going at once and every fan can understand scores to par. And as Van Sickle has proposed, perhaps a five-stroke credit for winning a playoff event to, gulp, incentivize the boys.

More important, would this be fan friendly?

When the PGA Tour's dynamic video scoreboards take a break from showing ads or telling us who the host professional is, they could easily tell us where the tournament and FedExCup stand. Right? And wouldn't the entire affair have more credibility with fans if they could actually understand what is going on? Or is the fan that low on the list of the insulated world of the PGA Tour that they simply do not care about that aspect of the Reset Cup?

Two More Reads On Rory's Dilemma

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Ron Sirak puts Rory's "cultural identity" issue into perspective by comparing it to other athletics-meets-politics situations.

There are precious few athletes who have been able to link principle -- their private self -- with their profession  their public self. Jackie Robinson was thrust into it when he was selected to integrate baseball in 1947. Muhammad Ali chose it when he opposed the war in Vietnam War in the 1960s and was blacklisted from professional boxing for nearly four years.

Michael Jordan -- who famously refused to back a Democrat for governor of North Carolina in 1990 by saying "Republicans buy shoes, too," -- and Tiger Woods have chosen to keep their personal opinions far removed from their public self.

Eamon Lynch offers this take as a fellow Northern Irishman, suggesting he marry Caroline and play for Denmark in 2016.

Rory McIlroy and I grew up about 50 miles and 17 years apart, but the similarities between us really end with our Northern Irish provenance. He probably doesn't remember much at all of our country's violent conflict, whereas it was the defining event in my formative years. His inclination seems to be to accommodate differing faiths, mine is opposition to all. He loves Caroline Wozniacki, I think her brother is kind of cute. He can hit a towering 5-iron… well, you get the picture.

But perhaps there is one thing we both understand, though McIlroy can't ever say so publicly. The island of Ireland -- Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland -- has spent much of the past 200 years exporting three things: Guinness, its people and cheap nationalism. Guinness has ruined many an Irish sportsman, but it is the latter that causes most headaches for McIlroy.

Consolation: Berman Also Disliked When Announcing The NFL

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ESPN put Chris Berman on a Monday night Chargers-Raiders game and the reviews were almost as brutal as his golf announcing, which we learned last week, we'll be enduring on the U.S. Open weekday coverage for the foreseeable future.

From Sports Business Daily's wrap up:

The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant wrote, "Holy moly, the Raiders are a disaster. They are not, however, as much of a disaster as Berman on the stick." Sirius XM Radio's Eddie Borsilli wrote, "There are no words for what's happening in this game. But I could do without Berman and his stupid comments. Go circle the wagons." The Louisville Courier-Journal's Tim Sullivan wrote, "First Chris Berman, then Stuart Scott, and me without a mute button. Oh, the price we pay to watch pro football." CBSSports.com's Will Brinson wrote, "Not often watching football feels like a chore. 1AM + Boomer + … this is one of those times."

Johnny: I Declined Chance To Work With Tiger; But Now I'm Open To The Idea!

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Johnny Miller says he was once asked to coach Tiger by Tiger's "people" but Johnny turned the job down.

From the October Golf Magazine:

"Not many people know this, but when Tiger had been on Tour for two or three years, his people called and asked if I would give him lessons on short irons," Miller said. "Jack Nicklaus told him I was the best short iron play ever—a pretty great compliment."

Miller said he declined to offer because of his NBC announcing work and his desire to spend time with his children and grandchildren.

"I was tired," Miller said. "I didn't think I could give him the time he'd need, so I turned him down, which I don't think many people have done."

And now?

"He's the guy I'd like to help most," Miller said. "I've been watching him since he was in junior golf. I know all the swings he's had. I think I could help him get back to his natural swing, not the swing someone else wants him to make. I'm open to helping him."

Tiger, have your people call Johnny's people and let's make this made-for-TV goldmine a go!

DVR Alert: The Ryder Cup The Euros Are Still Really, Really Bitter About!

