Playoff Pressure
The FedExCup is off and running — literally — with everyman golf hero Jim Furyk making a Danny Noonan-esque sprint from his hotel room to the Wednesday pro-am event at The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.
As many of us do, Furyk relied on his cell phone alarm clock to wake him for his 7:30 a.m. tee time. But, in another all-too-familiar occurrence, Furyk awoke in a panic with the clock reading 7:23 a.m. when he rolled over in the morning.
With no time to grab a belt or socks, the 40-year-old “Grinder” threw on a pair of pants, a shirt and untied golf spikes before booking it from his hotel to the course.
Unfortunately for everyone involved — Furyk, the PGA Tour, golf fans, the amateurs he was scheduled to play with, just to name a few — the No. 3 ranked player in the FedExCup standings didn’t make it to Ridgewood until 7:35 and will be ineligible for The Barclays as a result of his “sleeping in.”
Not exactly what the Tour needed following the hazardous Dustin Johnson bunker ruling at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits… another case of good intentions and an honest mistake gone wrong — with the letter of the law overriding the spirit of the game.
Phil Mickelson, a pro-am favorite, was quick to point out that this particular “rule” — which was instituted in 2004, after many big name players made a trend of telling big fish stories to avoid playing in Wednesday pro-ams — applies to only 54 of the 122 players in the field and is “ridiculous.”
But the $10 million FedExCup winner’s check must be cashed, so the show must go on. This week marks the first event in the four-tournament PGA Playoffs:
Aug. 26-29 – The Barclays
Sept. 3-6 – Deutsche Bank Championship
Sept. 9-12 – BMW Championship
Sept. 23-26 – THE TOUR Championship
On the same day that Furyk made a Benny Hill-inspired run for the green grass and cash, which ended only in an embarrassing letdown, there was another less surprising but more disappointing story headlining an increasingly strange golf front page.
Tiger Woods’s ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, did a cover story interview with People magazine, news of which broke just one day after the former couple released this joint statement regarding their finalized divorse:
“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future. While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us. Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being. The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”
There was much less politically correct legalese in Nordegren’s words when she sat down with People’s Sandra Sobieraj, however.
“I’ve been through hell,” said Nordegren, regarding the events that have unfolded since Tiger’s SUV and personal life ran off the road on Nov. 27 of last year. “It’s hard to think you have this life and then all of the sudden — was it a lie?”
To his credit, Tiger addressed the elephant in the room following a soggy day on the course during the pro-am.
“I don’t think you ever go into a marriage looking to get divorced. That’s the thing. That’s why it’s sad,” said Woods. “I’ve certainly made a lot of errors in my life. That’s something I’m going to have to live with. … I wish her the best in everything.”
Expect everyone to beat Elin’s interview like it’s the back windshield of Tiger’s SUV — or even Tiger, although both parties have gone overboard protesting (too much?) that there was absolutely “no violence” in their relationship.
Meanwhile, Tiger is in serious jeopardy of missing the FedExCup cut along with his world No. 1 ranking. Entering The Barclays, the two-time FedExCup champ (2007, ’09) is ranked No. 112 (out of the 122) in the playoff’s point standings, with world No. 2 Mickelson breathing down his neck for the numero uno ranking Tiger has had for the past 272 consecutive weeks. Still, Woods must find a way to move into the top 100 in order to advance to next week's Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.
The complicated point structure of the FedExCup awards 2,500 points to the winner, 1,500 points to the runner-up, 1,000 points to third, 750 to fourth, 550 to fifth, 500 to sixth, 450 to seventh, then drops in 25-point increments from eighth (425) to 13th (300), another 15-point fall to 14th (285), five-point dips from 15th (280) to 70th (5) and, finally, one-tenth of a point from 71st (4.9) to 85th (3.5).
But even a respectable showing may not be enough to hold off Lefty, who could vault to the top spot in a variety of scenarios — the most certain being a win or a solo second, so long as Woods isn’t the one smiling with the trophy on Sunday.
While Furyk, Woods and Mickelson have plenty of distractions, Ernie Els enters the FedExCup as the $10 million man to beat. Sitting at No. 1 in the playoff point standings, Els has a chance to join Woods (2007, ’09) and Vijay Singh (2008) as the only FedExCup champs while also positioning himself for Player of the Year honors following a 2010 season that has seen three first-time major champions and only one combined win between Tiger and Phil.
Els, who won the WGC–CA Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational in March before finishing 3rd at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, is keeping a level head as always. The “Big Easy” knows there is still plenty of golf to be played and anything can happen.
“You need to be on your game in these next four weeks,” said Els, who has 1,846 points and a 149-point lead over No. 2 Steve Stricker.
“It’s a different ball game. It’s basically a race now. The race is on. The race starts now.”
