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          Quick 9: How to fix the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs

          • Bob HarigAug 23, 2017, 06:11 PM
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            • Senior golf writer for ESPN.com
            • Covered golf for more than 20 years
            • Earned Evans Scholarship to attend Indiana University

          1. Time for the playoffs

          Golf's version of the playoffs begins Thursday on Long Island, and with nearly every rendition of the FedEx Cup playoffs that date to 2007, there is seemingly some call for improvement or change.

          Former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem welcomed this chatter as being good for the game, that any discourse on that matter at least had people talking and thinking.

          Perhaps that is the case, but as the PGA Tour transitions to a new schedule that will attempt to complete the playoff run by Labor Day in two years, there undoubtedly will be numerous ideas put forth to alter the competition.

          Here are two: Cut the playoff events from four to three, and require that any winner of the FedEx Cup compete in all of the playoff events.

          The first seems inevitable. In order to squeeze the playoffs in prior to Labor Day, it appears the Dell Technologies Championship -- formerly the Deutsche Bank -- will be dropped from the rotation beginning in 2019. That is partly due to sponsorship issues and partly out of necessity.

          If you don't want to run players ragged at the end of the season and want a meaningful playoff, less is more. A three-tournament run (instead of the four we have now with a week break) will be swifter and lead to the potential for more drama.

          Then there is the issue of making sure everyone participates.

          2. The no-shows

          For the third straight year Sergio Garcia is skipping the opening playoff event, now called the Northern Trust. He is one of five players eligible for the 125-man field who is not competing. (Adam Scott's wife is due; Brandt Snedeker is injured; Dominic Bozzelli and Scott Piercy are sitting out for undisclosed reasons.) Garcia, the Masters champion, is 22nd in FedEx Cup points, so he's all but assured of qualifying for not only next week's Dell Technologies event (top 100 in FedEx points after this week), but for the BMW Championship (top 70) as well.

          This is not to pick on Garcia, who is fully within his rights to play or skip whatever events he chooses. Since he also competes on the European Tour, he typically plays into the fall. And he needs just one more PGA Tour event to meet the minimum of 15, so there are no issues. The rules allow it.

          But it just seems odd that you would have a playoff system in which all of those who qualify are not required to play or are not penalized in some fashion for skipping. Two years ago, Jordan Spieth missed the cut at the first two playoff events -- the equivalent of skipping, because he earned no points -- and still won the FedEx Cup when he captured the Tour Championship.

          Perhaps a tweaking of the points structure could make it impossible to win the big prize without playing in all four (or three). Or maybe there is a point reduction that comes along with not playing. If there are only three playoff events, invoking some sort of "must-play'' clause becomes simpler.

          3. Sergio's plight

          Golf has seemingly not been a huge priority for Garcia since his crowning achievement in April when he won the Masters. Perhaps he has good reason, as Garcia has enjoyed the victory and the green jacket. He was also married this summer after The Open, and he admitted prior to the PGA Championship that his preparation was not the best.

          But since winning at Augusta National, Garcia, 37, has played just eight tournaments -- in more than four months. He's not fared poorly, necessarily, but the only time he contended was at the BMW International Open in Germany following the U.S. Open. He tied for second, his only top 10. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship -- the first time he missed the cut anywhere worldwide since last year's PGA.

          As for the FedEx Cup playoffs, since losing in a playoff at the 2008 Tour Championship, Garcia has not been much of a factor, never finishing among the top 10 in the final standings.

          4. Presidents Cup fever

          Several members -- and potential members -- of the U.S. Presidents Cup team joined captain Steve Stricker at Liberty National, site of the Presidents Cup, over the weekend. The top 10 in points through the Dell Technologies Championship will automatically qualify for the team, with Stricker (and International captain Nick Price) then getting two at-large picks on Sept. 6.

          5. Final-day drama

          The race for the final spots among the top 125 -- thus either retaining 2017-18 playing privileges, qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs or both -- was unusually intense, with a good bit of movement.

          "There's a level of tension and stress in your body that's on a different level when you're in that position,'' said 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who moved to the 116th position, and needed to in order to be fully exempt next season, by finishing tied for sixth at the Wyndham Championship.

          Then there was Sam Saunders, who went into the tournament at 127th but dropped to 129th despite making the cut. "It was the least enjoyable round of golf I've ever played in my life,'' he said. "You don't know if you're going to throw up or have a heart attack. It's worse than trying to win a tournament, tenfold.''

          Saunders will have conditional status on the PGA Tour via his 129th finish in FedEx points. He can also attempt to improve his position by participating in the Web.com Tour Finals, a four-tournament series that includes the top 75 on the Web.com money list and those who finished 126th to 200th on the final FedEx list.

          6. And even more dramatic

          Martin Flores shot a final-round 63 at the Wyndham to tie for seventh and move into the top 125. And his plight was aided by a hole-in-one.

          7. And on the downside

          Zac Blair, sitting near the bubble, missed the 54-hole cut at the Wyndham and had to wait out the weekend. He ended up missing the top 125 by 1.13 FedEx Cup points when J.J. Henry birdied the 18th hole on Sunday to sneak past him into the 125th spot.

          8. Plenty of confidence

          Doug Ghim showed up at the U.S. Amateur for his semifinal match against Theo Humphrey wearing a black Masters cap. That took some guts, as all knew that a victory in the match would mean a trip to Augusta next spring for the Masters. The U.S. Amateur winner and runner-up traditionally are among the amateurs invited to the year's first major championship. Ghim beat Humphrey 2 and 1, and then lost in a heartbreaker to Doc Redman in the final. Ghim held a 2-up lead with two holes to go but lost on the 37th hole. He at least earned golf's greatest consolation prize.

          9. Amateur astronomer

          Tiger Woods passed along what his daughter, Sam, captured during Monday's solar eclipse.