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Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Golf is not like team sports. It was never meant to have a finish line to the season
Instead of outrage and grave concern that Rory McIlroy chose to sit out the first FedEx Cup playoff event — without dropping a single spot in the rankings — let it be a reminder that golf is not like other sports. These are not the 'playoffs.' That's for team sports. This is golf, which has never had a defining finish to its year and never will. The FedEx Cup attempted to create a finish line until the tour tried to promote it as so much more. What it did was create an incentive for the best players to compete after the majors were over. That part has worked beautifully, and it still does, with or without McIlroy. Perhaps one reason McIlroy's absence got so much attention was no one had skipped a postseason event (barring injury) since Webb Simpson five years ago. Simpson pulled out of the BMW Championship at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, saying he wanted to be fresh for the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. McIlroy had said in June he has earned the right to do whatever he wants, and that includes skipping a $20 million tournament (for the third time this year), and sitting out the first round of what the PGA Tour calls its 'playoffs.' He remains at No. 2. But he certainly wasn't the first to do that. Tiger Woods was a no-show for the first playoff event in 2007, and he still went on to win the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson skipped the BMW Championship that year when it was the third of four postseason events. Sergio Garcia? He missed seven postseason events when he was eligible (and presumably healthy), one year taking time off in Switzerland and Spain because he wanted a break. McIlroy finished up nine holes of practice at Caves Valley on Monday afternoon as some of the players who advanced to the second stage were still on their way to the BMW Championship after a steamy week in Memphis, Tennessee. Given the heat, he's probably fresher than most. He first raised the question last year when he was No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, finished next-to-last in Memphis and wondered what he was doing there. He only dropped to No. 5. It changed nothing. So it was no surprise McIlroy sat this one out. Scottie Scheffler could have easily done the same. The TPC Southwind is where he last missed a cut (in 2022, when the postseason opener had 125-man field and a 36-hole cut). The FedEx St. Jude Classic also gave him a sponsor exemption when he was 17, and he has never missed it as a PGA Tour member. His choice. But playoffs? Jim Mora and his infamous 'Playoffs?' interview comes to mind this time of the year. The FedEx Cup might be a lot easier to understand — and appreciate — if the PGA Tour had just stuck to the right language when this season-ending bonanza first was unveiled. It was at East Lake in 2006 during the Tour Championship — remember, that was the year Woods and Mickelson both decided to skip the PGA Tour's finale — when former Commissioner Tim Finchem laid out the details of the FedEx Cup. He said golf was the only major sport where the regular season was more compelling than the finish (he apparently didn't think much of tennis). And so Finchem introduced a concept referred to as a championship series of four tournaments. He used that phrase — 'championship series' — 20 times in a lengthy news conference. The eight times he mentioned 'playoffs' was comparison with other sports, and how the championship series would be 'our version of the playoff system.' And then some marketing genius leaned on 'playoffs,' the word was painted onto a grassy hill at Westchester Country Club, the term stuck and it still doesn't make sense. That especially was the case when it began with 144 players, leading Jim Furyk to do the math. 'In football, there's 32 teams in the NFL and if I'm correct, 12 teams go to the playoffs,' he said in 2007. 'This year, 125 guys also keep their tour card and 144 people are going to the Playoffs. So that's roughly 110% of the league.' Golf is not like other sports. The concept is fine. The PGA Tour's version of the playoffs is working because it provides three weeks of its best players competing for a trophy that is slowly gaining in stature. It's not one of the four majors. It's probably still a notch below The Players Championship. The PGA Tour has tweaked the format five times, seeking a solution that doesn't exist. The most recent format — 'starting strokes' — was the most controversial, with the No. 1 player starting at 10-under par before the Tour Championship began. Not even Scheffler liked that. But it at least rewarded the players who performed the best throughout the year. Now the 30 players who emerge from the BMW Championship this week will all start from scratch at East Lake, and the low score wins. The 'season-long champion' could be someone who wins for the first time all year. How is the FedEx Cup trophy any different from the old Tour Championship trophy? The money is better. And unlike the last Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup began, at least everyone will show up.