Well, the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup are upon us, the pursuit of which kicked off this week at Liberty National a course co-designed by none other than Tom Kite (with Bob Cupp).
Liberty National
As has been well noted, this course is built on land that was formally a land-fill. The cost to build this course is said to have been almost 130 million dollars. The course stretches to some 7,400 yards and it is built in a links-style, hole perimeters defined by amber flowing fescue.
Beyond, the horizon is framed by the Manhattan skyline and breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty.
If defining something as “a classic,” is usually best left for the passage and judgment of time, certainly, Liberty National has been given a head start on such a distinction.
As such, so to has there been considerable discussion and debate as to the place and significance of these playoffs in the vast landscape that is the world of golf. For my part, I think we spend too much time trying to figure out where everything fits; defining, categorizing and ranking everything, such that each fits into its appropriate place. A world well ordered.
I, for one, do not know what the significance will be of the FedEx Cup in one, five, ten, or one hundred years from now. Ultimately, I think the significance of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup will be defined by how the participants view its merits. Much like the same way that great courses tend to produce great champions, there can be little doubt that years from now, the value of this post-regular season chase will likely be judged, at least in part, by its list of champions. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh as it’s first two champions would suggest that it’s off to a great start.
In Tiger Woods’ march to FedEx Cup glory in 2007, he blasted his way through the playoffs winning two tournaments and posting a second place finish in the other. Significantly, one of Woods’ two victories was at THE TOUR Championship at East Lake, by eight strokes, finishing at 23 under par, a tournament record. He won the BMW Championship the week before at 22 under par.
Tiger Woods, 2007 PGATour.com
In those 12 playoff rounds, Tiger was a total of 59 under par. His scoring average was 65.75. Tiger’s statistical performance illustrates how he ramped it up for the playoffs. Tiger’s driving accuracy was 70.24%, a full 13 points higher than his average for the regular season (57%). What makes this even more impressive is the fact that Tiger also ranked second in driving distance through the stretch, at 294.1 yards, significantly above the field average of 281.6 yards, through THE TOUR Championship, and a full five yards longer than his own average during the regular season. Tiger was also first in the categories of Greens in Regulation (76.39%) and Proximity to the Hole (22 feet, a full six feet closer than the field average).
In 2008, the story of Vijay Singh’s triumph was actually an unlikely one due to the fact that Singh was suffering from tendonitis in his left arm and from a bulky putter. But as is well known, Vijay is an insatiable worker and he seemed to find something in the waning weeks of the regular season, winning the World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational in August. At the first playoff event, Singh proved he owned his putting stroke when he slammed home a 26 foot birdie putt to extend a playoff that he would eventually go on to win. Singh continued his winning ways the very next week at the Deutsche Bank Championship and from there was in firm control.
PGATour.com
Remarkably, Vijay decided that he was the best putter in the world and the flat stick responded. He started the playoffs averaging 1.801 putts per hole, ranked 125th on Tour. By the end of The Barclays, he had worked himself up to 32nd with an average of 1.736 and at the Deutsche Bank he worked his way all the way up to 7th with an average of 1.627 putts, and along the way, he broke the tournament record by two strokes.
Much has also been made of the tweaking to the points and the format since its onset, but I see no problem with that whatever. Originally, the Open Championship was played over twelve holes, each competitor playing three rounds, for a total of 36 holes. The U.S. Open used to end on a Saturday, with the playing of 36 holes that day. The Masters was originally the Augusta National Invitational, before its more famous namesake was adopted and the PGA Championship use to have a floating date and be competed in a match-play format.
The bottom line is that sometimes it takes time for something to become a classic and I say we leave it to time to make such a judgment about the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.