The 2007 PGA Tour teed off yesterday at the lush Kapalua
Plantation Course, but it is a new format and $10 million playoff
finale that has players excited about the season ahead.
In a radical shake-up, Tour officials have established the
FedExCup, a season-long points competition which will culminate in
a four-event playoff series with $10 million to be won by the
overall champion.
"It's going to be interesting to see how it pans out," said US
Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.
"I don't think anyone really knows how it's going to shake out
but I think it's going to be fun.
"It's going to build momentum during the year and I think people
will get really excited about it by the end of the year.
"That $10 million carrot at the end is a pretty big deal. That's
a lot of money for anybody."
As with most of his peers, however, Australian Ogilvy will
always regard the four majors as golf's holy grail.
"The FedExCup is going to be a nice feather in your cap, but I
don't think there's a golfer in the world who wouldn't rather win a
major," he said.
Fellow Australian Adam Scott, bidding for his sixth PGA Tour
title after winning the season-ending Tour Championship two months
ago, agreed.
"I'm going to worry about the four majors, and then I'll worry
about those playoffs," he said. "I figure if I play (the final)
eight weeks, everything is going to be sweet.
"$10 million certainly gets your attention. But my goal is
always to win golf tournaments and, if I win enough, I'll win the
FedExCup, so that takes care of itself."
Thirty-six tournaments will make up the regular PGA Tour season
before the big-money playoffs are held, ending with the Sept. 13-16
Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia for the top 30 players.
The leading 144 players in the points list will qualify for the
first playoff event, the Barclays Classic outside New York from
Aug. 23 to 26.
The field will be cut to 120 for the following week at the
Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Massachusetts before 70
players qualify for the Sept. 6-9 BMW Championship near
Chicago.
Computer projections indicate that players would probably need
to be ranked in the top 20 going into the Tour Championship to have
a viable chance to win the FedExCup.
Although points rather than money will determine success on the
2007 PGA Tour, world number two Jim Furyk plans to treat this
season like any other.
"Ultimately, whether you're looking at the money list or the
points list, what it really boils down to is you need to play
well," he said.
"You need to focus on what's going to get you there and the
process, rather than the end result."
Like Scott, Furyk is banking on playing as much of the closing
stretch as he can.
"I intend to play seven out of eight for sure, and hopefully
eight out of nine," he said.
"I can't skip the British (Open), Akron (for the WGC-Bridgestone
Invitational) or the PGA (Championship), and I'm defending at the
Canadian."
For Australia's Stuart Appleby, who is chasing a fourth
successive victory at Kapalua this week, the key to the season will
be a fast start.
"It's just a horse race, get out of the gates, get our position
and get going," he said.
Victory for Appleby would not only give him the perfect start to
his campaign but also make him the first player since Woods (at the
2003 Bay Hill Invitational) to win a PGA Tour event four years in a
row.
(China Daily via Agencies January 5, 2007)