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Golf is not like team sports. It was never meant to have a finish line to the season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Instead of outrage and grave concern that Rory McIlroy chose to sit out the first FedEx Cup playoff event — without dropping a single spot in the rankings — let it be a reminder that golf is not like other sports. These are not the 'playoffs.' That's for team sports. This is golf, which has never had a defining finish to its year and never will. The FedEx Cup attempted to create a finish line until the tour tried to promote it as so much more. What it did was create an incentive for the best players to compete after the majors were over. That part has worked beautifully, and it still does, with or without McIlroy. Perhaps one reason McIlroy's absence got so much attention was no one had skipped a postseason event (barring injury) since Webb Simpson five years ago. Simpson pulled out of the BMW Championship at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, saying he wanted to be fresh for the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. McIlroy had said in June he has earned the right to do whatever he wants, and that includes skipping a $20 million tournament (for the third time this year), and sitting out the first round of what the PGA Tour calls its 'playoffs.' He remains at No. 2. But he certainly wasn't the first to do that. Tiger Woods was a no-show for the first playoff event in 2007, and he still went on to win the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson skipped the BMW Championship that year when it was the third of four postseason events. Sergio Garcia? He missed seven postseason events when he was eligible (and presumably healthy), one year taking time off in Switzerland and Spain because he wanted a break. McIlroy finished up nine holes of practice at Caves Valley on Monday afternoon as some of the players who advanced to the second stage were still on their way to the BMW Championship after a steamy week in Memphis, Tennessee. Given the heat, he's probably fresher than most. He first raised the question last year when he was No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, finished next-to-last in Memphis and wondered what he was doing there. He only dropped to No. 5. It changed nothing. So it was no surprise McIlroy sat this one out. Scottie Scheffler could have easily done the same. The TPC Southwind is where he last missed a cut (in 2022, when the postseason opener had 125-man field and a 36-hole cut). The FedEx St. Jude Classic also gave him a sponsor exemption when he was 17, and he has never missed it as a PGA Tour member. His choice. But playoffs? Jim Mora and his infamous 'Playoffs?' interview comes to mind this time of the year. The FedEx Cup might be a lot easier to understand — and appreciate — if the PGA Tour had just stuck to the right language when this season-ending bonanza first was unveiled. It was at East Lake in 2006 during the Tour Championship — remember, that was the year Woods and Mickelson both decided to skip the PGA Tour's finale — when former Commissioner Tim Finchem laid out the details of the FedEx Cup. He said golf was the only major sport where the regular season was more compelling than the finish (he apparently didn't think much of tennis). And so Finchem introduced a concept referred to as a championship series of four tournaments. He used that phrase — 'championship series' — 20 times in a lengthy news conference. The eight times he mentioned 'playoffs' was comparison with other sports, and how the championship series would be 'our version of the playoff system." And then some marketing genius leaned on 'playoffs,' the word was painted onto a grassy hill at Westchester Country Club, the term stuck and it still doesn't make sense. That especially was the case when it began with 144 players, leading Jim Furyk to do the math. 'In football, there's 32 teams in the NFL and if I'm correct, 12 teams go to the playoffs,' he said in 2007. 'This year, 125 guys also keep their tour card and 144 people are going to the Playoffs. So that's roughly 110% of the league.' Golf is not like other sports. The concept is fine. The PGA Tour's version of the playoffs is working because it provides three weeks of its best players competing for a trophy that is slowly gaining in stature. It's not one of the four majors. It's probably still a notch below The Players Championship. The PGA Tour has tweaked the format five times, seeking a solution that doesn't exist. The most recent format — 'starting strokes' — was the most controversial, with the No. 1 player starting at 10-under par before the Tour Championship began. Not even Scheffler liked that. But it at least rewarded the players who performed the best throughout the year. Now the 30 players who emerge from the BMW Championship this week will all start from scratch at East Lake, and the low score wins. The 'season-long champion" could be someone who wins for the first time all year. How is the FedEx Cup trophy any different from the old Tour Championship trophy? The money is better. And unlike the last Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup began, at least everyone will show up. