The Tour Championship starts tomorrow, Thurs. Nov. 2, 2006, and Tiger Woods will not be participating. There are some other names that will be absent, most notably Phil Mickelson, but Tiger's reluctance to play is "The Story". Mr. Woods has said that this has been a very emotional year, and he needs some extra time off to prepare for the upcoming season. Lefty is also tired from the devastating loss in the recent Ryder Cup matches, and all that man-bra shopping he has been doing.
The powers that be in the P.G.A. are worried that this will reflect negatively on next years "Fed-Ex Cup", the tour ending "Chase" that Pres. Tim Finchem basically borrowed from NASCAR. ( How about that irony) The cup chase was supposed to add drama / participation / and more importantly....... ratings, to the increasingly dull end of golf season. There had already been the Vantage Cup in place for the last 20 years, but it's importance has wained, once the novelty wore off, and tour officials seem to fear this will happen to the Fed-Ex as well.
I'm not sure how most people feel, but the golf season starts with the beginning of the "majors". They start getting serious for the Masters, and then slow down right after the PGA. There are a few sentimental favorites, and player sponsored events in the middle, but for the most part that's it. The rest of the tournaments are for the lower tier players to make some money and keep their cards, and the stars use them for "tune-ups" for the biggie's. These guys are self employed / general contractors. While the PGA sanctions and has some control of the matches, the players can come and go as they choose. Mr. Finchem can install all the artificial suspence builders he want's to .... they'll be there when they feel like it. Period.
I just wanted to see how you felt about this.....so... That's my story ... What's yours??
Anything in this piece that might be concieved of as a fact, was gleaned from a couple of articles on FoxSports.com .... If it looks like a stupid opinion ......it's mine...
chuxtory ..... Tiger's none involvement in the tournament is overall undersatandable as he's had an extremely long and rewarding season. That's not to say that he wouldn't have remained competitive but the Tour Championship to him is a meaningless event despit the prize money on offer.
For Mickelson on the other hand with his form I doubt that he'd wanted to go out and embarrass himself again as his form had been slumping. His Ryder Cup play notwithstanding. Needless to say the tourney will probably be won by some run of the mill player who'll no doubt be thankful that Tiger wasn't in attendance. The PGA however can't be too pleased that their most popular players won't be competing at one of their more prestigious events on the Tour.
Last edited by tophatal on November 1st at 2:49 PM.
Hey Top,
Thanks for stoppin'...
This would be a tough year for anyone to go through, and Woods had to do it in the spotlight. He still managed to put together a season that would be considered "Career" numbers for most.
There are still plenty of players in the show this weekend... Els, Furyk, and Love III to name a few. I'll be paying attention.....
I agree with you here. The golf season is way too long, so if some of the lesser known players want to make some money and keep their cards, more power to 'em.
As far as a "chase" scenario, until Phil, Ernie, Vijay, etc., step up to the plate by making more of a race of things, I'd hold off on the NASCSAR approach if I were the PGA.
Sorry it took so long to get to this post, but it was buried at the bottom of FoxBlogs.
Hey MeanD,
The PGA has already committed to the chase scenario for next year, and I would imagine that it gets a lot of play for the first couple of years. After the "newness" wears off, so are the bets.
Tiger didn't want to play an extra tourney, to win the Vargas trophy. He wouldn't have had to win it, just show up and make the cut to get the rounds in. So this cup thing might not impress the top tier guys after a while
Last edited by chuxtory on November 1st at 5:17 PM.
Tiger's got a streak going, and probably doesn't want to play if his focus isn't there 100%. He's very historical-minded, so he doesn't want to choke the way "Man Boobs" Mickelson did earlier this year. I can't really knock him for it- after all, he's Tiger Woods.
About the season-ending "chase", as a non-golfer, it would probably grab my attention. I'm nothing more than a casual Nascar fan, but I do like the cup chase.
Some people may not think of golf as a demanding sport for an athlete. But they really have no off-season, as it requires constant practice to be at the top of their game. I say if they need some extra time off, go ahead and let 'em.
