Watney No Top-5's Until Barclays; Leads Reset Cup!

Without the BCS to laugh at starting in 2014, the FedExCup at least figures to provide wonderful fodder as the least logical sporting event on the planet.

Nick Watney, whose best finish of the year was an 8th place at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, won the first leg of the Reset Cup and you know what that means, he's your new playoff points leader!

So much for that "season long body of work."

Now, the Ponte Vedra Police reading this and getting mad at the relentless mocking of the algorithm madness should at least be grateful I'm paying attention to this debacle.

The SI/golf.com gang batted around four pages of weekend golf topics--except the actual meaning of Watney's win in the playoffs. Ouch!

Comments

[Double or Nothing Cup]

@underthechin

"Play &%$# all year, win 1 tourny and bang #1 in the standings. Gotta love it."

bayhill, memorial, at&t.....thanks for coming out!

[UnderTheChin]

I'm not following you? What does Tiger's wins have to do with Watney?

[Geoff]

Under,
The point is that the FedExCup is supposed to reward your season long play. Tiger has three wins to Watney's one, yet trails in the FedExCup? They can't keep trying to have it both ways or else what could be a fun "chase" for cash will continue to be laughed at!

[GChest86]

Did I just write something similar to this? No copy write infringement to worry about but that's funny. I feel the same way... wasted year for some guys, granted Nick obviously should have jumped up from 49 to top 20 or something but the resetting of points does kind of defeat the purpose of making a "Year Long Race for the FedEx Cup" if it's:

"Be top 125 at the end of the year. Play just well enough to advance to the top 100. Do it again to barely get into the top 70. Play one more time to get into the top 30. Win. Where's my check?"

[Hawkeye]

Bill Haas was 26th in the standings going into East Lake, and walked away winning the entire thing. Makes sense.

[Viz]

Geoff---you forgot to mention Sergio skips the 2nd week of the playoffs and still is IN the Reset Cup...

Sincerely,
Moneygrab

[BrianS]

Its funny, last week everyone on here was upset that the Fedex format wasn't a "play off" due to the fact that it wasn't solely based on performance in the events - so you could MC here and advance. Now, people are upset that Watney has jumped to the top of the heap in terms of points ? Hey, that is how it is supposed to work - and how it works in other playoffs - the reg season gets you seeding or position for the "playoffs". So now Watney's a lock for the top 10 or whatever in Atlanta, and if he wins again, he'll probably win the thing. Or the guy who wins this week. Its funny how every week people pick a different angle to complain about. Enjoy the golf - this weekend was one of the better weekends of the (non major) year. I think one of the best thing about these events is the stakes are high (like a major) but there isn't the historical or career defining overhangings of the majors, so you get just straight out top shelf pro golf. Very fun, I am looking forward to the next few weeks. Week over week, best 5 weeks of the year in golf, majors excepted.

[rb]

"best 5 weeks of the year in golf,"

lol

[johnnnycz]

Ranking golfers by points is proving to be pretty stupid once again when golf already has the best points system possible..it's called "strokes" and the lowest "point" total should win.

I have never understood this obsession with point systems to rank performance when it's pretty obvious in golf to see who's playing the best....it's the one who hits it the LEAST. Solution is cumulative strokes....I bet that might've gotten TW to drop the prima donna act about the greens and gotten him focused.

My money is on Sergio and Dufner to win the big bucks...just to show yet again that Tim's brainchild playoff extravaganza is actually better suited for the short bus kind of crowd.

[Viz]

@rb---thanks for responding to that comment with "lol" truly what that deserved! It is a good 5 weeks of golf but not the BEST by any stretch of the imagination.

@BrianS---in playoffs you can't skip the 2nd round and still have a chance to win let alone have an option to even play in the playoffs again.

