It's All About Capacity...
Who says there's no Christmas in February?
After Commissioner Tim Finchem thanked more people than an Oscar winner, he took a few questions from the assembled scribblers:
Q. The commitment to Tucson, how long is that for, is that through the sponsorship? 2010?Judge, can you direct the witness to answer yes or no.
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Virtually all our agreements are linked to our cycles, a sponsorship cycle and television cycle. All of our agreements dovetail; in this instance they dovetail in four years.
Q. The other part, do you think the World Golf Championships are meeting the stated aim of developing developed to enhance the competitive structure of World Golf worldwide?
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Yes, I think the first and primary reason for the World Golf Championships was to create a vehicle whereby the fans could enjoy the opportunity to watch all of the best players in the world assembled, a more frequent number of times during the course of the year. Heretofore, that was primarily the major championships and THE PLAYERS Championship.
Heretofore? Mr. Commissioner, we're not dictating a memo to Candace. You are talking to people. Well, members of the media. Please, continue...
Today we have, with the World Golf Championships, another group of tournaments where all the best players in the world play. There are others, as well, but as a constant flow with Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup competition included in that. And that was the primary mission.
The secondary mission was to continue to grow interest in the game by focusing on the International and global aspects of the game. And that's why we've had such a great relationship with a company like Accenture, because they have a global focus. And I think that secondary mission is being met, as well.
See, Accenture has a global focus, so the events have had a worldly flavor! That answers the question, right?
Nope, it's about to get awwwwkwaaaarrrd.
Q. I think 39 of the 64 players in this week's field come from overseas. Can you part one of my question, can you explain why so many of these championships are played in the United States? And part two is don't you think that you have a responsibility to take these tournaments elsewhere in the world and to grow interest in the game elsewhere in the world?
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Where the players come from is frankly not of too much import. Our system is such that from the start of the system...
Q. I'm trying to point out that it's a global game, golf is a global game.
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: I understand that. I'm remarking that I had questions during the course of the week, and they're disturbed that over half of the field is not from the United States.
Q. That was not my question.
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: I understand that. To the second part of your question, yes and no. We would like to see World Golf Championships played around the world, and we have seen that the first eight years. I think we've played on five different continents. Today the World Cup continues to be played this past year in Portugal, and this coming year in Barbados as part of the World Golf Championships. We may add another World Golf Championship. That is a nice thing to do.
That is a nice thing to do? Uh, let's back to the MBAspeak...
I think the fundamental, however, is not that. The fundamental is to bring to the world via incredible television capability, to 145 countries, all the best players in the world playing. The reality is that frankly Sergio Garcia is seen who is not here, is seen when he's played in a World Golf Championship by more people than typically any other event he plays, regardless of where it is, whether in Europe or Asia or anywhere else.
See, it doesn't matter where you play. It's about the television capacity. This is why they should just build one golf course in Orlando with stadium seating and a big parking lot. Construct a 6,000 foot runway (for the G5s, of course), some player housing, and just play all of the events in one place. You can maximize margins and just let that television capacity do its thing!
Ernie Els gets more global television exposure when he plays here this week than he does when he plays in China or Hong Kong.
Imagine if he won a match how much capacity he would have maximized!
But I think the important thing is not that, it's that who are we reaching through World Golf Championships, are we reaching just as many people, and we think the answer is absolutely. Not to say we won't continue to work with having tournaments around the world. We are proud of the fact that we play on five different continents, and we will continue to play somewhere around the world, as well.
I think he meant the past tense there, "played on five different continents." But hey, we're going to throw an event to China so we'll still be playing around the world. Quit your complaining!
And now it's time for the Commissioner's intermission so the Accenture suit can out-MBA the Commish (the audacity!):
Q. Mr. Murphy, was Australia that much of a failure for you when it was played down there? If you were to continue your relationship with this World Golf Championship, would there be any scenario in which you'd be willing for one year to take this tournament abroad?
JIM MURPHY: The Australian tournament in many ways was a huge success for us, because we relaunched our new brand from that place. And Australia happened to be the major continent in the world where our brand was new, because in the time zones that's how it worked out. We changed our name from an older name to what we have now on midnight that day, and we played that week.
Ah those fond memories of the brand relaunch. Amazing how these WGC's just warm the heart.
But it's not all about relaunching the brand for Mr. Murphy...
From a timing point of view, it worked out great. We were somewhat disappointed in the field; some of the top players didn't come. The television coverage was great, we had great client entertainment there, and we saw it as a plus.
Would we do it again? Well, we'd consider it. Certainly we'd talk to the PGA TOUR about it. The PGA TOUR and other Tours drive this process, and we're sort of in a reactionary mode.