Chux, I just posted something about the poker...trying to finalize the date and time. Let me know if it works for you. Looking forward to it.
chuxtory ... With the new setup being put in place by the PGA for next year. It'll be fun to see who'll be none committal with all that money on the line. No doubt many of the top players will take a close look at their itineraries for the season. The prize money also has grown exponentially to merit the attention of the players.
Sports Intellectual,
Good Point!! I didn't put the "streak" angle in my thinkin', I'm sure that had a lot to do with Tiger's play / not play decision.....
Thanks!
And... "The Chase" causing the casual viewer to tune in, is exactly what it's supposed to do...
Top, Money seems to enter into everyone's thought process....
FP, Hey buddy... good to see ya out and about again!! They say Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are pooling their wealth to "save the world" .. Tiggers gonna just buy the world, and evict the riff-raff....
bafongu,
Not sure how you could "force" any golfer to compete... The yearly awards are already based on rounds played... so what would you punish them with if they were "non-compliant"?? Would you pull their cards?? Do you really think Tim Finchem is gonna say "Tiger, Ernie, and Phil can no longer participate in PGA events."
I didn't think so....
Do you ever think that Tiger wakes up some days, and just wants to go play tennis?
The other thing about golf, is that there is no early retirement. You don't see someone at 32 years old saying that it's time to hang it up, and stay at home with the family. These guys devote their entire life to the sport. Imagine having a super-model wife at home...and never being at home. At some point, the pool man is going to be a very...happy...individual.
1000 balls a day? Imagine how many they hit before a round. As opposed to the average hacker...who thinks that one of those get-out-of-bed stretches on the tee box is a good enough warm-up exercise.
No baf, they don't give up their careers... They go play in Europe or Asia. They play in R&A, or USGA sanctioned events. Or.... they just put on clinics or demo's wherever they want to... Where they go, so goes the SPONSORS and the $$$$$
and then,....Finchem's at the Hertz counter in downtown Orlando....
Play in Asia? Europe? Hold clinics? Let's be serious now. The money is here, and nowhere else.
As for the pool boy, he'd be pretty lonely since a good many of the wives travel to many tournaments. These guys are put up like royalty at every stop.
It's this fact, and the silly size of the purses that has ruined the competition. You don't even have to win. Place third twice and you've made $300,000. That's why these pampered sissies can't compete in the Ryder cup.
baf, I agree on the Ryder issue...
I disagree about where the money is. The money is wherever THEY ARE!!!
The money comes from sponsors, sponsors want visability, the majority of people are there to see STARS! Not Golf!
and....The pool boy contingent does have their challenges....
You’re right, they are self employed and if they don’t play they don’t earn a damn thing.
Well at least the bottom tier of golfers.
Tiger makes more money from endorsements than he ever could from purses. But that’s because he has earned those endorsements through winning(master of the obvious that I am)
I think the lower tiered players are glad that Tiger and Manzier aren’t going to be there, it gives someone else the opportunity to win some money and possibly keep their card.
Maybe that’s why they aren’t playing, to throw a bone to some of the players that need it.
Hey Miracle,
The purse vs. endorsement $$ are exactly why the PGA isn't going to be able to "force" players to do anything...
and...I'm sure the 2nd tier guys breathe a little easier on Wed. when the showboats are no-shows...
chuxtory ...... If it weren't about the money then there'd be nothing to play for. Pride doesn't put food on the table or pay the bills ! It's all about the money and nothing else ! Had not Tiger arrived on the scene in the mid '90's then these guys would still be playing for a mere pittance still. The prize money for PGA sanctioned events is close to $165m if not more. And that doesn't include the Mickey Mouse events that are thrown in at season's end.
Last edited by tophatal on November 3rd at 1:34 AM.
My goal is to live forever. So far...so good..
I play Rec. league softball, Poker and Golf. I watch MLB (Mets) NFL (Cowboys) and NASCAR (J. Gordon). I can't think in numbers, so STATS are meaningless to me.
Indecision may or may not be my problem...... .
I wrote comment # 1982
