The PGA Tour has a playoff drawback.
If the Tour needs individuals to take its FedExCup finale extra critically, then it should eliminate its Web Tour Championship.
This isn’t some novel thought, however I starter scripting this on Saturday afternoon. Week 1 of faculty soccer was rolling, and Scottie Scheffler was sprucing off his very personal paycheck recreation. Scheffler ended Saturday’s third spherical 5 photographs away from Collin Morikawa – and at a whopping 26 beneath via 54 holes on the newly redesigned East Lake (or is it renovated? Restored?). Sources say the $25 million would possibly’ve already be pending in Scheffler’s checking account on Wednesday night.
Nice taking part in by Scottie, proper? I imply, the Tour comms staff did tweet a stat that famous Scheffler as the primary participant in recorded historical past to guide by seven or extra photographs after the primary spherical of a Tour occasion. Certainly this one minor element – Scheffler was 10 beneath, two photographs away from second place, earlier than he landed in Atlanta – was omitted due to character rely. (Don’t let the details get in the best way of an excellent document!) Deservedly, the tweet obtained roasted.
Scheffler’s lead would develop to seven on Sunday, shrink to as little as two and in the end settle at 4 over Morikawa, the gross champion, with the consequence by no means being in any actual doubt. Scheffler beat fourth place by 11, and his 30-under profitable rating obliterated the “event document.”
Similar to that, the Tour’s season is over – and once more, most every thing however the gamers’ pockets feels a little bit empty.
I commend the Tour for making an attempt to innovate. The swap to the 70-50-30 mannequin for area sizes has been a marked enchancment. However the staggered begin, now in 12 months 6, simply isn’t it. It’s not golf. It’s not any sport. How foolish wouldn’t it be if Georgia was noticed a area purpose earlier than kickoff of the CFP nationwide championship recreation? Or if we let Katie Ledecky dive in on the different finish of the pool within the 800 free, already 50 meters forward? It’s an issue when Scheffler joins Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh as the one gamers since 1983 to win seven or extra instances in a single season and we’re left questioning whether or not an asterisk is required.
In his State of the Tour presser on Wednesday, commissioner Jay Monahan used the phrase “fan(s)” 54 instances. “Followers are on the middle of every thing that we do,” Monahan mentioned. “Their voice propels us.”
I’m wondering what number of followers actually love this Tour Championship format. Possibly I’m incorrect, however it will possibly’t be a ton. That is purely anecdotal, however I texted two of my mates (I feel they’re mates); each are big golf watchers, particularly on the subject of YouTube golf, and they’re shut sufficient to the kind of demographic the Tour says it’s catering to. One responded bluntly: I feel the format is tremendous dumb. The second buddy was a bit extra thorough: I feel the aim of the event is incorrect. It’s making an attempt to crown the season’s finest golfer, however that’s determined (Scottie) and this event doesn’t often change that.
Ought to the Tour Championship proceed to make use of staggered begin?
— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) September 1, 2024
Not even Scheffler, the person most advantaged by this new means of crowning a FedExCup champion, counts himself as an endorser. To him, it’s a “unusual format.”
“Personally, I assumed the outdated format, I didn’t have a ton of points with,” Scheffler mentioned. “… I didn’t essentially thoughts that the winner of the Tour Championship wasn’t the winner of the FedExCup.”
But, the Tour beforehand argued that the unique format was simply too complicated. Now, we’ve media shops (together with this one) showcasing gross leaderboards on their web sites, an Official World Golf Rating that doesn’t even acknowledge the web competitors, and usually, an unserious vibe across the total week. (Severely, I can’t wait till the autumn sequence and Q-College, two segments of the calendar that the Tour wants to advertise extra.)
The Tour is caught between two swing patterns right here.
It needs the FedExCup to be a season-long race, but Scheffler’s 1,193-point lead over Xander Schauffele would’ve been utterly negated had Scheffler, even with a two-shot cushion to start out, performed poorly. Within the 5 earlier Tour Championships within the S.S.E. (Staggered Begin Period), simply twice has the FedExCup No. 1 getting into the Tour Championship completed there (Dustin Johnson in 2020 and Patrick Cantlay in 2021).
It additionally craves a compelling playoff. Certain, Rory McIlroy profitable the 2022 Tour Championship by a shot after beginning the event 4 photographs again of Scheffler was thrilling stuff. However take into account that no different Tour champion has been worse than fifth in factors after the BMW. The staggered begin eliminates greater than two-thirds of the 30-man area earlier than a tee ball is even struck. This yr, it was in all probability a little bit greater than that.
So, how can we repair this? And don’t take this criticism the incorrect means; I need the Tour to succeed.
For one, the Tour wants to totally decide to a real playoff system. Dole out your season-long bonuses earlier than the Tour Championship, after which reset the factors for the highest 30 so that everybody arrives at East Lake on equal footing. The Tour Championship shouldn’t be a victory lap, a charade geared towards placing an exclamation mark on whomever had the very best season. It must be a knockout occasion, the place a participant’s efficiency within the earlier 34 weeks is thrown out the window; in the event that they don’t convey it on the Tour Championship, they don’t stroll away with the massive trophy – and examine.
Who cares if the Tour Championship is gained by Billy Horschel? (I exploit Billy for example as a result of I do know he gained’t be offended.) The Tour is quick headed in a course by which it’s creating safety after safety to maintain its present stars within the highlight whereas making it exceedingly troublesome for brand new stars to emerge.
If I had my means, the Tour Championship could be match play. The highest two in factors would get byes, and when gamers get knocked out, they’d enter a comfort ladder. By Sunday afternoon, we might not solely have a first-place bout for $25 million (or much less if we need to redistribute a few of that pre-East Lake), however 14 different matches for various sums of money. We gained’t all the time get Scheffler versus Schauffele, however is Scheffler on cruise management for 4 days – and 10 photographs away from solo fourth to start the ultimate spherical – must-see TV? Did anybody care what McIlroy was doing on Sunday this yr? Now, what if McIlroy was going face to face with Ludvig Åberg?
However let’s say you hate the concept of match play. Nicely, then how about this:
72 holes of stroke play.
Lowest rating wins.
Novel thought, I do know.
