Tour to make extreme changes in FedEx Cup in 2019
Excerpts in bold from above link, article by CBS analyst, Kyle Porter:
What if I told you not all playing fields were level? What if I told you that golf, the ultimate meritocracy, was no longer being played equivalently at all?
That's what's going to happen at the 2019 Tour Championship when players will start with staggered scores with the leader of the FedEx Cup coming into the tournament beginning the event at 10 under. Here is how players will start.
- First in FedEx Cup coming to Tour Championship: -10
- Second: -8
- Third: -7
- Fourth: -6
- Fifth: -5
- 6th-10th: -4
- 11th-15th: -3
- 16th-20th: -2
- 21st-25th: -1
- 26th-30th: E
This was done so that whoever wins the Tour Championship automatically wins the FedEx Cup. It will prevent situations like last season where Xander Schauffele won the Tour Championship, but Justin Thomas won the FedEx Cup.
One aspect of golf that is inherent to its purpose is its tradition. Certainly many, many components of golf have changed in the past century. Equipment is a biggie, as is how a round is observed, particularly after the Internet and that there is a single TV channel devoted to golf, as well as a reporter who calls himself Tiger Tracker, and does exactly what his name indicates … he follows and tweets every shot Tiger Woods takes.
Reminds me of tram cars blasting Jimmy Buffett music in Key West, perhaps giving the ghosts of Hemingway and those who followed “Papa” down A1A seeking artistic inspiration a throbbing dose of Caribbean soul, whether they want it or not.
Imagine as you trudge toward the Hemingway House, one of those tourist vehicles, akin to a conga line, snakes past with its speakers trumpeting A PIRATE LOOKS AT FORTY … one of the quintessential Key West songs Buffett uncorked at the beginning of his career.
Doubt even Buffett himself would have predicted that his popularity would equal Hemingway, then soar to new heights.
Change is inevitable.
But I can also see the ghost side of the Key West equation. Does the sleepy, quaint, almost idealistic, island village need to have constant reminders that a musician became famous by jotting down a few lines about the town’s existence? What about the “real” Key West genius — Hemingway — whose style has influenced and will continue to affect those who put “quill to parchment” and create a story.
For me, that’s the same type of crossroads professional golf faces, notably with its desire to amp interest. On one side of the equation, there is a basic concept that, after much meandering to and fro, I think now has significant value. Does golf need a season-ending event, other than team competitions, that highlights and magnifies the pursuit of excellence?
Easy answer.
Of course.
But how?
And that is certainly the rub. How does the Tour meld tradition with change?
Change the size of the hole on the green? Use 14 holes instead of 18? Create par 8s and 9s?
Not too likely.
There are some basics to golf that, perhaps we can all agree need to be kept.
Playing the ball as it lies, for instance, is another.
The equipment and ball is in this mix, but for the sake of brevity, which is non-existent in this post, let’s shift focus to scoring.
I am not in favor of “giving” a lead to a player on the actual scoreboard. Perhaps those who are supporting this change can elaborate their position.
I wish I had even a suggestion of a solution, but at this point, all I can offer is that the FedEx Cup is great for golf, but it has yet to find itself in terms of how the champion will be crowned.
Staggering the field with pre-determined scores under par, then proceeding as if those players had actually scored those numbers so that the winner of the Tour Championship also automatically wins the FedEx Cup is akin, in my view, to allowing ball in hand in perfect conditions. Too many rules in play.
Better, again in my view, to not manufacture as much and simply let the players speak for themselves in their relationship to par and each other.
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