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Golf is not like team sports. It was never meant to have a finish line to the season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Instead of outrage and grave concern that Rory McIlroy chose to sit out the first FedEx Cup playoff event — without dropping a single spot in the rankings — let it be a reminder that golf is not like other sports. These are not the 'playoffs.' That's for team sports. This is golf, which has never had a defining finish to its year and never will. The FedEx Cup attempted to create a finish line until the tour tried to promote it as so much more. What it did was create an incentive for the best players to compete after the majors were over. That part has worked beautifully, and it still does, with or without McIlroy. Perhaps one reason McIlroy's absence got so much attention was no one had skipped a postseason event (barring injury) since Webb Simpson five years ago. Simpson pulled out of the BMW Championship at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, saying he wanted to be fresh for the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. McIlroy had said in June he has earned the right to do whatever he wants, and that includes skipping a $20 million tournament (for the third time this year), and sitting out the first round of what the PGA Tour calls its 'playoffs.' He remains at No. 2. But he certainly wasn't the first to do that. Tiger Woods was a no-show for the first playoff event in 2007, and he still went on to win the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson skipped the BMW Championship that year when it was the third of four postseason events. Sergio Garcia? He missed seven postseason events when he was eligible (and presumably healthy), one year taking time off in Switzerland and Spain because he wanted a break. McIlroy finished up nine holes of practice at Caves Valley on Monday afternoon as some of the players who advanced to the second stage were still on their way to the BMW Championship after a steamy week in Memphis, Tennessee. Given the heat, he's probably fresher than most. He first raised the question last year when he was No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, finished next-to-last in Memphis and wondered what he was doing there. He only dropped to No. 5. It changed nothing. So it was no surprise McIlroy sat this one out. Scottie Scheffler could have easily done the same. The TPC Southwind is where he last missed a cut (in 2022, when the postseason opener had 125-man field and a 36-hole cut). The FedEx St. Jude Classic also gave him a sponsor exemption when he was 17, and he has never missed it as a PGA Tour member. His choice. But playoffs? Jim Mora and his infamous 'Playoffs?' interview comes to mind this time of the year. The FedEx Cup might be a lot easier to understand — and appreciate — if the PGA Tour had just stuck to the right language when this season-ending bonanza first was unveiled. It was at East Lake in 2006 during the Tour Championship — remember, that was the year Woods and Mickelson both decided to skip the PGA Tour's finale — when former Commissioner Tim Finchem laid out the details of the FedEx Cup. He said golf was the only major sport where the regular season was more compelling than the finish (he apparently didn't think much of tennis). And so Finchem introduced a concept referred to as a championship series of four tournaments. He used that phrase — 'championship series' — 20 times in a lengthy news conference. The eight times he mentioned 'playoffs' was comparison with other sports, and how the championship series would be 'our version of the playoff system.' And then some marketing genius leaned on 'playoffs,' the word was painted onto a grassy hill at Westchester Country Club, the term stuck and it still doesn't make sense. That especially was the case when it began with 144 players, leading Jim Furyk to do the math. 'In football, there's 32 teams in the NFL and if I'm correct, 12 teams go to the playoffs,' he said in 2007. 'This year, 125 guys also keep their tour card and 144 people are going to the Playoffs. So that's roughly 110% of the league.' Golf is not like other sports. The concept is fine. The PGA Tour's version of the playoffs is working because it provides three weeks of its best players competing for a trophy that is slowly gaining in stature. It's not one of the four majors. It's probably still a notch below The Players Championship. The PGA Tour has tweaked the format five times, seeking a solution that doesn't exist. The most recent format — 'starting strokes' — was the most controversial, with the No. 1 player starting at 10-under par before the Tour Championship began. Not even Scheffler liked that. But it at least rewarded the players who performed the best throughout the year. Now the 30 players who emerge from the BMW Championship this week will all start from scratch at East Lake, and the low score wins. The 'season-long champion' could be someone who wins for the first time all year. How is the FedEx Cup trophy any different from the old Tour Championship trophy? Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The money is better. And unlike the last Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup began, at least everyone will show up. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. ___ AP golf:
