Congratulations to Phil Mickelson, who shot an amazing 65 to win the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. But make no bones about it, Mickelson is not a fan of the playoffs format, saying something to the effect of:
“Let me see if I get this straight. I shoot 65 and beat Tiger, he gets $10 million, and I only get $1 million? No, I’m just kidding…”
What’s crazy to me is how no one is making a bigger deal about this. I’m paraphrasing Mickelson’s comments on NBC after winning, because nobody has the actual comment on their sites! The only comments I was able to find were something a little bit calmer that I’m assuming Mickelson said later at the press conference, where he basically says he’s happy to have a scenario where he and Tiger both win money.
I don’t have a problem with Phil’s comments…but hopefully word gets back to Tim Finchem. Yesterday’s outcome may have been a “dream scenario” for the PGA Tour with Tiger and Phil both winning at the same time, but it says a lot when neither of your champions is enthused with the playoff system at all!
Yesterday’s final round was exciting to watch, and it was great to see golf’s two biggest stars in the limelight. Everything seemed to “work itself out.” But much like the BCS for college football, if the format isn’t changed, one of these years we’re going to end up with a disaster (like Heath Slocum winning the playoffs that he has no business even being a part of in the first place).
Tiger Woods hasn’t looked excellent over the past few weeks, because frankly – he hasn’t cared about those tournaments. I understand that Tiger’s a fierce competitor, and he would like to win every tournament he enters. But the fact is, the first two events of the FedEx Cup are meaningless when you’re #1 in the world. If Tim Finchem didn’t practically demand that the tour’s marquee players attend all playoff events, you can almost guarantee Tiger wouldn’t have been playing in Boston last week. And he 
Who? Yes , you’re reading correctly – Ted Purdy will be this week’s winner at TPC Boston. How can I be so sure that a guy with only one top 10 finish all year will suddenly win? Because that is the only outcome possible that can make the FedEx Playoffs more absurd!
How much does it cost to carry a 15th club in your bag? $131,250 and 188 FedEx points. That is the final damage for Jim Furyk, after discovering a 15th club in his bag on Saturday of the Barclays. He realized the error near the green of the second hole, and was penalized 4 strokes (2 per hole). He still finished with a 70 for the day, but without the 4-stroke penalty would have finished the tournament in sixth place rather than fifteenth…resulting in a huge pay cut.
Congratulations to Heath Slocum on his victory at the Barclays. Slocum definitely played well down the stretch, winning with a 21+ foot putt. His victory vaulted him from 121 to #3 in the FedEx Cup standings, which nearly ensures his participation in The Tour Championship in three weeks.
If Liberty National Golf Club (host of this week’s FedEx Cup Barclays) is one thing, it’s a great reclamation project. What it is not, is a desired destination for many of the tour players. One prominent Tour player earlier this year said it would be the worst course his fellow golfers would play in 2009. Another joked it will be the best course he’ll play this week.