Henrik Stenson Wins FedExCup

I wrote earlier this month about the money behind the FedExCup. Now we know who won the big money that the FedExCup can offer, Henrik Stenson. Stenson became to first European player to win the Tour Championship and the ultimate goal of the FedExCup.

Winning the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola won Stenson $1.44 million. This added to his season earnings giving him $6,388,230 made in 2013. Stenson's first place finish in the final tour event also gave him the the FedExCup title. The big bonus for winning the FedExCup is $10 million. Stenson's total 2013 season earnings are $16,388,230.

The FedExCup winnings drop dramatically after the first place prize. The second place winner receives $3 million and third place winner takes home $2 million. What makes this drop off more dramatic is the fact that the difference between millions of dollars can come down to a simple shot. One stroke. The entire PGA season is played and a player can lose a million dollars by making a par instead of a birdie on one hole. This was exemplified Sunday with Steve Stricker.

Stricker knew his position in the Tour Championship and he realized that for him to win the tournament, he would need to make birdies on holes 17 and 18 and hope for a bogey from Stenson. Stenson did not make a bogey. Stricker had birdie opportunities on both 17 and 18 but failed to make the putt on either hole. The result was Stricker winning third place in the FedExCup that was worth $2 million. What he may not have known at the time was if he was able to convert on either birdie putt, he would have finished in second place in the FedExCup and won an additional $1 million. Tiger ended up in the second place position.

Final Thought
I think the PGA did a excellent job setting up the FedExCup. The dramatic prize value differences makes each shot really worth something. Stricker knows this all too well. Stricker had a million dollar putt on the 18th hole.

@dmrosen7

Money Behind the FedExCup

In 2007 the PGA Tour implemented the FedExCup. The FedExCup takes place throughout the entire golf season and concludes with the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The playoff system consist of four different tournaments in which the number of golfers participating in the tournament is decreased after each tournament. The cuts are made after each playoff tournament based on a points standing.

This season's FedExCup Playoff started with the Barclays in which the top 125 players were entered into the tournament. After the Barclays, only the top 100 players advanced to the Deutsche Bank Championship. The third stop for the playoffs is the BMW Championship, only the top 70 players will be invited to play. After the BMW, the top 30 players will compete for the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

The players are not just competing for the pride of being named the FedExCup Champion. The four playoff tournaments will offer a purse of $8 million each for a combined $32 million in prize money. Although the purse money for the tournament is quite lucrative, the most potential money to be gained is through bonus money.

The PGA Tour offers $35 million of bonus money for the top 125 players in the FedExCup standings. The winner of the FedExCup will receive $10 million. Second place will receive $3 million and third place gets $2 million. The winnings trickle down to 125th place who receives $70,000.

Final Thought
The FedExCup Playoff has been a big success since its implementation in 2007. Once the four majors in golf are complete, it is difficult to get the big name players to want to continue and compete. The FedExCup Playoff has made golf meaningful well into September. As a golf fan, it is a great to have the golf season extended for the players I enjoy watching. The players are now starting to view the FedExCup not only as a way to earn more money, but as a tournament that they want to compete in and win.

@dmrosen7

Dollars & Sense - US Open Brings Big Money to Philadelphia Area

The 2013 US Open tees off from Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, P.A. this morning, but the impact has already begun to be felt.  With three days of practice rounds already in the books, the Philadelphia area has likely already seen a boost in the local economy.

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer took a look at amount of money that the area is set to take in.  They pegged the figure between $100 and $120 million and about 190,000 spectators, volunteers and staff over the course of the week.  To set a standard for comparison, the article used the 2002 X Games, which brought in $40 million and 235,000 spectators over ten days.

This kind of eight to nine figure economic impact within a week to two week span is something that professional teams cannot offer.  Teams tout their impact on the local economy, but study after study shows that in most cases there is simply a shift in where the the impact is felt within a certain region, not necessarily resulting in an overall gain.

However, major events like a US Open bring in people from outside of the country and sometimes from outside of the United States.  Hotels have reported that they have seen reservations from foreign countries like Germany, Ireland, and Japan, according to the Inquirer.

