2019 PGA Tour

[pendodave]

Re the schedule, I'm hoping that it gives an opportunity for the European events to take centre stage. There are quite a few decent ones coming up, and compared to the wraparound ones, they look pretty attractive

 

[Dan2501]

Really interesting? Duller than dishwater for me and thats as someone who has watched most of the play offs over the years, new format has killed it for me. Hard to make a case for more than a handful of players winning a handicap comp for a dumpload of cash because the Americans cant distinguish between a tournament winner and a season winner.

I really hope one of the leading players shoots the lights out day 1 and they get 3 days of damp squib procession!

Struggling to see many positives in the schedule changes this year and am watching far less golf as a result, pretty sure Im not the only one

More interesting than last year for me, as this Tournament decides the Fed Ex winner so there's more on the line. Couple of early bogeys for JT and it opens the whole Fed Ex right up and gives the guys in the Top 5 or 6 a real chance of catching him, whereas in the past the person leading going in could scrape a top 10 and still win it if results went there way, this makes it much more interesting from a potential story perspective and in regards to possible Sunday drama. Also removes the confusion of there being two trophies, two results, two winners on Sunday etc. I like it.

 

[TheDiablo]

More interesting than last year for me, as this Tournament decides the Fed Ex winner so there's more on the line. Couple of early bogeys for JT and it opens the whole Fed Ex right up and gives the guys in the Top 5 or 6 a real chance of catching him, whereas in the past the person leading going in could scrape a top 10 and still win it if results went there way, this makes it much more interesting from a potential story perspective and in regards to possible Sunday drama. Also removes the confusion of there being two trophies, two results, two winners on Sunday etc. I like it.

There's still a gross tournament though all starting at even for the purposes of owgr. Clear as mud.

I'll give the first 3 days a miss and check in on Sunday if it looks like a good finish.

To fundys point, I've watched a lot less golf this year. Schedule is all over the place, majors rammed in together, WGCs whenever they can fit them in and playoffs confusing - all on courses that get softer each and every year.

Throw in even more random sponsorship such as the below"Jason Day is 37th in the FedEx, how's he getting on in the Wyndham? 22nd! Wow! Even better news for him is that he is 2nd in the AON risk/reward challenge!! How exciting!" 🤮

I don't care, just give me a good golf tournament!

 

[Dan2501]

The TV audience won't necessarily know about how it works for OWGR purposes though. Obviously the money is gross, but the money was gross last year, it doesn't change that. I think the actual format change of this weeks tournament is more conducive to an exciting finish. Unlikely anyone is going to be coasting content with a 30th finish when a couple of birdies could earn them an extra $30k, and with the full $15m on the line for this week, it should be fiercely competitive and a few shots is not a lot over 4 days unless JT comes out on fire. The Fed Ex is always going to be a bit gross, but fair play to them for trying to mix it up and make the final event a bit more exciting and leaning into the fact it's an entertainment product.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

The US tour is joke at the moment , the golf is dull , their majors were dull , beyond Woods at the Masters i can’t recall many stand out moments - its greed driven , the schedule is a complex mess with big tournaments jammed in together meaning they lost their impact. All this “start on 10under “ - what a joke.

The only good thing is it’s done in a week and then the ET can be highlighted more.

 

[BubbaP]

Just looked at the leaderboard on Sky's site. Justin Thomas -10 for the tournament. Okay, that's his head start.
-10 for today's round. Erm no.

 

[Dan2501]

And in less than a round we're all packed up at the top with JT, Schauffele, Cantlay, Brooks and Rory all within 3 shots. The Fed-Ex just got a bit more exciting, we're going to have a serious shoot out for the trophy come Sunday.

 

[fundy]

And in less than a round we're all packed up at the top with JT, Schauffele, Cantlay, Brooks and Rory all within 3 shots. The Fed-Ex just got a bit more exciting, we're going to have a serious shoot out for the trophy come Sunday.

and still no one cares or is watching, they turned the majority off before it started

 

[BubbaP]

The race to determine "the best golfer in August" 😁😉🙂

 

[Slime]

and still no one cares or is watching, they turned the majority off before it started

I'm watching it ............................... and I'm loving it!

