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Phony Finish
The PGA Tour's new schedule and format plans are a big gamble. November 9, 2005 By Peter Kostis
Contributing Writer, GOLF MAGAZINE The last round of television negotiations between the networks and the PGA Tour came with the promise of higher ratings because of Tiger Woods’ increasing drawing power. It hasn’t happened. This time, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is coming forth with another bold step (read: ratings promise)—the proposed revamping of the tournament schedule and the new FedEx Cup points race, both starting in 2007. It is a huge gamble, and only time will tell if it pays off, but here’s where I think potential problems may crop up.
Tim Finchem Getty Images
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A midseason swoon. It’s one thing to ask the top players to compete in five of the last six weeks of the season; it’s quite another to ask for 16 out of 18. Elite players have to take time off, so they will skip some events. Which ones? I believe the tournaments that fill the gaps between the Players Championship (which moves to May), U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship will suffer the most.
A fall flop. Hey Yogi! It’s over, but it ain’t over. The Tour plans to keep events on the schedule after the FedEx Cup concludes in mid-September, which begs the question: Can you have a “finish” to the season and have it not really be done? The theory is that this allows players more chances to secure their spot in the Top 125 on the money list and earn world rankings points. But the only people watching will be those players’ family and friends.
A ratings roll of the dice. Tiger Woods missed one cut in his first eight full seasons on tour, but has missed two this year. Meanwhile, Vijay Singh missed two in the month preceding this year’s Tour Championship. Imagine if that happened during the final four weeks of big-time tournaments comprising the FedEx Cup? The ratings would be worse than White Sox-Astros, I’ll tell you that much.
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