[Ryan]

It is so easy to fix these playoffs. Just make every tournament an elimination tournament. First 100 in the Barclays advance ans so on. You reward the Top 5 with immunity for the first round but tease them to play by the fact that for the second round only the first 5 of the first tournament is immune. Easy to understand, the regular season is an advantage and every performance counts

[Press Agent]

I fail to understand how it's different than any other playoffs in other sports. There are many instances where a team can just barely make the playoffs, but then buckle down and win the whole shooting match. Getting yourself in is the first battle, doing well or winning is the second battle. Not to say that I love it, cause I don't, I just think some of the criticism is strange.

@ Viz you forgot to mention that Dufner skipped the first event of the playoffs and is still in it.

[digsouth]

In NHRA racing, the season thru Indy (this weekend) creates a top 10 in the pro categories, and the points are reset....the top 10 are eligible to win the championship, and you can ''skip'' a race if needed, though it is rarely done. Nascar--top 12 and a points reset.

Golf has the season creating 125 (too many IMO) to go to the CHAMPIONSHIP, a better name than playoff, perhaps., or just call it the FEDEX CUP, and not the frigging ''playoffs''. It is no big deal--what bothers me is the constant hounding of the ''Fedex Cup'' thruout the season, and the lack of promoting the individual event, who has a sponsor who paid big bucks to get mentioned. I really wonder why FEC is so much money, when the players don't even know what is goingf on...do we see the winner on Letterman, or? Do we se him in a FedEx commercial promoting FedEx? Couldn't we pay $2 less for an overnite letter, and have Furyk actually work for my money, my back yard needs mowing, or?

[BrianS]

@rb - so what is better ? The West Coast Swing ? They have some really nice courses, but the Hope gets a "C" field, and other than Tiger and Phil, so does San Diego and Pebble. Florida ? One WGC and a bunch of cookie cutter course. The rest of the year you get 2 good weeks, then a few down ones. I said Majors excepted. What other 4 in a row are better than these ?

[BrianS]

And, since this is at least partially a Golf Course Architecture site, I would think that it is tough to find a four week stretch - including the majors - to top:

Bethpage Black
TPC - Boston (which always get very high marks)
Crooked Stick
East Lake

Add in the fact that the fields are by definition comprised of almost all of the top guys, it makes for really good watching. I get @digsouth the irritation at the marketing throughout the year, but what pro sport does not have that ? And I would also say that at least for this week, Barclays seemed to get their marketing $$ worth in terms of mentions, exposure (they sure beat those Phil commercials to death this week), ect.

[RLL]

@digsouth: As someone pointed out in the previous "playoff" thread, $10mil+ is chump change to FedEx Corp...

Agree with you totally that the real issue is golf being willing to let FedEx essentially "buy" its entire season and have the Kelly Tilghman's of the golf media portray the season as a year-long "race to the FedEx cup."

If the whole thing was a post-season (i.e., "silly season") event, talked about only while it was happening, it could be accepted for what it is -- a money printing event for players, the PGA, and television -- just like all professional playoffs -- and even enjoyed by those of us who feel it has nothing whatsoever to do with traditional golf and its rightful championships.

But even then, the only way it could appear valid would be for it to be a real elimination event based on scores -- i.e., a playoff...

Take a hint from the NBA -- call it a "second season," and let fans accept it for what it is.

[DTF]

Double or Nothing, the player Under the Chin was referencing is Watney.

Which brings us to an interesting thought, what kind of champions does the FedEx Cup crown?

To Geoff's point, going into the Bethpage event Watney was 55th on the Money List, 97th in Scoring, 35th in the World Ranking, and only had 3 top-10 finishes for the whole year, including zero top-3 finishes.

Think what you like but sponsors like putting up pictures/names of superstars on their Wall of Winners, guys like Haas, Watney and Slocum (I know he didn't win) aren't what they are looking for.

On the flipside, look at things like the Money List, the World Rankings, Scoring....names like Rory, Bubba, Keegan, Tiger, Webb, Kuchar and Dufner consistently appear in all these lists. Mostly guys you'd recognize just by their first name. Bill ain't there, Nick ain't there, etc...

