Capelle On Golf

As the PGA Tour heads into the homestretch of another long season, the players are in for more golf, and more pressure, and more heat as they compete for a bounty of riches at the end of golf’s rainbow.

The brutal stretch was kicked off by the British Open in the most challenging conditions of the year. Most of the elite players took the following week off during the Canadian Open to rest up for the marathon ahead, which is a shame considering its stature and long history.

This week’s WGC – Bridgestone has become one of those premiere events that almost no one misses. This week the only players in the WGR top 50 that won’t be playing are Tiger Woods, Luke Donald (he has an injured wrist), and Mike Weir.
Kenny Perry got roasted for skipping the British Open, but no one has said a word as yet about Weir passing on the money and WGR point rich WGC. And no one should because it’s not a major, and he’s got his reasons which, unlike Perry’s, make perfect sense.

“This (the Canadian Open) is like a major here and the PGA is a major,” Weir said. “It’s (Firestone) a golf course I’ve never played that well. Of the tournaments coming up, if I was going to skip one, that was going to be it. I really want to be ready for the PGA. The PGA is close to home for me, as well.”

Weir, a Canadian to the core, showed his loyalty to his homeland by playing in his country’s Open for the 17th straight season. If truth be told, a number of his fellow pros would rather have followed his lead than play in the semi-mandatory WGC which, for the second straight year, is being held the week before the PGA.

The players can thank Tim Finchem and Company for this hellish schedule. But Finchem had little choice because he had to clear space for the four event long FedExCup after the PGA. And so the Canadian Open gets the shaft and the WGC becomes a big event at the wrong time.

The PGA loses too because it doesn’t get the full build up it would if a lesser event preceded it, and because it seems like a pawn in this game of musical events. The net result is that the players end up with a brutal stretch of golf that culminates in FedExCup, a big money event with no history.

Here’s the schedule a good number of the elite players will be following: After taking a week off during the Canadian, they’ll play two straight on exceptionally long and difficult par 70 courses. Most will skip the Wyndham, and no will blame them. Then it’s on to the FedExCup for three straight weeks. After a week off 24 players, a good number of which will be qualified for the 30 player FedExCup finals, will be wearing themselves out at the Ryder Cup where 36 days are common.

Meanwhile a small group of non-Ryder Cuppers will be resting up for a crack at golf’’s biggest payday. These include international stalwarts Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, K.J. Choi and Adam Scott, who are all near the top of the FedExCup standings.

Whew! This convoluted and golf heavy schedule has worn me out just writing about it. I’d hate to be the players facing this ordeal at the end of a long season in the dog days of summer. But, like you and Tiger, we get to pick our spots and observe it from the best seat in the house.

Finchem’s Nightmare
7/20 British Open
7/27 Canadian Open (a terrible date)
8/3 WGC – Bridgestone
8/10 PGA Championship
8/17 Wyndham Championship (the one breather – worst date of the year)
8/24 The Barclays
9/1 Deutsche Bank (2 day gap till next event)
9/7 BMW Championship
(9/21 Ryder Cup)
9/28 Tour Championship