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Golf is not like team sports. It was never meant to have a finish line to the season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Instead of outrage and grave concern that Rory McIlroy chose to sit out the first FedEx Cup playoff event — without dropping a single spot in the rankings — let it be a reminder that golf is not like other sports. HT Image These are not the 'playoffs.' That's for team sports. This is golf, which has never had a defining finish to its year and never will. The FedEx Cup attempted to create a finish line until the tour tried to promote it as so much more. What it did was create an incentive for the best players to compete after the majors were over. That part has worked beautifully, and it still does, with or without McIlroy. Perhaps one reason McIlroy's absence got so much attention was no one had skipped a postseason event (barring injury) since Webb Simpson five years ago. Simpson pulled out of the BMW Championship at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, saying he wanted to be fresh for the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. McIlroy had said in June he has earned the right to do whatever he wants, and that includes skipping a $20 million tournament (for the third time this year), and sitting out the first round of what the PGA Tour calls its 'playoffs.' He remains at No. 2. But he certainly wasn't the first to do that. Tiger Woods was a no-show for the first playoff event in 2007, and he still went on to win the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson skipped the BMW Championship that year when it was the third of four postseason events. Sergio Garcia? He missed seven postseason events when he was eligible (and presumably healthy), one year taking time off in Switzerland and Spain because he wanted a break. McIlroy finished up nine holes of practice at Caves Valley on Monday afternoon as some of the players who advanced to the second stage were still on their way to the BMW Championship after a steamy week in Memphis, Tennessee. Given the heat, he's probably fresher than most. He first raised the question last year when he was No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, finished next-to-last in Memphis and wondered what he was doing there. He only dropped to No. 5. It changed nothing. So it was no surprise McIlroy sat this one out. Scottie Scheffler could have easily done the same. The TPC Southwind is where he last missed a cut (in 2022, when the postseason opener had 125-man field and a 36-hole cut). The FedEx St. Jude Classic also gave him a sponsor exemption when he was 17, and he has never missed it as a PGA Tour member. His choice. But playoffs? Jim Mora and his infamous 'Playoffs?' interview comes to mind this time of the year. The FedEx Cup might be a lot easier to understand — and appreciate — if the PGA Tour had just stuck to the right language when this season-ending bonanza first was unveiled. It was at East Lake in 2006 during the Tour Championship — remember, that was the year Woods and Mickelson both decided to skip the PGA Tour's finale — when former Commissioner Tim Finchem laid out the details of the FedEx Cup. He said golf was the only major sport where the regular season was more compelling than the finish (he apparently didn't think much of tennis). And so Finchem introduced a concept referred to as a championship series of four tournaments. He used that phrase — 'championship series' — 20 times in a lengthy news conference. The eight times he mentioned 'playoffs' was comparison with other sports, and how the championship series would be 'our version of the playoff system." And then some marketing genius leaned on 'playoffs,' the word was painted onto a grassy hill at Westchester Country Club, the term stuck and it still doesn't make sense. That especially was the case when it began with 144 players, leading Jim Furyk to do the math. 'In football, there's 32 teams in the NFL and if I'm correct, 12 teams go to the playoffs,' he said in 2007. 'This year, 125 guys also keep their tour card and 144 people are going to the Playoffs. So that's roughly 110% of the league.' Golf is not like other sports. The concept is fine. The PGA Tour's version of the playoffs is working because it provides three weeks of its best players competing for a trophy that is slowly gaining in stature. It's not one of the four majors. It's probably still a notch below The Players Championship. The PGA Tour has tweaked the format five times, seeking a solution that doesn't exist. The most recent format — 'starting strokes' — was the most controversial, with the No. 1 player starting at 10-under par before the Tour Championship began. Not even Scheffler liked that. But it at least rewarded the players who performed the best throughout the year. Now the 30 players who emerge from the BMW Championship this week will all start from scratch at East Lake, and the low score wins. The 'season-long champion" could be someone who wins for the first time all year. How is the FedEx Cup trophy any different from the old Tour Championship trophy? The money is better. And unlike the last Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup began, at least everyone will show up. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. ___ AP golf:
NBC Sports
06-08-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC – THE START OF THE PGA TOUR PLAYOFFS – AND U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR HEADLINE LIVE GOLF ACROSS NBC, GOLF CHANNEL, AND PEACOCK
FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis – Thursday-Friday at 2 p.m. ET and Weekend Lead-In on GOLF Channel, Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock Happy Hour With Smylie Presented by Michelob Ultra – Friday Happy Hours with Smylie Kaufman on GOLF Channel Return for FedExCup Playoffs U.S. Women's Amateur at Bandon Dunes – 15 Hours of Live Coverage on GOLF Channel Beginning Tonight at 6 p.m. ET U.S. Women's Amateur Golf Channel Broadcast Team Includes Emilia Doran, Who Won Her Round of 64 Match Today PGA TOUR Champions Boeing Classic – Friday-Sunday on GOLF Channel DP World Tour Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Scotland – Thursday-Sunday Mornings on GOLF Channel STAMFORD, Conn. – August 6, 2025 – NBC Sports is the home of the PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs, beginning this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., while the U.S. Women's Amateur will be held at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, headlining this week's live golf coverage across NBC, GOLF Channel, and Peacock. PGA TOUR FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS: FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC The FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., is the first event of the 2025 PGA TOUR Playoffs, featuring the Top 70 players on the FedExCup standings following the conclusion of the regular season last week at the Wyndham Championship. Following this event, the Top 50 in the standings advance to next week's BMW Championship, with the Top 30 after that advancing to the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Scottie Scheffler, the defending FedExCup Champion, has not finished outside of the Top 10 in an event since March and is coming off a victory at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, his fourth career major championship win. Players around the Top 50 bubble hoping to continue their season include Jordan Spieth (No. 48), Wyndham Clark (No. 49), and Min Woo Lee (No. 50). All three FedExCup Playoff events will feature Drone AR, the Emmy winning innovation that allows fans to watch towering drives like never before, as the augmented reality experience combines live aerial video with real-time analytics. The critically-acclaimed Happy Hour with Smylie Presented by Michelob Ultra on GOLF Channel will return for all three FedExCup Playoff events, beginning this Friday afternoon at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, as Smylie Kaufman spends time with PGA TOUR stars following their rounds to get their thoughts on the game and showcase their personalities. This week's coverage from TPC Southwind on GOLF Channel begins at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday, 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, and noon ET on Sunday. NBC and Peacock carry weekend coverage on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. NBC/GOLF Channel/Peacock Broadcast Team Play by Play: Dan Hicks / Terry Gannon / Steve Sands Analyst: Kevin Kisner / Brad Faxon / Smylie Kaufman / Curt Byrum On-Course: Jim 'Bones' Mackay / Smylie Kaufman / John Wood / Curt Byrum Interviews: Damon Hack USGA: U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR GOLF Channel presents 15 hours of live coverage of the U.S. Women's Amateur from Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Ore., beginning tonight at 6 p.m. ET. The week began with stroke play on Monday and Tuesday and a field of 64 entered match play on Wednesday, including GOLF Channel commentator Emilia Doran, who won her match against Reagan Zibilski to advance to the Round of 32 and will be on Golf Channel's coverage throughout the week. This marks the first time that Bandon Dunes is hosing the U.S. Women's Amateur. Rianne Malixi of the Philippines became the second player in USGA history to win the U.S. Women's Amateur and U.S. Girls' Junior last year and enters match play as the No. 1 seed. Two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion Kay Cockerill will be an analyst for Golf Channel's coverage along with the aforementioned Emilia Doran, Steve Burkowski (play-by-play), Jim Gallagher Jr., (analyst), and Julia Johnson (on-course). PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS: BOEING CLASSIC Stephen Ames will look to win the Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie Ridge outside of Seattle for the third consecutive year. The field includes Justin Leonard, who recently finished in second place at the Senior Open Championship, as well as Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stewart Cink, and Angel Cabrera. Live coverage on the NBC Sports app airs Friday at 7 p.m. ET. GOLF Channel coverage airs Friday at 10 p.m. ET, Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, and Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. DP WORLD TOUR: NEXO CHAMPIONSHIP The Nexo Championship was most recently played as the Scottish Championship in 2020 and won by Adrian Otaegui. This week's event will be held at Trump International Golf Links in Scotland. Following the event, the DP World Tour's Closing Swing will conclude with the Danish Golf Championship. Thursday-Saturday coverage on GOLF Channel begins at 7:30 a.m. ET, with Sunday's coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET. --NBC SPORTS--