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Golf Channel, Tuesday night. The shirts, the celebration that still irks them and the "I've got a feeling" Ryder Cup.

1999 Ryder Cup – Final Day
Airtime: Tuesday, 8:30-11:30 p.m. ET

Golf Channel looks back at the thrilling final day of the 1999 Ryder Cup from Brookline, Mass., when Team U.S.A. embarked on the largest come-from-behind victory in Ryder Cup history to retain the Ryder Cup.

"Rory is...on the brink of making a profoundly brave and inherently progressive political statement."

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Conor Nagle posts a thoughtful analysis of Rory McIlroy's plight in light of history and comments made to the Daily Mail about which country the World No. 1 might represent if he qualifies for the 2016 Olympics.

In other words, in the wake of McIlroy's clarifying letter posted Monday, Nagle offers a pretty even-handed look at the minefield McIlroy must navigate.

He is part of the first generation to self-identify as Northern Irish (a trend touched upon in this recent feature) and, in demonstrating a willingness, however tentative, to chart a course independent of the ideologies that have determined life in the six counties for nigh-on a century, he’s emerged an improbable spokesperson for a nascent political, or “post-political”, identity.

Precariously balanced between two contrasting identities, McIlroy has repeatedly asserted his right to a third option: a Northern-ness that supersedes all else, of which being British is a logical consequence rather than a matter of faith.

Yes, he’s availed of opportunities afforded him as a teenager by the Golfing Union of Ireland, but the issue of national allegiance, when forced, will hardly be decided by so trivial a matter as junior funding.

Brian Keogh with extensive comments from Ireland's Des Smyth. The gist:

“I don’t see how we can lay claim to people from Northern Ireland,” said Smyth, a highly repected Irish player and one of Ian Woosnam’s Ryder Cup vice captains at the K Club in 2006. “They are part of the United Kingdom.

“Jimmy Heggarty was my travelling buddy on tour for many years. He was from Ulster, part of the United Kingdom and I never had a problem with that.

Rory appears to have been helped, at least temporarily, by Andy Murray's triumphant U.S. Open win. Still, the various UK papers reported on McIlory's letter in Tuesday's editions.

Kevin Garside in The Independent declared that McIlroy "should be celebrating the best form of his career" but "finds himself caught on the horns of an uncomfortable dilemma."

The Guardian's "staff and agencies" report suggested McIlroy's letter "hinted that he may choose to play for Great Britain" in Rio.

The Daily Mail says the Rory clarification letter was issued because McIlroy "suffered abuse from a significant number of his 1.25 million Twitter followers as well as criticism from established broadcasters on Irish TV."

In Ireland, Phillip Reid offers an interesting solution for McIlroy: take a pass on Rio 2016.

Give it a miss! Save yourself the trouble and strife of having to declare allegiance one way or another! Focus on the Majors; for, truly, they are the defining moments in any player’s career! Be yourself!

There. I’ve said it.

The pulling and dragging over McIlroy’s nationality or otherwise is most unseemly and something of an irrelevance given that virtually week-in and week-out he is playing very much as an individual.

If he were to bypass the Olympics, the kernel of this issue, it would certainly present an easier way out – and avoid the hassle – for the player, especially given the over-the-top response to the comment that he felt “more British than Irish”.

Crooked Stick Shooting For 2020 PGA

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The Indianapolis Star's Phil Richards with the exclusive on the recent BMW Championship host site Crooked Stick, reportedly making an "a formal presentation was made to PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka and managing director of championships Kerry Haigh on Aug. 30 and the BMW Championship served as a proving grounds of sorts."

I'll say!

2012 BMW TV Ratings Up Over '11's Abysmal Numbers

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The Nielsen overnights NBC's BMW Championship telecast where Rory McIlroy bested one of the best leaderboards you'll see in modern times.

Third round: 1.8 (1.0 in 2011)

Final round: 2.6 (0.9 in 2011)