With Monday's practice round a washout, it is uncertain how much the impact will be, well, impacted.  If you only had tickets to Monday's practice round, would you have left early, hung around and checked out the area, or hung around and tried to get tickets to another practice round?  Maybe the combination would result in no change to the overall estimated impact.

Either way, the pros are ready to take on one of the most historic courses in the country, Merion Golf Club.  Though short, Merion will prove to be a difficult test for many especially when it comes to making disciplined decisions and club selections.  The pros are ready to play, but are you ready to spend?


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

U.S. Open Week Television Coverage

As an avid golf fan, this time of year is exciting to me. It is U.S. Open Week! On Thursday the players will be teeing off on a quest to become the 113th winner of the U.S. Open (well, if the weather holds out...)

At the beginning of the week, coverage of the U.S. Open started. In total the Golf Channel and NBC will be delivering over 70 hours of coverage for the tournament. Included in the coverage is news, live chats, features, highlights, live coverage and more. The Golf Channel will have about 56 hours of coverage and NBC will have about 19 hours.

Included in the Golf Channel's coverage will be Live From the U.S. Open which will air before and after live coverage to show highlights and bring any breaking news stories. A popular Golf Channel show, The Golf Fix, will also be airing from the driving range of Merion. The Golf Channel will also be airing a feature titled "1971 U.S. Open: Lee Trevino an American Champion." This documentary will look at Trevino's shocking victory over Jack Nicklaus in the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion.

NBC's coverage will focus on live action. NBC plans to bring live U.S. Open coverage on Thursday and Friday from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. On Saturday and Sunday coverage is expected to take place from 12:00pm to 7:30pm. For NBC it will be interesting to see how many viewers tune in. Last year's U.S. Open saw final round coverage that earned a 6.6 overnight rating. This was up 29 percent from the final round of 2011. The increase in viewership last year can be somewhat contributed to the location of the tournament. The U.S. Open's that take place on the west coast (like last year) typically see higher television ratings because of the ability to broadcast in primetime on the east coast.

Final Thought
As a golf fan any major is exciting. This year brings a little extra excitement because they are playing so close to home. All I can ask for is an exciting tournament that has my eyes glued to the television on Sunday afternoon.... A Tiger victory would be nice too.

@dmrosen7

Dramatic Masters Finish Draws Big TV Ratings

Tiger looked to be surging toward the top of the leader board at the Masters on Friday. When he hit his third shot on the par five 15th hole, everything changed. Tiger hit what looked to be a great shot but he caught a terrible break. The ball hit the flag stick and then proceeded to ricochet into the water. After Tiger took his drop and proceeded to make bogey, he thought the hole was over. After review, Tiger was penalized the next morning two strokes because of an illegal drop.

Despite the unfortunate break and the penalty, Tiger was still able to put himself in the conversation on Sunday. After playing average golf on the front nine, Tiger put together a run on the back nine but fell short in the end on Sunday. Tiger being in the hunt at the Masters was critical to CBS's high television ratings.

Not only was Tiger brining excitement to the Masters. A tight leader board filled with names going into Sunday's final round included Angel Cabrera, Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott and more. The tournament remained close throughout.

Adam Scott looked to take control when he birdied the 18th to give him a one stoke lead over Angel Cabrera whose was waiting to hit from the 18th fairway. Cabrera proceeded to hit a close shot into 18 and make his birdie put to force a playoff. After both players made par on the first playoff hole, Adam Scott made a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the Masters. All the excitement was evident and reflected in the television ratings.

Sunday's final round drew a 10.2 overnight rating which was up 26% from last year. Ratings were expected to be up because last year's tournament was held on Easter weekend. Last year's tournament did also feature a playoff, so the increased ratings were a good sign for the sport. The high point for ratings was seen (not surprisingly) between 7:00 and 7:30 Sunday night when ratings hit a 13.4.

Final Thought
The tournament was great to watch with so much drama down the stretch. Tiger is a huge part of the success and TV ratings in the sport of golf. I would be curious to know what the Sunday ratings would look like if Tiger was not in contention. If the tournament was as exciting as it was, I tend to believe that ratings would still have been up from last year even without Tiger in the hunt. There is no doubt however that Tiger Woods is a huge factor in controlling how popular the sport of golf is at any given time.

