The Tour season closes in style

REUTERS/Shaun Best

So the inaugural FedEx Cup is now complete, and in the end, should any of us have expected any other outcome? Tiger Woods hit another gear over the season’s final weeks, culminating with an 8-shot victory at East Lake Country Club.

That win gave Tiger 61 for his career, which is significant because he will tie Arnold Palmer on the all-time list with his next tour victory. That day will have to wait until 2008 because Tiger plans to take the rest of the year off after the President’s Cup for some quality time with his family.

I have a couple of final thoughts on the much-criticized FedEx Cup. A lot of folks moaned that the point system was too confusing, it wasn’t really a playoff, it stunk that Tiger and Phil each skipped one of the final four events, and so on.

Me? I liked it.

Don’t get me wrong; this baby could stand a few tweaks. (Like making the $10 million an immediate payout, rather than a deposit into a player's retirement account) But when has there ever been a September where we had four straight events that were even worth discussing? It never happens. Each of this season’s final four stops had intrigue, suspense and (almost) all of the top players in golf. I think the FedEx Cup is going to work.

And here’s how I’d fix it: Since we’re calling it a “playoff,” let’s do more than just pare the field after every event. Everyone is still buzzing from the President’s Cup match play event last week. So what about this: After you trim the field to 30 for the final event, let’s make that last one a match play. Since the field will be so small, we could probably even stage 36-hole matches for all rounds. This will not only make it a great preview for the upcoming President’s or Ryder Cup, but also provide more drama. Can you imagine two golfers going mono-a-mono for $10 million?

As for the President’s Cup, the outcome was never in doubt on Sunday, but that Woods-Weir match had it all. In the end, Weir’s win over the world’s No. 1 provided his country with a moment to savor, even though the U.S. team scored a resound victory. 

These match play events are great. I think the PGA season could use some more—especially during the FedEx Cup playoffs. What do you think? Let me know at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .