Nov 26

Written by:
11/26/2008 

The PGA Tour announced this week that they'd made another change to the way the FedEx Cup playoffs will work in 2009.  I've gotta say, this may be the best change yet.

I love playoffs, I think all sports should have them (NCAA, are you listening?).  I've actually found myself more entertained by the late golf season because of the FedEx Cup that's been played over the last couple of years.  The problem is, though, that the winner has been a forgone conclusion by the time we've reached the Tour Championship.

Tiger Woods could have skipped the event and won the inaugural cup; Vijay Singh just had to show up and make it around East Lake four times to win the cup.  Boring, boring, boring.

Next year, though, points earned before the start of the FedEx Cup will not be reset until the start of the 30-man field of the Tour Championship.  At that point, a win by anyone within the top five would give them the cup; the rest of the top 10 could mathematically win the championship by winning the tournament.

This new formula should help keep more of the TOUR's stars involved (remember when Paddy Harrington missed the cut last year and didn't even play in the Tour Championship, despite winning two majors?).  Here's the new breakdown for points:

Tournaments: Regular Points
WGC and Majors: Slightly More Points
Playoff Events: Five Times Regular Points

The TOUR appears to be moving in the right direction with this.  I can't wait to see what happens next year when we actually get to see guys battling for the $10 million winner's check.