@dmrosen7 

Dollars & Sense - The Masters Primer

The 77th playing of the Masters will tee off this weekend from Augusta National in Georgia under sunny skies and much of that world famous Southern hospitality.  "A tradition unlike any other," Jim Nantz's famous saying goes.  As the world around Augusta National becomes evermore engulfed in corporate greed, shaky ethics, and general hatred, the Masters has become a bubble of serenity.

2013's version of the Masters will see 14-year old Guan Tianlang compete in the same field as 63-year old Tom Watson.  It is where a four day pass to the competition days costs a minimum of $250 (if you're lucky), and a pimento cheese sandwich and a beer will only set you back a total of $4.50.  It is where we could see magic like Bubba Watson's near-impossible 163-yard gap wedge hook from the woods last year or collapse like Rory McIlroy's final round 80 in 2010.

While the business of sport has been rapidly growing for years, the business of the Masters has been focused on keeping the tradition alive.  In this day and age in sports, we are not used to going to a major event (or even minor, for that matter) that is without a parking fee, without corporate hospitality tents, and without exorbitant concessions prices.

There are very few events in the world that has the kind of history and tradition that the Masters has.  There are even fewer that capitalize on that history and tradition to make it the focal point in the selling process.

This year, Tiger Woods comes in with the number-one ranking in the world and the odds in his favor.  McIlroy comes in with his new Nikes after a scorching hot 2012.  Watson comes in to defend his title.  Keegan Bradley and 2012 US Open winner Webb Simpson come in with their maybe soon-to-be-banned anchored putters.  2012 Open Championship winner Ernie Els comes in with four major titles but no top-tens in the Masters in almost 20 years (T-8 in 1994).

The field is wide open, so any prediction that I were to make would likely be deemed useless within the first 18 holes of competition.  Though we do not know the numbers on the scorecard, we do know some of the numbers in the checkbook.  Here are some need-to-know stats for the 2013 Masters.

Prize Money:
Winner - $1.44 million
Runner-Up - $864,000
Total Purse - $8.0 million

Economic Impact:
The Masters will bring in an estimated $110 million economic impact to the city of Augusta, Georgia during the week of the tournament.


Television:

ESPN.com

The Masters have appeared on CBS for 54 consecutive years.
CBS and ESPN will split the broadcast of the 2013 Masters.
Only four minutes every hour are allowed for television commercials.

Tee Times:
Check out the Golf Channel for tee times in rounds one and two.

Concession Prices:
As mentioned earlier, the concession prices are unmatched by any place in sports. In the best way possible.

Twitter:
Follow @The_Masters on Twitter for tournament updates.

Itinerary:
Visiting Augusta National and need an itinerary? Rick Reilly has you covered.

Arnold Palmer:
How does Arnold Palmer order an Arnold Palmer? Answer.


Guan Tianlang:
Want to read more about the 14-year old competitor from China? Gene Wojceichowski profiles him.

Jim Nantz:
Fresh off of the NCAA Tournament finals calling Louisville's victory over Michigan, Jim Nantz heads to Augusta to cover the Masters, just as he has every year since 1986.  Ed Sherman talk to him about transition and tradition.


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Big Ticket Prices at the Masters

Golf's most prestigious tournament is set to start on Thursday. The Masters. For me it is one of the most exciting weekends in sport. Many who do not enjoy the game of golf may think it is crazy that four days of golf can be so exciting to me, but it is...

On my bucket list is a trip to Augusta National to watch the Masters. It would truly be a remarkable experience. That remarkable experience is coming at a hefty price to many this year.

The combination of Tiger Woods playing good golf and the final four of the NCAA tournament being played only a couple hours away in Atlanta, has made the Masters even more desirable than usual this year. In order to purchase tickets, most must use the secondary ticket market. For the four days of golf the only way to get an original ticket is to be on the list of recurring buyers who get asked every year. Those who are fortunate enough to be on this list pay a minimal $250 for the four day badge.

