With myriad of ideas, everyone agrees playoffs need at least some tweaks
Our experts give their takes in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.
If the FedEx Cup playoffs were a house that a family was trying to sell, everyone seems to believe some tinkering would be in order before putting the property on the market.
So with year two of the postseason just one tournament shy of being complete, do the playoffs need a couple of coats of paint or some full-blown rewiring to convince a sporting public of buying in? Our experts ponder that question and more as they share their opinions in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.
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The FedEx Cup playoffs system needs a serious overhaul for next year. |
A serious overhaul is not necessary. Some tweaks -- which were inevitable anyway -- will do the trick.
The PGA Tour mostly got it right this year when it added points to the playoff events in an effort to create more volatility. What we saw was more of a true playoff scenario, where those who did not perform failed to advance, while those who did moved on. Nothing wrong with that.
But players were correctly perturbed that simply making a cut caused so much movement. That can easily be addressed by giving fewer points at the bottom of the list, and giving more to players who, say, make a top-10.
By making the points top-heavy, it will force players to do more than make a cut.Another tweak would involve giving more and more points as the playoffs progress. As it stands, a winner gets 11,000 points at each of the first three playoff events, then 12,500 at the Tour Championship. Why not make it 11,000, 11,000, 15,000 and then 20,000? That would make it much harder for a player to clinch the Cup before the final tournament even begins.
Clearly, there are still a few bugs in the system. And it is almost a certainty the PGA Tour will address those issues as soon as this year's FedEx Cup champion is crowned. (Hint: He's from Fiji). Perhaps the first three FedEx Cup events should be used to whittle the field from 144 to the 30 who will play in the Tour Championship and then reset every player back to zero. Perhaps the tour should imitate the LPGA and make the Tour Championship a multiple-cut event. Whatever the case, something has to be done. The FedEx Cup is a reverse Yogi: It's over before it's over.