A reactionary mode? Scribblers, was Finchem making a note of that one? That's a peach, hon!
We can influence what happens, but they're the experts on golf, and we're experts in managing and selling technology services. We recognize our roles.
Oh, nice, subtle plug. I was wondering what the heck Accenture does.
Okay, enough of him. Back to the Commissioner...
Q. Based upon your knowledge of The Gallery, what were your impressions of the course specifically, and anything you feel The Gallery needs to do to be fully prepared for that event next year?
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: We've been engaged for months, and our team has, with everyone related to The Gallery, many of whom are here today. We have a good, solid working relationship on the short term and long term planning that will relate to the conduct of the Accenture Match Play in Tucson. There are, obviously, in any instances like this, a lot of things that need to be done. We're very, very comfortable with the working relationship we have.
Uh, that's a no, he hasn't seen the course.
Q. What's your feel for the State of golf worldwide at this time, is it growing or is it receding, both in terms of the PGA and in terms of..
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: I gather the question is what is my perception of the state of the game in terms of its growth globally; is that correct? Well, that's an interesting question, because it's an interesting question, the answer of which has been perhaps many times in the media misanalyzed to some extent.
Pausing here to allow you to go back and read that one more time. After all, it's an interesting answer to an interesting answer.
And by that I mean here in the United States, for example, there is a focus on the total number of rounds played as it relates to golf courses. And in today's society the regular golfer is playing a few rounds less than perhaps he played he or she played five or ten years ago.More people playing less. At least he's honest about it.
On the other hand, there's been each and every year an increase in the number of participants in the game. So from a total participant standpoint we've seen regular growth here in the United States.
Q. I realize it's not done yet, Commissioner, on the FedEx Cup points, but where do you see the World Golf Championships positioned with that series going on next year?
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: It would be premature for me to say. We're evaluating different processes. It will be a process that goes to June. But whether or not it's a process that relates to strength of field or a process that relates to purse or a process that relates to stature of events, under any of those scenarios World Golf Championships will fare well, and fare well in that configuration.
And it's a process that we'll be processing for quite some time since no one can really process how this FedEx Cup process is going to be processed.
Sunday, February 26, 2006 at 08:51 PM 14 Comments | in PGA Tour, Tim Finchem, Tour TV Contract, WGC Match Play
Reader Comments (14)
Why can't it be a process where each event awards the same amount of points regardless of purse, tournament, size of field, or strength of field?? That way players either show up and play to earn points or they don't show up to play and don't earn points. Isn't this whole FedEx Cup points race dredged up to incentivize top players to play more?? Or is Commissioner Finchem going to devise a way for Top Players to only play 15 events (Ernie Els) and still be able to earn a significant amount of points to then still be elgible for the $10 Million deferred compensation retirement credit?? So we chop off the legs of long lasting existing events to bring the Top players together (15 events) more often and then reward the top guys all over again with $10 million all the while their schedules really haven't changed one bit!
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: It would be premature for me to say. We're evaluating different processes. It will be a process that goes to June. But whether or not it's a process that relates to strength of field or a process that relates to purse or a process that relates to stature of events, under any of those scenarios World Golf Championships will fare well, and fare well in that configuration.
Commissioner Finchem: Number one, in terms of global interest, we have now virtually every good player in the world playing on the PGA TOUR. If you look just in the past five years at the number of countries represented on the PGA TOUR in terms of our membership, we've gone from 10 to over 20. The number of players who are exempt from other countries has gone from just over 20 to 70 players. So this translates into tremendous exposure and interest worldwide. Our television product is stronger in Japan and in Europe than the Japanese and European tours.
Too bad we don't have some Japanese television station or the BBC covering our golf live. Where were they when the TV negotiations commenced?? And how reassuring this news is, because here in the U.S., it is descending like a hot air balloon whose parachute valve has malfunctioned. http://travel.howstuffworks.com/hot-airballoon1.html
I wonder how we jumped from 20 players to 70 in just 5 years? I'll bet coach Finchem knows how that happened, and it appears that his math is getting better! How many more American Professional Golfers is coach Finchem going to displace, in order to outsource the PGA Tour's presence globally?? And in those last 5 years how has that outsourcing benefited us in these new television rights fees agreements. That outsourcing should have driven the television ratings through the roof because; "we have virtually every good player in the world playing on the PGA Tour." Did it?? No it hasn't, if it had he would have been announcing it loud enough for them to hear it in Japan and Europe. And if he were to announce it, well, we would still need the forensic accountants anyway.