The practice round is also a difficult ticket to purchase. In order to be lucky enough to attend the practice round, you must win a lottery or be a patron of Augusta National. The practice round tickets go for a mere $50.

The big ticket money for the Masters can be found on the secondary market. Those who have waited until the last minute to purchase a four day badge have been paying around $7000 for the four days. Even the practice round tickets are getting a lot of money on the secondary market. Recently a practice round ticket sold for $1000. After doing a quick Stubhub search, you can buy a practice round ticket for about $500 today.  A single ticket for Sunday at the Masters would cost more than $2000 on the secondary ticket market.

The ticket prices for the Masters are insane. Too costly for most of America's public. Most of the high prices being paid on the secondary market are related to corporate American's who are already in the area watching the final four.

There is some good new as far as prices go for the Masters. Once you get inside, you can eat and drink for minimal cost. For the famous pimento cheese sandwich and a beer, it will only cost you $4.50 (and you get to keep the cup with the Masters logo on it).

Final Thought
The perfect storm has made the secondary ticket market for the Masters hot this year. Even in a usual year, ticket cost would be extraordinarily high. There is a reason why tickets to the Masters is one of the hardest tickets to get in sports. I will keep a trip to Augusta National on my bucket list, but for now watching on television will have to do.

@dmrosen7

Dollars & Sense - PGA Tour is Thriving

Tiger Woods has not won a major since 2008, but the PGA Tour is thriving financially and in the area of sponsorship stability.  The transition from the years of Woods’ dominance to an era of much more competitive balance was an intriguing one for the Tour with fluctuating television ratings and an overall confusion on how to continue reaching the younger demographics.  Rory McIlroy is a great player and one worthy of grabbing the proverbial torch, but he certainly has a long way to go to reach the golden-Woods standard.

According Michael Smith’s article “Title sponsors in hand, PGA Tour eyes digital international growth” in this week’s Sports Business Journal, the PGA Tour has sold all but one of its tournament title sponsors.  45 of 46 ain’t too bad.  The lone tournament without a title sponsor is the Tampa Bay Championship held from March 14-17 at Innisbrook Resort.  Transition Optical was the previous title sponsor but was the only company out of 11 not to renew their deal.

The most sought after title sponsor ships are those for tournaments that are televised on either CBS or NBC as opposed to the Golf Channel.  Sponsorship for these types of events runs for $6 million to $8 million per year.  Part of this money goes to the television network and part of this money goes directly to the tournament.  Tournament money could potentially go toward paying the exorbitant purses.  The title sponsor-less Tampa Bay Championship has a total purse of $5.5 million with last year’s winner, Luke Donald, taking home $990,000 of it according to the PGA Tour schedule.

Furthermore on the PGA Tour’s stable sponsorship assets is the fact that only Hyundai’s title sponsorship deal expires after the 2013 season.  With FedEx’s recently extended deal, Web.com signing on as the sponsor of the old Nationwide Tour, and broadcast deals with CBS and NBC that run reportedly through 2021, the PGA Tour is able to leverage their current deals further and look for a product more global in nature.

Aided by the established World Golf Championship events including the uniqueness of the Accenture Match Play Championship, the PGA Tour has been looking towards global growth for a while.  Now with PGA Tour Canada under their control and a new tour in Latin America, the PGA Tour continues its expansion

. 

Digital media growth is what ultimately caught eye with the article because typically when you think golf, you think older generations and older generations are not particularly digital media savvy.  Here are a few key digital media points that the PGA Tour is doing in the upcoming season:

-          - Streamlined Apps – Currently apps are on a tournament by tournament basis, but with the PGA Tour undertaking a single aggregated platform, apps will have much greater consistent quality.

-         -  Internet Simulcasts – The PGA Tour plans to simulcast CBS, NBC, and Golf Channel broadcasts on their website as an added viewing platform in hopes to add sellable advertising inventory and drive site traffic.

-          - Digital Division Growth – After taking over control of their digital division from Turner Sports, the PGA Tour looks to grow their digital division and expand on Turner’s successes.

