Tag: tiger woods

So, 64 is Normal?

Tiger’s last five rounds are 65, 63, 64, 63, and 64. It doesn’t even look like work on the part 70 courses on which the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship are played. The rain helps, I suppose. These guys can just toss the ball up in the air and have it stick where it lands next to the cup. But that’s assuming a lot. First, that they are hitting it in the fairway. Second, that they’re hitting it close to the pin, which isn’t supposed to look as easy as it has these last few weeks. I mean, did you see Stricker and Woods staking ever single approach shot at the BMW? And this week at the Tour Championship, the 18th hole played 223 yards for the final round and most of the tee-shots landed within ten feet. That’s ridiculous.

Anyway, how often does a player shoot five sub-65 rounds in a row? Tiger may have to post another sub-65 round if Calcavecchia keeps his gut out of the way for another day and can stake some more zippers close enough to tap them in on those shaggy greens at East Lake.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the reigning Masters champion, Zach Johnson shot a 60 today.

FedEx Cup Cheat Sheet

The final event of the PGA Tour’s 2007 season starts Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s also the final even in the FedEx Cup playoff series, the winner of which will be awarded the largest prize in sports – a $10 million dollar annuity.

There are 30 players remaining in the playoffs, but only the top six have a chance to win the FedEx Cup. And, realistically, only the top three have a real chance.

FedEx Cup Rankings:

1. Tiger Woods (112,733)
2. Steve Stricker (109,600)
3. Phil Mickelson (108,613)
4. Rory Sabbatini (103,588)
5. K.J. Choi (103,100)
6. Aaron Baddeley (102,800)

Here’s a link to the PGA Tour’s digest of who could win the FedEx Cup depending on who winds the Tour Championship.

High Output for Woods

One of the most impressive statistics in golf is that Tiger Woods has led the PGA Tour World Money List seven of the last ten years by playing fewer events than the runner up in every year except 1999. In other words, he’s winning more money than any other professional golfer while playing in fewer tournaments. In some years, he’s playing in as many as nine fewer tournaments. And this year, while not yet over, Woods leads the money list having played in just fifteen tournaments and will likely finish at the top having played in 17 tournaments to the runner-ups 22 events.

As a side note, this year Woods total of 17 events will be the fewest number of tournaments he has played during a full season since joining the PGA Tour in 1996.

The point where this graph jumps above $6 Million is 1999, the year the World Golf Championship events were introduced. Big money. Greg Norman campaigned for world events similar to the WGC for years. I’m not sure it would have ever happened if Woods had not joined the tour. It’s not a coincidence that the leading money winner now earns in excess of five times what they earned ten years ago.

(Woods was the money leader in the years the points coincide.)

Here, we see that no one has won the money list by playing in fewer tournaments than Woods.

(Woods was the money leader in the years the points coincide.)

PGA Tour Pension Plan

Tiger Woods could have a pension in excess of $1 Billion waiting for him when he turns 60 if he keeps winning at his current pace. The PGA Tour pension plan is performance-based and with the recent addition of the FedEx Cup playoff and the $10 Million annuity that comes with it, the power of compound interest is on the players’ side. Especially for Woods. (Link via Kottke.org)

Congrats, Lefty!

Phil Mickelson won the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC Boston by out-dueling Tiger Woods, Brett Wetterich, and Aaron Oberholser. The Monday finish was a unique holiday flare that highlighted the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour’s new season ending playoff.

After two weeks, Phil Mickelson is now leading FedEx Cup points with 108,613. Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods are second and third. Next week’s BMW Championship at Cog Hill in Chicago, IL will host the top seventy players according to the FedEx Cup standings. And the week after that The Tour Championship in Atlanta, GA will produce the winner of the playoffs from a 30-man field.

The FedEx Cup is proving to be more exciting that expected. The big name players have stepped up, with the exception of Tiger Woods skipping the first event. Today’s duel between Tiger and Phil went a long way towards validating the new format – and we’re only halfway through. As golf fans become more accustomed to the FedEx Cup points system, it will gain more followers. While the Cup doesn’t have the thrill of single elimination match play, the fact that there is a $10 million annuity for the FedEx Cup points winner is bigger than any one of the $7 million purses for the individual tournaments.