Wraparound Absurdity: Web.com Tour Finals Spill Into Monday, Graduates Expected In Napa Thursday

Just a reminder: it was retired PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem's vision to save four fall events, turn those into the start of the next season in the "wraparound" season concept. It's looking more ridiculous by the day as Web.com Tour Finals grads who have been grinding the last two months  need to turn around and tee up in Thursday's 2017-18 PGA Tour season starter in Napa Valley.

And now with a rain-delayed Monday finish, they have two days to prepare for the start of their PGA Tour season. Oh and a status reshuffle looms after Sea Island.

Visionary!

Comments

[Zokol]

Geoff,
The wraparound season, from a player perspective, is hardly absurd.
With the 50 Web.com Tour graduates moving immediately into PGA Tour events provides an opportunity for them to carry their good performance (momentum) right into PGA Tour events. This is a tremendous opportunity that wasn’t available to them in the previous qualifying system.
While the big boys on Tour rest, Web.com Tour grads have an opportunity to get their footing on Tour.
Those Web.com Tour players who get their PGA Tour cards today will be over the moon excited to get into the Safeway Open, even with 2-days notice.

[Geoff]

Guys withdrawing today from the Web.com Tour finals to get to Napa is a situation that should not happen to conclude a "season."

And while I know it's all about playing opportunities, oversaturation can be fatal for a sport. Building opportunities for folks 100-200th is nice, but compromising the PGA Tour "product" for that group is a bold play.

[Carl Peterson]

This silly overlap of the Web.com finish and the start of the 2018 season is, IMO, much more significant than the complaints about the Fedex.

[Convert]

+1 Zokol. If 2 days is not long enough for a Web.com player to prepare for a PGA event they can WD. Remember John Daly contemplating not playing in the '91 PGA because he didn't get a practice round

[Phi13]

This problem will be remedied next year, with the Web.com Tour Championship played the same week as the Tour Championship.

[Boomer]

This seems only barely more absurd than any other Monday finish, which happens all the time.

If players don't like it they can skip Napa.

[P Thomas]

Those that can, travelmat last minute and play.

Those that weren't good enough to play worth a damn on their college team, try to tell the players what to do I guess

[Soro B]

Geoff: I've been giving you grief for your unjustified critique of the fall golf schedule for 3 to 4 years now. Your basic premise is that golfers need an offseason, at least for TV ratings. My response is "nonsense," even top ranked golfers want to (a) stay fresh and (b) make money no matter the time of year. They're not coal miners for cryin' out loud. So let's make a gentlemen's wager:

I bet you that at least half of the current top 50 in the OWGR rankings as of today, play at least three times somewhere, worldwide, in a stroke-play, tour-sanctioned tournament between now and the end of 2017. I've done zero background research whether any of these players plan on playing before Maui.

If I lose the bet, I'll stop posting on this website. If I win, then you have to wear a SF Giants ball cap to your first Morning Drive appearance in 2018. I'll track the data, regardless of whether you accept the wager.

[Joel]

It's just golf - not like they are running marathons or anything. I work 6 days a week, 51 weeks a year and get up at 6:00 a.m. and get home at 6:00 p.m. each of those days like many working people.

[KLG]

What Zokol said! Besides, these late events provide local support for the PGA TOUR that is more than useful. And the RSM is a lot more fun than the Masters, to see in person. Low cost, good food, outstanding venue, no Pinkertons, players visible. End of mini-rant.

[OWGR Fan]

There have been between 44 and 50 events on the PGA Tour now for 50+ years. Wouldn't call it saturation.

[Bud]

For me as a fan, the real season still begins in January. Easy to ignore the Oct-Dec stuff & watch football. I imagine that the fall tournaments are an opportunity for 2nd tier players to get a win or make a little money.

[Bill Wilson]

The wraparound season was not created for TV ratings, it was created to give pro golfers a chance to better their careers. I guess I don't understand all the angst, it's really just a basic business decision to develop a future for players and give them a place to play and a reason to play in the Fall.

[DJ21]

The wrap around season has killed tournament golf here in Australia and I am sure other countries. There needs to be a gap for the smaller countries to have a window to allow their home players to return home. We had Matt Jones skip defending the Aus Open because he had to play for his card, it is really disappointing.