Remember that big tourney Steve Bartkowski arranged in Vegas back in '05 that offered $3,000,000 to the winners? Team event won by two guys named Garth Mulroy (who actually had a card this year) and David Ping....to me this is basically what the FedEx Cup has devolved into.

I guess there's nothing wrong with that but in the long run I think the concept fails as top players continue to have a burgeoning menu of high dollar playing opportunities world wide. Further evidence to the already cracking facade of the FedEx Cup is that players like Dufner and Sergio are now taking a week off during the series. In the past only Tiger and Phil would have the balls to do that!

In hindsight, think Dufner's glad he took the week off and missed out on the sturm and drang of the Black?!? Bet he is ;-)

[Viz]

@BrianS

Pebble, Riviera, WGC Match Play, Honda(Champions Course at PGA National), WGC at Doral, Transitions(Innisbrook), Bay Hill then skip a week heading into the Masters...

That's a pretty solid 8 weeks let alone 4 and on some damn good courses...

[Geoff]

Brian,
No question it's a great stretch and super fields. But I'm always fascinated by that rebuttal from tour officials and media. Any other sport with a "playoff" this flawed would have been hammered by negative press by now, but for some reason golf adores mediocrity and a compromised product.

The point in harping on the points structure is that this has the potential to be really fun, and I certainly understand the need to make the season meaningful. But at some point (I suggest Saturday night at East Lake), the points have to go away, and the cup has to be decided by the players. But then the algorithm writers would lose control and it wouldn't be about them.

[Press Agent]

Kyle Stanley missed the cut this week, but is still in good shape in the Fedex Cup because of some excellent play earlier in the year. In a way, the season does have some effect on the "playoffs"

[BrianS]

Goeff - appreciate the response, but isn't your point the reason they put in the (much maligned based on the title of this thread) dreaded "reset"? That way the TC is set up so that if any of the Top 5 guys going in can win it all if they win. Look, arguing about stuff like this is part of sports, and Is it possible to change for the better ? Sure. But when people say the current plan is idiotic or moronic or byzantine or whatever, without recognizing the balancing of various interests - for example the regular season vs. the playoffs that is at least attempted to be accomplished, it gets frustrating. Lots of people propose essentially starting from scratch with the "playoff" events, and let the chips fall as they may based on those 4 weeks alone. That's fine, but when (for example) Rory and/or Tiger or Duffner have a bad tourney and get eliminated at the beginning, and meanwhile some journeyman gets hot and wins the big money, people will squawk Personally, I would keep it as is to get the top 30 guys to Atlanta, then make it a free for all for the $10 mill. But then if some guy wins 3 events in a row, then comes in second in ATL, that is viewed as an injustice or whatever for him. Its hard to strike a balance that all will support. So meanwhile I just appreciate the efforts and the events.

[Viz]

Is it time for the Ryder Cup yet!? I'm so looking forward to that this season!

[KS]

Bethpage Black
TPC Boston
Crooked Stick
East Lake

"One of these does not belong with the others." Crooked Stick is perhaps the most overrated golf course in America.

[dbh]

@brians, if you don't care for byzantine, better choose something pretty close.

Check out Bob Estes' twitter today:

pgatour.com 's initial breathless press release doesn't have him in the field.

Bob: @PGATOUR Maybe I'm NOT in the field this week?

So they correct that and then pronounce him second biggest mover among the bubble boys of the Barclays, up 53 spots.

Bob: @PGATOUR @thebarclaysgolf @harmanbrian @grahamdelaet I moved up from 103 to 62(+41).

It's pretty bad when even the house organ, pgatour.com can't get it right, twice.

http://twitter.com/bobestespga

[Press Agent]

that is pretty sad. i guess poor old bob knows where he stands. i wonder if they would ever make a mistake like that with tiger woods?

[dbh]

Bob's a pretty droll guy and he's playing the golf of his life. :)

[A3]

Crooked stick sucks.