Tim Finchem didn’t officially announce Wednesday that the Western Open would be moving to September and would rotate out of Chicago every other year beginning in 2007. He declined to get into details of specific tournaments.
But the PGA Tour commissioner did provide reasons the golf schedule will change significantly after the 2006 season. The Western likely will be on the move as a part of a big season-ending finale.
The plan
The Tour Championship takes place this week in Atlanta. Does anyone care?
Apparently, Phil Mickelson doesn’t. He decided his time would be better spent trick-or-treating with the kids than playing golf.
The tour knows the current season-ending tournament, held during the height of the football season, has little sizzle. Since Tiger Woods already has wrapped up the money title, nothing is on the line this week.
“In terms of a finish, we’re the only major sport that doesn’t have a stronger finish than our regular season,” Finchem said.
The tour will look to fix that situation with the Championship Series in 2007. Beginning in late August, it will stage three full-field tournaments leading up to the Tour Championship in mid-September. The Western is expected to be in that mix, along with the Barclays Classic in New York and the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.
Starting with the season-opening Mercedes Championship, players would accumulate points in tournaments to qualify for the Championship Series. The point details aren’t finalized, but the players who advance would be seeded in what Finchem terms a “small home-field advantage.”
However, the bulk of the points would come in the final four tournaments, climaxing with the Tour Championship. Theoretically, the drama builds, and with the NFL just starting, fans still would be interested in golf.
Finchem said the winner would receive the largest bonus in sports for a playoff, with some reports pegging it at $10 million. The champion also would receive the FedEx Cup, as the overnight delivery service is spending millions to sponsor the Championship Series.
The tour hopes all the top-ranked players will compete for the big prize. It would enable the Western and other season-ending events to have stellar fields.
“It’s going to be difficult for a player not to play and have a chance,” Finchem said. “The rewards at the end of that stream are significant, not just at No. 1. You have to play, and the point structure is going to be such that there’s a lot of volatility.”
The player reaction
The big-name stars naturally are pleased.
“I think they’re doing it for the betterment of golf,” Vijay Singh said. “They were looking for a finale. When the majors finish, we do have one or two big events, but football takes over TV, and I think we just are in the background. This is going to bring the whole game of golf to a different level. All the top guys are going to be there toward the end.”
But the big question is: Will the stars play in every event? With the PGA Championship in August, they are looking at five tournaments in six weeks, a significant grind.
“You can still pick and choose,” Woods said. “You don’t have to play in those events at the end of the year, but if you want to win the title in the Cup series, you’re going to have to.”
Woods has so much money that he might prefer a few weeks off than another $10 million.
Impact on the Western
It virtually is a done deal. The Western will move from its traditional July 4 weekend dates to the weekend after Labor Day.
While exact details will come later, Finchem did hint at the Western’s future by saying two of the events could be played at multiple locations. The Barclays in New York is believed to be the other.
According to sources, the plan calls for the Western to be staged at Cog Hill every other year, with the tournament also being played at top courses in the Midwest. Asked about a possible rotation, Finchem mentioned Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. He said the tour had to cancel a tournament there during the week of Sept. 11, 2001, and has wanted to go back ever since.
“Our focus is to play all of these tournaments at a series of golf courses that are just first-rate–hopefully, courses that strike a chord with our fans,” Finchem said.
That could be good news for St. Louis and bad news for Chicago when the Western leaves town for the year.
The real finish
The PGA Tour season won’t end with the Tour Championship. In another neat bit of packaging, the tour has come up with the Quest for the Card. This will be a series of tournaments in the fall allowing players to earn money to retain their PGA Tour card for the next year.
Finchem still thinks several of the stars will continue to play.
“Vijay always says he could play somewhere every day,” Finchem said.
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Missing in action
There have been 10 tournaments since the PGA Championship ended Aug. 15, and two of them were World Golf Championship events. Also, nine of the 10 players competed in the Presidents Cup; Sergio Garcia was the lone exception. The number of tournaments played by top 10 money leaders since the PGA:
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PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO.
1. Tiger Woods 4 6. Kenny Perry 3
2. Vijay Singh 6 7. Chris DiMarco 4
3. Phil Mickelson 4 8. Retief Goosen 3
4. Jim Furyk 4 9. Sergio Garcia 3
5. David Toms 4 10. Fred Funk 6
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The fall finish
Starting with the Deutsche Bank tournament on Labor Day weekend, points are awarded for the final 11 tournaments through the Tour Championship. The winner receives a $500,000 bonus. The leaders going into this week:
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NO. PLAYER PTS
1. Olin Browne 170
2. Carl Pettersson 136.2
3. Ben Crane 125
4. Jason Bohn 120
5. Mark Calcavecchia 117.5
6. Harrison Frazar 105
7. Tim Herron 104.2
8. Tom Pernice Jr. 104.2
9. K.J. Choi 100
9. Lucas Glover 100
9. Jason Gore 100
9. Wes Short Jr. 100
9. Tiger Woods 100
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esherman@tribune.com %%
