Tour Proposing Half-Value FedExCup Points For Fall; Frys.com Concerned About Continuing Sponsorship

In Golf World Monday, I pen an item about a letter sent last week informing PGA Tour officials that Frys.com Open officials are not pleased about a new, previously unreported element of the "fiscal year" schedule. Namely, a proposal to only offer half the value of normal FedExCup points for the fall events.

In a letter co-signed by Tournament Chairperson Kathy Kolder and CEO John Fry and sent to Tim Finchem March 12, 2012, the Frys.com Open officially is protesting a Tour proposal to only award half FedExCup points for fall events starting in the 2013-2014 season.

Noting that they are excited to become the "lead" tournament October 7-13 with plans for "significant prize money" and "new amenities," the Frys.com folks then get to their primary point:

This is possible with inclusion as a FedExCup even, full points rather than half being discussed, and a Masters invitation for the Champion. We will lose other motives for players to enter such as winning Player of the Year, earning top thirty status to become exempt for the Masters and U.S. Open, gain access to invitationals, keep their eligibility and play in a minimum of fifteen events to maintain membership.

They go on to say that "while we want to become one of the best tournaments in the world, we cannot accomplish our goal without complete approval from the Policy Board. If our tournament is not accepted on a level playing field with most of the others, we will have concern about continuing our sponsorship with the PGA TOUR."

As you know this all started with the effort to better attract a new Nationwide Tour sponsor and in the words of several players, to save the fall events.

Personally, I like the proposal because as Golf World readers might recall, I recently wrote that the inclusion of fall events as the start to the schedule has the potential to undermine the West Coast Swing. This proposal would seem to be designed to offset that possible impact.