"That makes this week's event an easy one to skip, which should not reflect on a sponsor or organizers whose hands are tied by their place on the schedule."

In the likelihood that you tune into tomorrow's inaugural Greenbrier Classic and wonder why a Nationwide Tour stop broke out, Bob Harig explains that the event is another victim of the FedEx Cup. So don't expect a decent field for the next few years.

This time of year, any other result would be a huge shock, unfortunately. That remains the fallout from the FedEx Cup schedule that is now in its fourth year and leaves many tournaments without a fighting chance when it comes to securing a field.

Undoubtedly, the tour put some pressure on the big names to show up this week -- you can bet that is why Furyk is taking one for the team -- but it is difficult to criticize the players on this one. The way the schedule falls, there's a ton of golf to be played in the next two months.

Comments

[Old Hornet]

What's the odds on Daly going underground Monday with a smoke-n-coke in the event he makes the cut ?

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

100:1?

[JDF]

Sergio, Davis, Perry, Toms, Appleby, Holmes, Barnes....it's still good! It's still good! - Greenbrier

Just sorting the leaderboard by the 'Proj FEC' column I worried the best first page they could hope for on Sunday featured Furyk, Kuchar and Crane. I literally couldn't think of a conclusion to a tournament I'd less like to watch, unless Kuchar had his Dad back on the bag.

[Hawkeye]

Why not just pause the PGA Tour during July? All the good tournaments are in Europe anyway, and the schedule is stacked from August onwards. Take a break after the US Open, recharge the batteries, and finish strong. Makes sense to me.

[Billy]

God save the FedEx Cup.

[Wisconsin Reader]

Consider how many tournaments are very similar to this week? Close to a majority of events literally never see - or will see - a galaxy of stars. . . The PGA Tour operates a 3 tier tournament program. . . The Nationwide is the bottom rung . . . The top level are the World Golf Championships and events (not the majors) wherein almost all the stars regularly compete. . . Finally there is the "Championship Series for non stars and journeymen with PGA Tour status." These events are an opportunity for the occasional star to pad his record and wallet (Stricker at the Deere) or the lesser names to beat their peers and jump up to the top tier.

No reflection on the events themselves - they do most everything they can to attract top level players - but the reality is the schedule is stacked against them.

[Smails]

Its all getting re-racked with the next TV deal, or whenever Fed Ex can get out of its contract

[Smails]

We're missing the point here--

Event is a great thing for that part of the country--people will turn out in droves no matter who plays. last time they ha an event this big was--1979 Ryder Cup?

Venue is great, and will get TV exposure it could never get through advertisements. Its tough to get to and does not have a lot to do--hard core golfers are a target, and they will see good players play it.

Justice should be very happy and the event will build if he wants to keep paying for it.

It may not be worth $6 mm, but NO tournament is worth that--the Memorial and Doral (a WGC) are sponsorless--the whole tour is over priced.

[sir real]

Smails, Good assessment. Boo and J.D. alone will have the mountain folk piling in. There are still plenty of strong players in the field, just not the Top 20 studs of other stacked events.

Mr. Justice claims the event is on track to raise almost 3.1 million for charity this year. That's almost double the current 1.7 million record for a first time PGA Tour event. Even if he has to dig into his own pocket, he will to keep the postive buzz going.

All in all, these events are what can sustain the Tour into the future...there are sure to be some tough sponsorship days ahead.

[Oliver Chettle]

The FedEx Cup is doing even more damage to the European Tour, but how often is that mentioned in the American media? What makes Americans think they are entitled to see the world's best golfers in their country every single week?