NEW YORK (AP) — This year's version of the FedEx Cup was supposed to be about volatility.
The buzz word in Boston was mediocrity.
Vijay Singh has been anything but that. He has played the first two weeks of the PGA Tour Playoffs like it was 2004, when he was No. 1 in the world and winning just about every time he teed it up. With victories at The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship, his lead is so large he might wrap up the $10 million prize this week in St. Louis.
No one should have any qualms with that.
Go a little bit deeper in the standings, and the playoffs reward great play. Sergio Garcia is at No. 2 after a runner-up finish and a tie for fifth. Next is Mike Weir, who tied for seventh and finished second. And in fourth place is Justin Leonard, who has tied for seventh both weeks.
Still, all it took was one week for millionaire golfers to turn into mathematicians.
They figured out that a player could finish 70th two weeks in a row and earn more points than someone who contended on Sunday and wound up fifth, then missed a cut.
The idea behind a revamped points system was to create more movement in the standings during the three playoff events leading to the Tour Championship, and the simple fix was to award an additional 2,000 points to each player.
But that essentially became a 2,000-point bonus to anyone making the cut.
Charlie Wi tied for 65th at The Barclays and tied for 44th at the Deutsche Bank, moving up 27 spots from No. 66 to No. 39 going into the third round this week. Sean O'Hair missed the cut both weeks and was sent home, despite starting the playoffs as the No. 16 seed.
"Cuts made bothers me," said Jim Furyk, a reasonable and honest voice on tour. "Making a cut isn't anything to be proud of, in my opinion. Finishing fifth? Now, there's something to be proud of. As we know two 70ths is better than a fifth and a missed cut. I think we're rewarding mediocrity. I don't like rewarding mediocrity."
Who shows up at a golf tournament thinking about making the cut?
