Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

FedEx Cup. Round One.

Congratulations to professional golfer Brandt Snedeker, who won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday with a stunning two-point victory over the field. Perhaps I should make that, "won with a final score of 266, 22 under par," besting his nearest challenger, Tim Petrovic, who finished at 268, 20 under par. Petrovic tied with Billy Mayfair and Jeff Overton, both of whom shot 268. And, as exciting as that was, here comes Carl Pettersson and Greg Kraft, two swarthy golfing pros to round off the top six finishers, which is news too big to hold.

Brandt Snedeker

See, the Greensboro's Wyndham Championship was the last chance for Tour golfers to earn points that would allow them to qualify for the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour's new and novel playoff format stolen from NASCAR's Nextel Cup. And qualifying for the Tour's playoffs is important, not to mention heart-stopping, save for the absence of 24 of the top 25 PGA Tour's money leaders at the Wyndham Championship. The odd man out of the 25, the man who actually attended, was the winner, Mr. Brandt Snedeker.

You can feel magic in the air, and if you can't feel it, stop by pgatour.com and read the enthralling story found underneath the headline, Playoffs excitement reaching peak with players. And you know it is.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The PGA Tour tacked on a playoff season that is so complex, few understand it, and those who do decide explaining how it works is not worth the effort. To begin, the FedEx Cup is based on a cheat. The PGA Tour cynically figured, correctly, the media are so superficial that saying the winner's prize is a $10,000,000 annuity, one that doesn't pay out until the lucky recipient reaches the age of 45, is too complex for the dumb public to grasp. So, instead of writing that, the corporate press shakes its collective head and puts down, "$10,000,000 prize," thereby greatly inflating the perceived value of said FedEx Cup in the sports consumer's mind.

Looking at it one way, 20 years from now, throwing in historical inflation, the value of the FedEx Cup's $10,000,000 purse would be worth something on the order of $4.5 million 2007 dollars. That's assuming this year's winner is still alive in 2027, the PGA Tour still tours, FedEx keeps its wallet open, and a generation of lawyers hasn't figured a way to get at it.

Looking at it another way, 100 dollars earning 5 percent interest that is paid yearly would equal $165.33 after 20 years. So, sponsors would only have to put in a fraction of $10,000,000 in order to have that sum mutate into the announced purse in 20 years' time.

Two details: It's not an annuity. The PGA Tour recently announced it was deferred compensation. I smell the presence of a lawyer. And, the entire $35 million FedEx Cup pot is deferred compensation that will be sunshiny news to the men who finish second, third, fourth, and on down the line.

What we have is playground rules. Here's the deal the PGA Tour is giving their members: "You play four tournaments in four weeks (nobody does that anymore), and I'll sell that to television for big, big bucks. I'll take the money and media exposure now and pay you in 20 years."

I'm not necessarily against this, provided we can expand the concept into the world of my creditors. Perhaps add in my grocery store, electric and cable companies, and so on.

But, to get back to the FedEx Cup... For people who haven't followed this, and I hope that's everybody, the race for the FedEx Cup begins this week with the Barclays at Westchester, New York, then the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, then the BMW Championship close by Chicago, finishing up with the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Unbeknownst to Americans -- including most PGA Tour golfers -- the excitement has been building all year. From January's Mercedes Championship to Sunday's Wyndham Championship, there have been 36 tournaments, and points have been awarded at every one. Some tournaments give out more points than other tournaments. Some people are nicer than other people. That's life and there's no reason to dirty ourselves with details.

At the end of the regular season all the points are added up, and the top 144 players are invited into the postseason. Then, all the points are reset so the guy who earned the most points during the regular season, Tiger Woods, gets 100,000, the second place guy gets 99,000 points, on down to lucky number 144, who gets 84,000 points.

