1. SHOW US THE MONEY
Sorry, but they do deferred payment in baseball, not
golf. Not only are the fans confused by the $10 million
deferred payment that goes to the winner — not to
mention by how the rest of the $35 million FedEx
jackpot is split up — but so are the players, who are
just now waking up to the knowledge that a check
does not await them at the conclusion.
When, at the recent Bridgestone Invitational, a clueless K.J. Choi said that he'd donate the entire $10 million to charity if he won, Stewart Cink shot back, "He'd have to get a loan."
Adds 31-year-old Tiger Woods, who'd have to wait 14 years to get his hands on his cash, "I may be dead by the time my retirement fund comes around."
The bottom line here is that cash is king. The Tour could even emulate the World Series of Poker and have a big FedEx delivery truck drive up to the East Lake course and dump the $10 million on the 1st tee. Is that hokey? No doubt. Is it good TV? Absolutely.
2. WHY A MEASLY
$10 MILLION?
Want to make a splash? Supersize the
first prize to $25 million, cash. Where
would the extra money come from?
Easy.
The entire FedEx Cup purse is $35 million. Right now all 144 players who tee it up in the first playoff event (and, go figure, six guys who don't make the playoffs) get a piece of the pie.
Maybe that was a smart way to get the rank and file to go along with a shorter season, but the FedEx Cup shouldn't be a guaranteed payday for guys who can't play dead.
This should be Smith Barney money — you have to ear-r-rn it. Give the winner an attention-getting $25 million. The remaining $10 million is divvied up among the 29 other pros who make it to the Tour Championship.
The 114 guys who don't make it to Atlanta have the regular purses in the other playoff events as a consolation prize, so they have no reason to cry.
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