 

[Slab]

I've seen a few comments doubting the scoring format etc but I watched the first day highlights and it was fine, just as if I tuned in on a Friday, not unusual or weird at all
It fulfills the criteria they wanted to reward the players performing well towards the end of the Cup & it didn't detract from the viewing either, seems all good

(might have been a diff story if JT had shot 61 but he didn't so it isn't)

 

[Imurg]

The problem with the old system was that you generally got the scenario of only 2 or 3 players being able to win the whole thing...it may even have been possible to have won it before the TC.
Whilst it's not perfect, the current format at least gives all 30 a chance to win..and it's a winner takes all.
Any other cumulative format runs the risk of copying the original format.
At least with this format you know whoever is leading the tournament when the final putt drops is the winner and not someone who came 10th this week.
3 weeks off and then the 2020 season starts 15th September

 

[Slab]

The problem with the old system was that you generally got the scenario of only 2 or 3 players being able to win the whole thing...it may even have been possible to have won it before the TC.
Whilst it's not perfect, the current format at least gives all 30 a chance to win..and it's a winner takes all.
Any other cumulative format runs the risk of copying the original format.
At least with this format you know whoever is leading the tournament when the final putt drops is the winner and not someone who came 10th this week.
3 weeks off and then the 2020 season starts 15th September

Yeah and the ET still has a dozen or more tournaments to go this season... and still starts the 2021 season in Nov!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

The problem with the old system was that you generally got the scenario of only 2 or 3 players being able to win the whole thing...it may even have been possible to have won it before the TC.
Whilst it's not perfect, the current format at least gives all 30 a chance to win..and it's a winner takes all.
Any other cumulative format runs the risk of copying the original format.
At least with this format you know whoever is leading the tournament when the final putt drops is the winner and not someone who came 10th this week.
3 weeks off and then the 2020 season starts 15th September

But is it not supposed to a “season long” Competition?

Surely it’s not supposed to be whoever wins this one tournament is the winner of the season long trophy ?

And if someone has won before going into today then great - it’s a reward for playing well throughout the season

It’s a completely contrived situation to reward the person who plays well in August irrelevant of how well they do throughout the rest of the year.

 

[Slab]

But is it not supposed to a “season long” Competition?

Surely it’s not supposed to be whoever wins this one tournament is the winner of the season long trophy ?

And if someone has won before going into today then great - it’s a reward for playing well throughout the season

It’s a completely contrived situation to reward the person who plays well in August irrelevant of how well they do throughout the rest of the year.

You mean a bit like the Champions league final?


Apart from the individual titles aren't all the events through the season qualifiers and elimination events to get to this final and the financial reward for winning this final is then greater than every individual qualifying/elimination event leading up to the final

 

[Dan2501]

Bit like the Playoffs in the lower divisions of English football. They don't reward the team who were consistently the 3rd best team throughout the year, you could scrape 6th with a strong finish to the season, take that form into the Playoffs and get into the PL the next season and get the financial rewards that come with it. Happens in loads of sports.

As Slab says. The whole season is building to this one big final event to decide who takes the prize. Golf is an entertainment product and it turned out there was little excitement in going to the Tour Championship with 28 guys on auto-pilot with 2 guys able to win the Fed-Ex. This year is way more open and in terms of an entertainment product should be far more exciting going into Sunday. We've currently got 3 top players tied for the lead, Rory 1 back, Kuchar and Cantlay 2 back and Matsuyama 3 back all fighting it out for the biggest prize of the season. Seems like a massive improvement to me compared to the old system to me.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Bit like the Playoffs in the lower divisions of English football. They don't reward the team who were consistently the 3rd best team throughout the year, you could scrape 6th with a strong finish to the season, take that form into the Playoffs and get into the PL the next season and get the financial rewards that come with it. Happens in loads of sports.

As Slab says. The whole season is building to this one big final event to decide who takes the prize. Golf is an entertainment product and it turned out there was little excitement in going to the Tour Championship with 28 guys on auto-pilot with 2 guys able to win the Fed-Ex. This year is way more open and in terms of an entertainment product should be far more exciting going into Sunday. We've currently got 3 top players tied for the lead, Rory 1 back, Kuchar and Cantlay 2 back and Matsuyama 3 back all fighting it out for the biggest prize of the season. Seems like a massive improvement to me compared to the old system to me.

Playoff systems are pure American to drag more out of the sport and for me they are poor to decide who wins the “season long” competition

It should be the person who has played the best throughout the season not some contrived couple of weeks at the end

But the ultimately the “Whole Season” finished for a lot of people the minute Lowry raised the claret jug - the Majors are the pinnacle and for me it’s disgraceful that the USPGA have been allowed to imo ruin the season to suit the Fed Ed money machine

 

[Jacko_G]

May catch up on some of it this morning.

 

[Dan2501]

Playoff systems are pure American to drag more out of the sport and for me they are poor to decide who wins the “season long” competition

It should be the person who has played the best throughout the season not some contrived couple of weeks at the end

But the ultimately the “Whole Season” finished for a lot of people the minute Lowry raised the claret jug - the Majors are the pinnacle and for me it’s disgraceful that the USPGA have been allowed to imo ruin the season to suit the Fed Ed money machine

Fair enough. I'm just going to enjoy some good golf this weekend with some of the best players in the world fighting it out for the biggest financial prize of the season on an excellent golf course. If you aren't interested, that's up to you.

 

[ger147]

McIlroy putting the foot down, 2 clear with 6 holes to play. And Koepka starting to creak under the pressure. Gonna be an excellent finish.