"I question the clarity of the format for the public."

fedexcuplogo.jpgThey fine players for questioning things don't they?

Well Dan Hinxman quotes a few players who aren't too keen on the FedEx Cup.

"I don't think anybody's talked about it," defending Reno-Tahoe Open champion Will MacKenzie said Wednesday, on the eve of the ninth annual RTO at Montreux Golf & Country Club. "I don't think anybody really cares too much about it."

And from Lucas Glover:

From a player's standpoint -- and I use this phrase a lot -- it's still the same game. There are just some added statistics to keep your eye on and play for. But really, from a player's standpoint, I don't think we've noticed it.

"I can't speak for the public, but I know a lot of people have asked me a lot of questions about it, so I question the clarity of the format for the public."

And this conjures up some funny images:

"I get a text message (from the tour) Sunday night after I played telling me how many points I got, and that's as much as I look at it," Glover said. "I always know where I stand because this time of year you have to because you want to play in those events leading up to Atlanta. But up until two or three weeks ago, I never looked at it."

Meanwhile Hank Gola of the New York Daily News quotes a skeptical Vijay Singh:

"I don't think it's a great idea to start everyone off that close," Singh said at the Barclays Media Day via conference call from Akron, Ohio. "A guy can play 18, 20 events all year and then play their heart out, and at the end of the day lead the FedEx Cup and be in the lead 100 points or 1,000 points ahead of the next guy. That's pretty unfair, but that's the way they've done it. Most of the guys were talking about that part."

The top 144 players on the season-long points list will make the Barclays field. The first 120 on the points list advance the following week to the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

Players needn't enter each of the events but the odds of winning the $1.26 million as the overall points winner are diminished if they don't. Therefore, there's an excellent chance that Woods will return to Westchester for the first time since 2003, when he tied for 13th.

"Getting used to it is a problem right now, is an issue right now with most of the players," Singh said.