"Courting the coveted, new FedExCup trophy with lines delivered in the spirit of Shakespeare."

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No chance you read this without an eye roll...

The PGA TOUR celebrates Valentine’s Day this week with the launch of “First Kiss,” a new commercial in its year-long campaign to promote the inaugural season-long FedExCup points competition. It debuts during this week's telecast of the Nissan Open on GOLF CHANNEL and CBS.

“First Kiss” features players Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Sean O’Hair, Zach Johnson, Dean Wilson, J.J. Henry, Lucas Glover and Aaron Baddeley courting the coveted, new FedExCup trophy with lines delivered in the spirit of Shakespeare. About the new prize, O’Hair exclaims, “Other men have seen angels, but I have seen thee. Thou art enough,” while Scott pledges, “I will be the first to kiss her.”

The FedExCup trophy and a $10 million prize will be awarded for the first time following the four week PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup in September.

To preview the spot, click here.

"When a smart person...sees what we've done"

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I'm a bit behind on my reading, but yesterday's beach weather afforded the chance to finally power flip through the Golf Digest Hot List as a seal frollicked before me. I managed to weed through the Hot List spread in 7 seconds, but before I got to Belt and Gulag's must flip-through project, I did enjoy the laughs from Jaime Diaz's Golf Digest piece on the FedEx Cup.

First, here's a solid entry for the corporatespeak file...

The shortened schedule, says Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports and CBS News, "takes a fair amount of inventory out of the network marketplace, which is healthy for CBS and NBC.

Healthy for ABC too, apparently.

And this was nice from the Commissioner:

"When a smart person--whether it's a player, a sponsor, a television executive or a fan--sees what we've done," Finchem says, "they nod their head and say, ‘This makes sense.'"

Translation: only dumb people fail to get the FedEx Cup.

And less funny but quite astute was this from Larry Thiel, the International's director who was talking about the FedEx Cup overshadowing individual tournament sponsors.

Through just a few weeks, he's looking prophetic:

"The other thing is that when we sell a sponsor, that sponsor is to receive all the branding and all the positive reinforcement of being a part of the event," Thiel says. "I think that when it's all said and done, all we're ever going to hear about is the FedEx Cup. So I would be fearful if I were one of those three tournaments that my title sponsor would get lost in the shuffle."

The New FedEx Cup Leader...

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headshot-96x109.jpg...is John Rollins.

Thanks to reader Charlie for noticing, because I forgot to check. 

And for those of you media members searching for a "storyline" on this?

If the FedEx Cup playoffs started today, Matt Hendrix and Stephen Leaney would just miss out on being eligible for the 144-man field at Westchester. Ponder the ramifications.

Howell Takes FedEx Cup Lead; Media Wanted To Ask About It...

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...but forgot? Ran out of time? Simply didn't care?

Nice going guys! It's okay, we don't care either.

But, if you have absolutely nothing to do, here are the standings.

And yes I'll say what needs to be said. It's tough to address these things, but someone has to do it.

If the FedEx Cup playoffs started today, Todd Hamilton would not be in them.

But just think of the storylines! 

"I sure hope there never comes a day where a kid says, 'I have this putt to win the FedExCup.'"

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There's another donation for charity!

From Rich Beem's post second round press conference at Torrey Pines, courtesy of reader Scott:

 Q. Do you think kids will be wanting to win the FedExCup as much as the Masters or U.S. Open?

RICH BEEM: To be honest with you, this is an honest answer, I sure hope not. Because I think that that would be demeaning towards the majors and what everybody grows up -- I mean when I'm out practicing, when you see kids out there practicing, you know, seven-, eight-, nine-year-olds, even 15-, 16-year-olds, "I've got this putt to win the U.S. Open. I've got this putt to win The Masters."
I sure hope there never comes a day where a kid says, "I have this putt to win the FedExCup." I hate to say that because it sound like I'm bashing on the TOUR and the FedExCup and I'm not. I really hope that the kids are dreaming about winning a major championship and winning a title instead of winning something else. I just sure hope not.

JOE CHEMCYZ: Thanks, Rich.

RICH BEEM: Wow.

 

Paige On International Rumblings, Vol. 2

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Woody Paige speculates on why Wednesday's press conference between the PGA Tour and Jack Vickers was cancelled, though he comes to no conclusions and the whole thing sounds strange.