Detractors will point out that any playoff scheme that takes more than two sentences to explain is a loser. Any playoff scheme that awards 100,000 points to any participant for any reason should be euthanized. And any playoff scheme that doesn't pay out on the spot is a joke. More of this anon.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Congratulations to professional golfer Brandt Snedeker, who won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday with a stunning two-point victory over the field. Perhaps I should make that, "won with a final score of 266, 22 under par," besting his nearest challenger, Tim Petrovic, who finished at 268, 20 under par. Petrovic tied with Billy Mayfair and Jeff Overton, both of whom shot 268. And, as exciting as that was, here comes Carl Pettersson and Greg Kraft, two swarthy golfing pros to round off the top six finishers, which is news too big to hold.

Brandt Snedeker

See, the Greensboro's Wyndham Championship was the last chance for Tour golfers to earn points that would allow them to qualify for the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour's new and novel playoff format stolen from NASCAR's Nextel Cup. And qualifying for the Tour's playoffs is important, not to mention heart-stopping, save for the absence of 24 of the top 25 PGA Tour's money leaders at the Wyndham Championship. The odd man out of the 25, the man who actually attended, was the winner, Mr. Brandt Snedeker.

You can feel magic in the air, and if you can't feel it, stop by pgatour.com and read the enthralling story found underneath the headline, Playoffs excitement reaching peak with players. And you know it is.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The PGA Tour tacked on a playoff season that is so complex, few understand it, and those who do decide explaining how it works is not worth the effort. To begin, the FedEx Cup is based on a cheat. The PGA Tour cynically figured, correctly, the media are so superficial that saying the winner's prize is a $10,000,000 annuity, one that doesn't pay out until the lucky recipient reaches the age of 45, is too complex for the dumb public to grasp. So, instead of writing that, the corporate press shakes its collective head and puts down, "$10,000,000 prize," thereby greatly inflating the perceived value of said FedEx Cup in the sports consumer's mind.

Looking at it one way, 20 years from now, throwing in historical inflation, the value of the FedEx Cup's $10,000,000 purse would be worth something on the order of $4.5 million 2007 dollars. That's assuming this year's winner is still alive in 2027, the PGA Tour still tours, FedEx keeps its wallet open, and a generation of lawyers hasn't figured a way to get at it.

Looking at it another way, 100 dollars earning 5 percent interest that is paid yearly would equal $165.33 after 20 years. So, sponsors would only have to put in a fraction of $10,000,000 in order to have that sum mutate into the announced purse in 20 years' time.

Two details: It's not an annuity. The PGA Tour recently announced it was deferred compensation. I smell the presence of a lawyer. And, the entire $35 million FedEx Cup pot is deferred compensation that will be sunshiny news to the men who finish second, third, fourth, and on down the line.

What we have is playground rules. Here's the deal the PGA Tour is giving their members: "You play four tournaments in four weeks (nobody does that anymore), and I'll sell that to television for big, big bucks. I'll take the money and media exposure now and pay you in 20 years."

I'm not necessarily against this, provided we can expand the concept into the world of my creditors. Perhaps add in my grocery store, electric and cable companies, and so on.

But, to get back to the FedEx Cup... For people who haven't followed this, and I hope that's everybody, the race for the FedEx Cup begins this week with the Barclays at Westchester, New York, then the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, then the BMW Championship close by Chicago, finishing up with the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Unbeknownst to Americans -- including most PGA Tour golfers -- the excitement has been building all year. From January's Mercedes Championship to Sunday's Wyndham Championship, there have been 36 tournaments, and points have been awarded at every one. Some tournaments give out more points than other tournaments. Some people are nicer than other people. That's life and there's no reason to dirty ourselves with details.

At the end of the regular season all the points are added up, and the top 144 players are invited into the postseason. Then, all the points are reset so the guy who earned the most points during the regular season, Tiger Woods, gets 100,000, the second place guy gets 99,000 points, on down to lucky number 144, who gets 84,000 points.

Detractors will point out that any playoff scheme that takes more than two sentences to explain is a loser. Any playoff scheme that awards 100,000 points to any participant for any reason should be euthanized. And any playoff scheme that doesn't pay out on the spot is a joke. More of this anon.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.