Ok, I shanked one into the weeds and need a do-over.
I had forgotten that the points would be reset after the BMW Championship with anyone in the Top 30 still having a mathematical chance to claim the FedEx Cup on Sunday when The Tour Championship concludes.
I'll take my medicine on that one and write down a double-bogey.
One player happy with that format is Steve Stricker, who would have needed to win The Tour Championship to have any chance to overtake Tiger Woods after Tiger's impressive performance at the BMW Championship this week. Without the reset, Tiger would have gone into the event with a nearly insurmountable lead over second-place Stricker.
Instead, Stricker only trails by 250 points and has a few other scenarios that can unfold this week and still allow him to collect the coveted Cup.
Of course, if Woods keeps rolling along like he did in Chicago, the only hope Stricker has will be to finish Sunday on top of the leaderboard at Atlanta.
So while Stricker brushes up on his tournament-winning skills I'll be hitting the books. I think I'll start with "FedEx Cup playoff format for Dummies."
Showing posts with label FedEx Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FedEx Cup. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Mr. Woods got the memo. Mr. Stricker?
Coming into Round 3 of the FedEx Cup, both Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods needed to just finish in the top 10 to all but secure that one of them would win the Cup this year.
Tiger got the memo, currently tied for first after 36 hole of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in Chicago. Woods usually does well at Cog Hill, so it is really no big surprise to see his name atop the leaderboard on a Friday evening. And while Tiger cannot clinch the Cup with a win this week, he certainly can put a huge amount of pressure on the current Cup leader Stricker.
Maybe that is why Stricker is struggling horribly after two rounds this week.
After 36 holes, Stricker sits 10 shots behind Woods and is tied for 51st. If Stricker does not make a huge move up the board, and assuming Woods goes on to win this week, Stricker would go into next week's final round needing to win and probably have Woods finish no better than third.
Playing on the PGA Tour is tough enough, playing knowing you have to win or watch $10 million go up in smoke will likely lead to a poor performance that Stricker cannot afford.
As he starts his round Saturday, Stricker needs to put any thoughts of winning this week aside and focus on running down as many of the 50 players ahead of him as he can.
Saturday's third round is traditionally called "Moving Day". For Stricker's Cup chances, he'd better bring a big moving van along with his bag to the first tee.
Tiger got the memo, currently tied for first after 36 hole of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in Chicago. Woods usually does well at Cog Hill, so it is really no big surprise to see his name atop the leaderboard on a Friday evening. And while Tiger cannot clinch the Cup with a win this week, he certainly can put a huge amount of pressure on the current Cup leader Stricker.
Maybe that is why Stricker is struggling horribly after two rounds this week.
After 36 holes, Stricker sits 10 shots behind Woods and is tied for 51st. If Stricker does not make a huge move up the board, and assuming Woods goes on to win this week, Stricker would go into next week's final round needing to win and probably have Woods finish no better than third.
Playing on the PGA Tour is tough enough, playing knowing you have to win or watch $10 million go up in smoke will likely lead to a poor performance that Stricker cannot afford.
As he starts his round Saturday, Stricker needs to put any thoughts of winning this week aside and focus on running down as many of the 50 players ahead of him as he can.
Saturday's third round is traditionally called "Moving Day". For Stricker's Cup chances, he'd better bring a big moving van along with his bag to the first tee.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Two-man horse race?
Barring an amazing back-to-back win performance over the next two weeks, the chase for the FedEx Cup has pretty much become a two-man race between Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods. Based on their play over the past two weeks, Stricker goes into this weeks' BMW Championship outside of Chicago with the advantage.
Stricker's win on Monday at the Duetsche Bank Championship put him in first place by 909 points over Woods. While Woods usually does well at Cog hill, the simple fact is he is struggling with his game, Monday's 8-under, 63 notwithstanding. Woods' balky putter either runs red-hot or ice-cold and it not only cost him a chance to put the FedEx Cup out of reach, it has opened the door for Stricker to cruise right on by.
Stricker has been the more consistent of the pair in recent weeks by far and now only has to make sure he finishes no worse than tied with Woods at the end of the next two tournaments to claim the $10 million bonanza.
Unless, of course, one of the players currently running in the Top 25 catches fire and wins the next two events and collects 5,000 points in the process. British Open champion Stewart Cink is currently 25th at 1,435 points, trailing Stricker by 4,170 points.
Back-to-back victories by Cink would force Stricker or Woods to finish in the top 5 in both of the next two events to capture the Cup.
So while it looks pretty good for Stricker and Woods right now, there is still enough time and points left in the chase for a dark horse to steal away with the Cup. Remember, Camilo Villegas won the last two FedEx Cup events last year, so it is not unprecedented.
Which naturally begs the question: Which of the players from No. 3 Heath Slocum on down to Cink has the best chance to pull off the miracle comeback?
I'll put my money on Jim Furyk and his eight Top 10 finishes this year. But realistically I don't see Stricker giving up this lead too easily and I will go out on a limb and say that Stricker will wrap up the FedEx Cup this week in Chicago.