I have no inside information or sources but I believe the PGA Tour could be offering The International a World Golf Championship event in the future, tournament dates more conducive to Colorado or, most likely, assistance in gaining a title sponsor, maybe an automobile company, maybe Buick - the car Tiger Woods drives. (Woods won the Buick Invitational and the Buick Open last year.)

Are there tournament dates conducive to Colorado? June's too early, July has too many international events, August has too many thunderstorms and the Broncos--God's gift to sport--start in September.  

International Passed; Still Sponsorless

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Anthony Cotton in the Denver Post offers confirmation that the International passed on a FedEx Cup playoff date (fools!) and that event organizers now they are going to have a weak field. All of this was reported after a Tim Finchem-Jack Vickers conference call was cancelled "indefinitely" according to the Tour's Ty Votaw. The story also notes that the event is without a sponsor again this year.

Other than that, everything is going great in Denver.  

Paige On International Rumblings

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The Denver Post's Woody Paige says that Jack Vickers isn't happy with his new date and other demands of the PGA Tour, but offers no actual specifics, nor any quotes from those associated with the event.

In fact, as he works his way through this apparent tragedy, Paige buries this note late in the column.

The PGA Tour did propose that one of the late-season "playoff" tournaments this year be held at Castle Pines, but the timing (the first weekend of football season in Colorado and potentially cooler weather), the cost ($7 million) and the prospect of miserable ratings and few corporate partners turned him off.

Whoa Nellie. He got offered one of the playoff events, with likely a great field, and passed?

Sorry, if that's true, and it's definitely an if when read some of the other stuff in Paige's column, there won't be much sympathy here for The International's plight.

"Whoop-di-doo."

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Fred Couples, quoted in Thomas Bonk's L.A. Times piece today, talking about the FedEx Cup playoffs:

"Right now, I figure if I'm 40th on the money list or 80th on the money list or 144th on the money list, I get to play in the first FedEx Cup," he said. "Whoop-di-doo."

Now, will Couples receive a monetary fine, or a FedEx Cup point deduction for that criticism? 

What $40 Million Can Do For You

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Doug Ferguson notes a couple of subtle but interesting FedEx Cup related changes. First, from this lukewarm assessment of the cup:
 The Tour is doing what it can to make the money list obsolete. The statistics it makes available to The Associated Press show leaders in the FedEx Cup standings, followed by their positions on the money list. Its hope is that newspapers will publish only the points, although the Honolulu Star-Bulletin ran only the top money leaders Jan. 9.
And in his Tuesday notes column...
FedExCup standings will be used to help set the field for invitationals such as Colonial, Bay Hill and the Memorial this year. The money list previously was the criteria, and that will still be used in 2007. Starting next year, those tournaments are expected to exclusively using FedExCup points.
Just one more move that renders the Fall Finish that much more meaningless. 

History In The Making!

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I sat through as little of The Golf Channel's GOLF CHANNEL's opening day coverage as I could. Not that it was bad from a technical point of view or that the announcing was lousy. In fact, the production values seemed fairly solid. The hole diagrams they employed are better than anything the networks do.

No, it was the relentlessness with which the TGC GC and the PGA Tour branding the FedEx Cup as something historic that had me pawing around for the remote.

But, such embarrassingly relentless promotion and staged history ops do have their moments.

After finishing out his opening round, all 10 of us viewers had to hear how K.J. Choi would be signing his ball and would become the first player to drop his autographed pellet into the Tiffany-designed FedEx Cup, which would then receive all of the first round signed balls from the likes of Will Mackenzie and Brett Wetterich, before being flown back to the World Golf Hall of Fame where legions will stroll by in awe.

Well, after Kelly Tilghman's breathless setup of this momentus occassion, K.J. is standing there inscribing that first all important entry into Cup history as a photographer documents the moment. And then out of nowhere, Adam Scott quietly puts the history in perspective by quickly dropping his ball in the cup like a marshall placing a Snickers wrapper in a trash bin.

Goose bumps here in Santa Monica, I tell you.

"Piling up FedExCup points early might pay off..."

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In his notes column, Doug Ferguson reveals that for a change, the PGA Tour has tweaked a WGC event qualification that potentially rewards someone without a ticket to ride on the World Ranking Top 50 bus.

Piling up FedExCup points early might pay off for some players trying to get into the World Golf Championship at Doral. The PGA Tour added another criteria for the CA Championship, taking the top 10 in FedEx Cup standings the Monday before (March 12) and the Monday of (March 19) the tournament.

Previously, this WGC event took the top 50 in the world ranking and top money leaders from each tour. That criteria hasn't changed.