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Letter to the PGA

JB

JB

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Instead of declaring a FedEx Cup Champion based merely upon a season-long point total and then handing a ten-million dollar check to the winner, why not hold an official season-ending event set up along the lines of the United States Amateur Championship? In this event, a field of 64 players competes in an elimination-styled, match-play tournament but the kicker is to have the “average golf fan” become a part of the entire event in this way:

  • Prior to the event (and after much publicity) anyone who is a valid member of the PGA Player's Club, gets his or her name entered into a drawing from which 64 names are chosen. These 64 winners are invited to the venue where this championship will be held and each of them automatically win $1,000 for being chosen.
  • Just prior to the beginning of the event, each of the players who have qualified for this event reach into "The FedEx Cup" and choose one of these 64 names and from that point on they are playing "for" that person. There can then be a “meet and greet” along with interviews and the winners can spend some time with their “designated pro”.
  • After the first round is played, 32 players and contestants move on and if "their pro" makes it to the next round of elimination, each contestant wins an additional $2,500.
  • If his or her pro makes it to the next round (the “Sweet Sixteen”) each person wins an additional $5,000.
  • If their pro makes it to the quarterfinals (eight players) that person wins an additional $10,000.
  • If their pro makes it to the Final Four, they win an additional $100,000.
  • In the Final Match, the person whose pro wins the tournament wins a $1,000,000 Grand Prize, while the runner up wins a $500,000 prize.
  • The actual golfer wins a $5 million first prize (instead of the present $10 million) for winning the FedEx Championship.

For the first time in history, regular people will be part of a golf tournament and may actually win some money and as such there's a much greater "rooting interest" overall because people can be cheering for "one of us" instead of just for some already rich Tour Pro becoming richer.
The event itself would become an anticipated culmination of the golf season staged in a true “playoff” format with the FedEx Cup Champion declared at its end and, in my opinion, it has the potential to attract a lot of fan interest, more so than there is now.
I think the biggest reasons for the lack of interest in the FedEx Cup is that the format itself stinks and that most average people couldn't care less if a tour pro wins more money - especially these days.

So why not bring the average person into the mix and let them have a chance to cash in too?


-JP
 
I like your idea JP, I think there are some very viable options if the PGA decides they must continue with this FedEx cup thing. But while I say it's not necessary I will not stop me from enjoying a stacked field over the next few weeks, so maybe they're smarter than me...I doubt it though, I'm pretty smart. :D
 
Do a way with this dumb year long points system. Make the previous 4 majors the qualifiers for the FedEx. The top 16 from each major would qualify. Once a player qualified, if he qualified again, then take the 17th best player of that major, and so on until the end of the fourth major. Then have one 5 day, 90 hole tournament to decide the winner. You'd have a field of 64+ players, who by qualifying in the four tournaments where the best of the best try to show up with their best games, would make the FedEx a tournament full of the best (majors) players. :clapp:
 
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Here is something that I noticed today that really needs to change if they want the Fedex Cup to work. Stop talking about who is going to win Player of the Year. If the Fedex Cup is truly the playoffs, the winner of that is YOUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR.
 
P.S. Please have a mandatory clinic on how to properly repair pitch marks on the green. Most of the players are doing it wrong. They lift up, which temporarily flattens the turf, but it pulls the roots out and kills the grass.
 
JB said:
Here is something that I noticed today that really needs to change if they want the Fedex Cup to work. Stop talking about who is going to win Player of the Year. If the Fedex Cup is truly the playoffs, the winner of that is YOUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR.
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What if they have won nothing else all year? The player who wins the most events over the course of a full year is the player of the year. The winner of the Fed Ex cup is the - winner of the FedEx Cup.
 
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Then they should not have the playoffs. If they want the playoffs they have to use the playoffs. If a person has not won all year, then they would have to catch fire to win the Fedex Cup since the new version eliminates people each week that are not in a certain ranking. No different than regular season eliminating teams before playoffs start.
 
JB said:
Then they should not have the playoffs. If they want the playoffs they have to use the playoffs. If a person has not won all year, then they would have to catch fire to win the Fedex Cup since the new version eliminates people each week that are not in a certain ranking. No different than regular season eliminating teams before playoffs start.
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I like your idea but it would mean someone could win all 4 majors and still lose the playoffs and not be player of the year. That would be a sham.
 
Like what happened to Serena Williams. Agreed. However with the points awarded for majors, it would still be very hard for them to be beat. But couldn't that happen in any sport. Look at the Patriots a couple of years ago.
 
JB said:
Then they should not have the playoffs. If they want the playoffs they have to use the playoffs. If a person has not won all year, then they would have to catch fire to win the Fedex Cup since the new version eliminates people each week that are not in a certain ranking. No different than regular season eliminating teams before playoffs start.
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I see player of the year as being similar to the MVP of the NBA. I see the majors as being special to the sports of golf and tennis. I see the Fedex Playoffs as not being anywhere near comprable to the playoff systems either in football, baseball, basketball, etc but more like the old ATP (Tennis championship at year end) double elimination round robin event which fell below any of the grand slam events in importance.

The Fedex cup has elevated the Tour championship to a solid #6 on the most important events. (Four majors, then the TPC) Last year Vijay won the cup, but no way he was player of the year, I would give the nod to Tiger for what he did just in the first half of the year capped off with the win at Torrey on one leg.
 
While I agree that the Fedex Cup is not the same as the majors, I do think it means more than the TPC to the players. Just not the fans yet because the media keeps calling it a 5th major which it is not.

However the PGA is the only association I know of that considers it its title and talks about it as such.

They want to have their cake and eat it too.
 
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