Stricker's win on Monday at the Duetsche Bank Championship put him in first place by 909 points over Woods. While Woods usually does well at Cog hill, the simple fact is he is struggling with his game, Monday's 8-under, 63 notwithstanding. Woods' balky putter either runs red-hot or ice-cold and it not only cost him a chance to put the FedEx Cup out of reach, it has opened the door for Stricker to cruise right on by.
Stricker has been the more consistent of the pair in recent weeks by far and now only has to make sure he finishes no worse than tied with Woods at the end of the next two tournaments to claim the $10 million bonanza.
Unless, of course, one of the players currently running in the Top 25 catches fire and wins the next two events and collects 5,000 points in the process. British Open champion Stewart Cink is currently 25th at 1,435 points, trailing Stricker by 4,170 points.
Back-to-back victories by Cink would force Stricker or Woods to finish in the top 5 in both of the next two events to capture the Cup.
So while it looks pretty good for Stricker and Woods right now, there is still enough time and points left in the chase for a dark horse to steal away with the Cup. Remember, Camilo Villegas won the last two FedEx Cup events last year, so it is not unprecedented.
Which naturally begs the question: Which of the players from No. 3 Heath Slocum on down to Cink has the best chance to pull off the miracle comeback?
I'll put my money on Jim Furyk and his eight Top 10 finishes this year. But realistically I don't see Stricker giving up this lead too easily and I will go out on a limb and say that Stricker will wrap up the FedEx Cup this week in Chicago.
Friday, August 28, 2009
And the chase for the Cup begins....
As we begin the four-week run to $10 million, it is probably a little too early to say one player has put himself out in front, even though Tiger Woods does have about a 1,300 point lead over second place Steve Stricker.
But one player may have already shot himself out of the running before the second round has finished at The Barclays. Lucas Glover rolled into this week's event in fifth place, about 1,700 points behind Woods, in the standings. But a second round 81 has pretty much insured a missed cut this week for Glover who will likely take a bit of a tumble in the standings and would almost have to win two of the final three events to win the Cup. Impossible? No. Improbable? Yes.
Speaking of Tiger, at this writing, Woods is at 1-under and tied with third place Zach Johnson but trails Stricker by one shot.
But one player may have already shot himself out of the running before the second round has finished at The Barclays. Lucas Glover rolled into this week's event in fifth place, about 1,700 points behind Woods, in the standings. But a second round 81 has pretty much insured a missed cut this week for Glover who will likely take a bit of a tumble in the standings and would almost have to win two of the final three events to win the Cup. Impossible? No. Improbable? Yes.
Speaking of Tiger, at this writing, Woods is at 1-under and tied with third place Zach Johnson but trails Stricker by one shot.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The FedEx Cup.....YAWN......
The third installment of the most worthless playoff system in sports gets underway this week at the Barclays, held at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.
While props should be given to the PGA Tour for tweaking the format enough to force the season points leaders into showing up for the first of the four-tournament format, the fact remains that having points determine a playoff winner just doesn't create a true playoff atmosphere.
You have an off day or two in the NFL, NBA or MLB playoffs and you are toast. Have an off day or two in the FedEx Cup and you live to play next week. Which is why I'd like to see one last change to the FedEx Cup to make it a true playoff and increase the tension, and pressure on all of the players. Use the season-long points to determine the Top 30 players. Those 30 would be the only ones competing on the course that week while, like they do during the week of the British Open, the rest of the PGA players will compete in another tournament elsewhere during the four-week long playoffs.
After four days, the Top 20 players will advance to the next week's event and play in Week 2 at the Duetche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts . After that four-day tournament concludes, the Top 10 earn a berth in Week 3 at the BMW Championship in Illinois which will trim the field down to a Top 4 and those four would play a four-round tournament in Week 4 at The Tour Championship in Atlanta to determine the season's champion.
This would force someone to play four solid weeks of golf, making it more likely that we would really get the best player of the year hoisting the Cup, as opposed to someone getting hot and winning two events early then coasting the next two weeks, i.e. Vijay Singh's victory last year.
Will it ever happen? Doubtful, but a fella can dream can't he?
While props should be given to the PGA Tour for tweaking the format enough to force the season points leaders into showing up for the first of the four-tournament format, the fact remains that having points determine a playoff winner just doesn't create a true playoff atmosphere.
You have an off day or two in the NFL, NBA or MLB playoffs and you are toast. Have an off day or two in the FedEx Cup and you live to play next week. Which is why I'd like to see one last change to the FedEx Cup to make it a true playoff and increase the tension, and pressure on all of the players. Use the season-long points to determine the Top 30 players. Those 30 would be the only ones competing on the course that week while, like they do during the week of the British Open, the rest of the PGA players will compete in another tournament elsewhere during the four-week long playoffs.
After four days, the Top 20 players will advance to the next week's event and play in Week 2 at the Duetche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts . After that four-day tournament concludes, the Top 10 earn a berth in Week 3 at the BMW Championship in Illinois which will trim the field down to a Top 4 and those four would play a four-round tournament in Week 4 at The Tour Championship in Atlanta to determine the season's champion.
This would force someone to play four solid weeks of golf, making it more likely that we would really get the best player of the year hoisting the Cup, as opposed to someone getting hot and winning two events early then coasting the next two weeks, i.e. Vijay Singh's victory last year.
Will it ever happen? Doubtful, but a fella can dream can't he?
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