New PGA Tour Format
A whole new year of golf is upon us, and I, for one, am excited. The Tour has been doing the same thing for a long time, and it’s time for a change.
For those who don’t understand the new format, it goes something like this: the regular season tournaments (which run for 33 weeks) still pay the same goo-gobs of money that they have always paid (thank you, Tiger Woods), but players are now awarded points as well. More points for finishing higher, obviously, with bigger events (majors, Players, etc) awarding even more points. In August, they check the standings and take the top 144 players, and seed them like they do in other playoff formats. Then the playoffs start. First tournament takes the field down to 120 players, next to 70, and the next to 30. Then it’s the Tour Championship, where the winner gets – gulp – 10 MILLION dollars.
What I think this does is two things. First, it provides some excitement after the majors, which is sadly lacking in the sport. Second, it gives the top players something to strive for besides just majors. I like it. We’ll see how it goes.
1 Comment
There’s one more thing it does, Kel. It helps turn the PGA into a NASCAR points race. Now I know nothing about NASCAR (except we all know about that one indian guy that won that race…that one time…).
I agree it looks like a nice change, but when the tour becomes a points race full of gaudy advertisers – I’m calling it now – you might feel differently… although the Coors Light twins would certainly look great in chaps.