It was also geared towards keeping the top names engaged in playing after the PGA Tournament in August, when many of them would disappear from the radar and return to working on their golf technique in private. Both of these are good goals and, in the long term, good for the game of golf.
But at this point, it appears to me that fan interest still isn’t there. And it also appears that, even though Tiger and Phil battled it out for this year’s crown, the golfers have not bought into this format yet either. In my opinion, if something doesn’t change, then the PGA Tour is going to end up with some egg on it’s face.
So what should Commissioner Finchem consider doing? Well, here are a couple of ideas that I have heard bounced around that I think are worth considering.
First, get the top pro golfers together in a room and let them decide what the format should look like. At this point, the successful pro golfers in recent years have made tons of money by playing in fewer tournaments, not in more. So for the FedEx Cup to be something of strong interest, I think that you should let Tiger, Phil, Vijay, Stricker, Ernie Els, and a few more design something that would get THEM excited to play in at the end of the year. They all have a unique golf swing and a unique opinion.
Second, consider making the end of the year competition match play. This format, I believe, allows a little more chance for a lower ranked golfer to pull a big upset and have a shot of winning it all.
These are just a couple of ideas that could possibly help the FedEx Cup. And I believe that it will need some help to survive.
David Stargel is an avid golfer who is also enthusiastic about NASCAR and football. He publishes several sports themed websites and sports related articles.