Tiger Woods Can't Win the FedExCup.

Yes, that's how they want it spelled, FedExCup. Some marketing genius justified his existence in coming up with it. It doesn't translate well to the established tournaments though. TheUSOpen doesn't quite carry the same panache.

I wanted to see if Tiger Woods could win the darn thing without playing in an event. Turns out he can't. The brainiacs adjusted the point totals just so to prevent that from happening. Tiger won the regular season points total, so when they're reset for the "playoffs", he starts with 100,000 points. Lee Janzen is the 144th and last ranked player in the playoffs. He starts with 92,070 points. If he wins the Barclays Classic at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J, the playoffs first event, he'll add 9,000 points to his total, giving him 101,070 and placing him ahead of Woods. So, Tiger can't win, but after the 4th and final event, The Tour Championship, he could still finish well up the leaderboard. Not a bad way to make a living. Flick the remote, play with the kid, catch up on your sleep, and watch your bankroll grow. If you're interested, here's the FedExCup point standings as we go into the Barclay's, the 1st event on the schedule. Mickelson, Harrington, and Garcia are listed as the early favorites and rightly so I reckon. Phil and Sergio always plays well in non-majors.

I've really tried to get the least bit excited about this FedExCup deal. Sorry, I can't. To me it smells like regular tour events with a pot of gold for the lucky winner. Woods victory in last year's inaugural Cup netted him a annuity that he can't touch until he reaches the age of 45. This year, the winner gets $9,000,000 immediately and a $1,000,000 annuity. That's pretty much the formula for the top ten finishers. If you finish outside the top ten, your dough is all annuity. What kind of ridiculous arrangement is that? I realize a new event needs time to find it's balance, but this FedEx deal is downright goofy. The idea was to extend golf's TV ratings into the time historically dominated by the NFL and MLB playoffs, but I don't see that happening with Woods on the sidelines. If most people are like me, they'll watch football and check tourney results on a website. Not having Woods as a draw is like trying to pee up a rope. Oh, I almost forgot. If Kenny Perry gets any winnings in annuity form, can he cash in now since he's over 45?

I've developed great interest in the LPGA Tour and women's golf in general. As a result I've spent a lot of time and space on this site promoting women's golf with great enthusiasm and abysmal results. The traffic on this site when covering women's events is about 25% of what it would be if I commented on and covered a men's tournament. If you fans of women's golf are out there, now's a good time to let me know!

Til' next,