"Is this point system going to be simple or are we going to need a NASA scientist to figure it out?" asked Olin Browne, a former member of both the policy board and players advisory committee. "We need to get information and share it with each other, run the numbers on previous years and plug them into a bunch of different formulas. It's in everybody's best interest to be skeptical right now because that may ultimately lead to the fairest system."
Oh, we haven't even developed the points system yet have we? It's detailed and involved?? There's your answer Olin. However, we don't need to bring in any NASA Scientists. Let me explain to everyone right here, how this whole thing is going to work. The points will be attributed to strength of fields. LOL! And those fields will have “A” (SIGNIFICANT) increase in points being awarded, WHY?? Well, because that’s how we’re going to do it. (It’s called a pyramid scheme, boys) Then once a player (Top Player) accumulates his first 1000 points, his points after that will be doubled, and then when he accumulates 4000 points, his point’s values after that will be tripled. And then those players with the most points will get to advance with those points as a base to the FedEx Cup series playoff so that.......................... Get that Pyramid Scheme S... out of here! Does NASCAR award points based on strength of races???…………………….. hahahahahahaahahah~!
I did overhear some range talk at the Nissan about the FedEx Cup points and when I heard something about "that's something the mathematicians" will have to figure out, I knew it was not going to be something as simple as you've suggested.
Since "incentivizing" the top players to play more is the part of the motivation for the Cup, it would seem that a straight-across-the-board points system would be best. Is this how it works with Nascar?
This is how NASCAR does it, and why everyone is watching cars going round and round and round and round.
http://nascar.about.com/od/standings/a/nascarpoints.htm
Every race on the schedule is worth the same amount of NASCAR points (except the Budweiser Shootout and the NEXTEL All-Star race in Charlotte which are not worth any points at all). Winning the Daytona 500 scores exactly the same number of points that winning in Watkins Glen does. This is why it is so important for the racers to run hard every week, there are no "unimportant" races during the season.
Look at that Geoff! Every race on the schedule is worth the same amount of NASCAR points. There are no "unimportant" races. I love this NASCAR philosophy. Damn, these guys have to put in their time, which allows their fans to actually get to see them more often, in order to recieve the BIGG PAY-OFF. I love it.
But somehow Geoff, based on my own personal observations while playing on the PGA Tour, I just don't see Commissioner Finchem coming to the same conclusions that NASCAR came to. But, if the Commissioner were to put it to a vote for the dues paying membership to decide, we probably wouldn't even be talking about a points race at all.
FedEx, when it absolutely, positively needs to be there overnight because Finchem couldn't make up his mind until the last minute ...
FedExp, when it absolutely, positively needs to there by January 2007 ..
Now for something more constructive: they obviously don't care what ratings are worldwide. Their two main rating systems are domestic and prime time, and anything falling outside either means nothing. At least, that is the image they are working so hard at projecting.
By the way, are half rounds considered when judging golf’s popularity?
My wife and I have been playing 9 holes for the past several years. Others too, we notice. In fact, several of the courses in our area are 9 hole layouts (Some do play twice with the tees a little different for the second go round).
WGC tournaments would NOT count at all - hey, this is where the top players get to decide whether they want points or money - nothing for accenture to worry about there. Majors would also NOT count at all, one's an invitational, and another's not even in North America!! Everybody wants to win a major, so the fields are hardly going to suffer. The regular Tour championhips would then attract better fields, Tiger and Phil battle it out at Quad Cities Classic - might mean more sponsorship $$$ for these 'minor' championships.
Points system would need a calculator: 2000 for a win, 1000 for second place, and three players on third would share point value for third, fourth and fifth - I haven't worked that out yet (I'll get back to you before 2007) - it needs a scale to accommodate all players who make cut of course. There are enough tournaments from Jan thru August to allow a player to submit his 20 (or 18) scores and still have time off.
Or we could just get rid of the whole point thang and base it on who's got the biggest driver.
No points for the WGC championships. Good luck. Azinger almost barfed when they said that the winner of Tucson got the same Ryder Cup points as the winner of the Match Play yesterday.
Is that fair?
In any event, golf isn't NASCAR. ;-)
I've got my next 5- ball G-Shack Invitational shamble group lined up right here. I'll take MikeB, Scott S, MacDuff, and Smolmania. Something tells me that it wouldn't even matter what score we post.
did you make this up? I cant believe that educated people talk like this. We get better answers from the White House than what Finchem said.
When you are casting the movie, I would like to suggest Steve Carrell as Finchem. His portrayal of Michael Scott in the Office would be great groundwork for this role.
And nope, didn't make it up. The link will prove it.