Maybe the NCAA Should Learn from the PGA
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by BigPPup
Today marks the opening day of the Barclays Open, held at the Westchester Country club. Typically this is a golf tournament with little to no fanfare, but the PGA is looking to change that. After watching their ratings dip last fall when Tiger and company took time off, the PGA invited the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs as a way to get the top players back on the course, and the fans watching.
In many ways the Fed Ex Cup is similar to the playoffs held in NASCAR. The top ten players in the world are eligible to participate in the Fed Ex Cup, and they will compete in ten tournaments. The player with the most points at the end of the ten tournaments will be the Fed Ex Cup Champion. The prize is a 10 million dollar annuity. Yeah I’m sure Phil Mickelson was losing sleep over his retirement fund before this.
The whole idea of a playoff in golf is one of the dumbest ideas that any professional league has come up with. The NASCAR playoffs work because fans are obsessive about their drivers. The loyalty is not that strong in golf. So attracting fans interest will still be a difficult task, especially with Lord Football beginning next week. In addition, the points system for the golfers is weighted. Meaning the players with the most points coming into the playoffs has a distinct advantage and a considerable lead over those behind them. This means Tiger Woods only needs to compete and finish in the top 10 in four events if he wants to win the Fed Ex Cup.
Basically the PGA just found another way to drag out the process of crowning Tiger Woods golfer of the year.
