MWM
01-03-2007, 03:47 AM
Do you like it or not? Is it too much a break from tradition or a nice addition to an evolving sport? Does it devalue the tradition rich existing 4 majors, or complement them with something better?
I like the idea, but the only way it will work is if the players really get behind it and show a lot of enthusiasm towards winning it. Things like this can be hard to get off the ground and golfers seem to be the type who wouldn't care about this type of trophy like race car drivers would. If players really don't care that much about it winning it, it will whither and die.
My biggest concern ahs been expressed by some players and that's the devaluing of the existing majors. I hope this isn't the case, but it's a concern.
Another thing that could hurt it with the timing of when they're starting it is the Tiger effect. If he runs away with it every year in its first few years, then I worry that it won't take root as it will be a foregone conclusion that he'll win it. But the resetting of pionts prior to the playoffs will make it difficult for him to do this.
I think the format will need some tweaking though. For one, the 4 majors only have 10% more points than regular tournaments - 27,250 total points vs 25,000. That's not enough. The Majors need to be scored like a *MAJOR*. I think they should be twice as important, or at least 50%. If you win the Mayakoba Golf Classic, you get 4,500 points. If you win the US Open you get 4,950. Not enough of a premium.
Another probelm as I see it is that it will reward players who might not be as good but who play more often. I know they want to encourage players to play more often, but I think it's something like 36 tournaments that will be allocated points. Some guys on tour play in almost everyone and I think it's unrasonable to expect some of the better players to play that often. This will only hurt players on the fringe, but I'd still like to see that changed.
And letting 144 players into the playoff is WAY too many. I'm thinking more like 50 players. But at least they eliminate 24 players after the first playoff, 50 after the second, with only the top 30 getting to the last tournament. I just hope it's not all a given by the Tour Championship who's going to win. That would be very anti-climactic.
Here's a good primer on how it works.
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2710356
I like the idea, but the only way it will work is if the players really get behind it and show a lot of enthusiasm towards winning it. Things like this can be hard to get off the ground and golfers seem to be the type who wouldn't care about this type of trophy like race car drivers would. If players really don't care that much about it winning it, it will whither and die.
My biggest concern ahs been expressed by some players and that's the devaluing of the existing majors. I hope this isn't the case, but it's a concern.
Another thing that could hurt it with the timing of when they're starting it is the Tiger effect. If he runs away with it every year in its first few years, then I worry that it won't take root as it will be a foregone conclusion that he'll win it. But the resetting of pionts prior to the playoffs will make it difficult for him to do this.
I think the format will need some tweaking though. For one, the 4 majors only have 10% more points than regular tournaments - 27,250 total points vs 25,000. That's not enough. The Majors need to be scored like a *MAJOR*. I think they should be twice as important, or at least 50%. If you win the Mayakoba Golf Classic, you get 4,500 points. If you win the US Open you get 4,950. Not enough of a premium.
Another probelm as I see it is that it will reward players who might not be as good but who play more often. I know they want to encourage players to play more often, but I think it's something like 36 tournaments that will be allocated points. Some guys on tour play in almost everyone and I think it's unrasonable to expect some of the better players to play that often. This will only hurt players on the fringe, but I'd still like to see that changed.
And letting 144 players into the playoff is WAY too many. I'm thinking more like 50 players. But at least they eliminate 24 players after the first playoff, 50 after the second, with only the top 30 getting to the last tournament. I just hope it's not all a given by the Tour Championship who's going to win. That would be very anti-climactic.
Here's a good primer on how it works.
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2710356