Sitting in the Orlando airport on my way to the Greensboro, NC., and thinking how much I love airports, but I’m a sports fan, so over-priced beer doesn’t deter me.
The Wyndham Championship will obviously have much less fanfare than last week’s thriller at Hazeltine. Tiger ‘s absence at the Wyndham Championship combined with the Solheim Cup taking place simultaneously, and the nearing of football season (and Brett Favre’s return?), and this is the time of year when the PGA Tour used to become an afterthought. But not so fast, my sports fan friends.
The much ridiculed, maligned, and second-guessed FedEx Cup has become (are you sitting down?) a bonafide player on the golf landscape. Perhaps it’s not rising as rapidly in stature amongst the fans as it is the players, but in time it will be a part of everyday golf conversation.
Players know it’s the toughest title to win all year (don’t throw stones at me, it’s their words) and it’s the last meaningful thing that any of the stars can accomplish.
They know that the Cup is here to stay. They know for the first time in their careers that golf is finally relevant in September. They know that the passive fans are finally starting to understand the new points system. But most of all, they know that there’s a lottery-like carrot dangling in front of them that, as of right now, anyone can win.
Players are changing schedules to give themselves the best chance. Matter of fact, Sergio Garcia is playing in Greensboro this week in hopes of solidifying his position in the top 125 in points. Although it’s been a dismal year for Sergio, this is the very same course where he recorded the then-highest amateur finish on the Nationwide Tour in 1998 as an 18-yr-old superstar in the making. He tied for 3rd.
Adam Scott is playing (also in the midst of a forgettable year), Lucas Glover hopes to climb even higher before the playoffs start and the point values are multiplied by five.
It’ll be a great tournament contested on a Donald Ross gem, with a lot at stake. Miss the top-125 in points after this week and take a month off. Make it, and dream of unimaginable riches. Which reminds me of something.... gotta go... do they sell Powerball tickets at the airport?