(Quick aside on golf television broadcasts: Golf is often criticized by its haters for being slow and boring, even on television.  Personally, I think that assumption is way off base.  Golf broadcast productions always bring the viewer straight to the action.  How often do you see a guy walking the fairway as opposed to hitting a shot in the middle of a round?  Virtually never.  Golf broadcasts have an element of NFL Red Zone to them that was there before the thought of NFL Red Zone was even conceived.)

The PGA Tour is in an incredible position going forward.  In the United States we have seen unrest and instability in our major sports over the past few years.  Golf and the PGA Tour has remained strong.  Just imagine what a dominant American-born player could do for television ratings!

(Read the SBJ Original Article)

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Oakley Agrees to Deal With Bubba

Oakley has welcomed Bubba Watson to the family.... in a big way.

The video says it all.

The fit seems natural and almost perfect. Watson is known for his colorful attitude in a sport that can often be... well.... boring. Oakley who specializes in eyewear, apparel, footwear and accessories is known to be a fun company. The match of an outgoing player and a fun company will be a great fit.

Watson isn't exactly a scrub when it comes to golf either. Bubba won the 2012 Masters in remarkable form. Watson hit a huge hook shot in a playoff hole that essentially won him the tournament. Golf fans will not forget that shot anytime soon.

Although signing Watson is a huge move for Oakley, the reason for the signing most likely has a lot to do with who Oakley lost. Rory McIlroy agreed to a deal with Nike, which means that he most likely will be leaving Oakley. McIlroy is a rising star in the game of golf and for companies, he is the ultimate golfer to sponsor. It is no surprise that Nike who also sponsors Tiger Woods made the big move to acquire Rory. I wrote about the Rory move to Nike in an earlier article. Oakley will obviously be taking a big loss with Rory's pending departure, but Bubba is one of the best signings they could have made. Watson's popularity is not on the same level as Rory, but Oakley had no way to replace a golfer as special as Rory McIlroy.

Watson was very excited to be joining Oakley. When asked why he made the decision to join, he said "Simple. Oakley gets it. They love the game and they never stop pushing technology to make the game better. Whatever they can do- whatever can be done- Oakley will do it. I respect that."

Final Thought
This is a great move for Oakley. It is very difficult to bounce back from losing the best golfer in the game today (not officially). Oakley stepped up by signing a player that not only is good at golf but a player that fits the Oakley brand. Bubba Watson is a respected golfer and person and will fit perfectly with Oakley.

@dmrosen7

Dollars & Sense - Nike Signs McIlroy and PGA Schedule Announced

For years, the top golfer at Nike was Tiger Woods.  Now after last week’s slew of signings, Nike may not have found a name that’s bigger than Tiger Woods, but they sure opened their checkbooks.  Nike signed a trio of PGA Tour players last week: Kyle Stanly, Nick Watney, and Rory McIlroy. 

Given McIlroy’s current position in golf, he garnered a good deal of media attention with his move from Titleist to Nike.  Many were skeptical of the move away from the Titleist brand that McIlroy has seen some much success with over the past few years, but a reported $200 million-plus payday is hard for anybody to pass up. 

The McIlroy deal with Nike represents a changing of the guard on the golf scene.  Tiger may be the biggest name in the game, but McIlroy is sneaking up there.  Tiger is aging and may never win another major, while McIlroy is still only 23 and entering the prime of his career with two majors already under his belt. 

Signing Stanley and Watney can also benefit the Nike brand.  Watney has shown flashes with two wins in 2011 and one in 2012, and he is only 31 years old.  Stanley is another up-and-comer who is only 24 years old.  He got his first win on the PGA Tour in 2012 and also showed some flashes of being able to win some smaller tournaments.

---

The PGA Tour has also recently released their 2013 schedule. New Years Eve will mark the start of the Tour’s schedule with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.  Tour majors will kick off with the Masters from Augusta National on April 8 and then continue with the US Open on June 10 from Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA right outside of Philadelphia.  Players will travel across the pond to Scotland for the Open Championship (British Open) starting on July 15.  The final PGA Tour major of the year, the PGA Championship, will be start on August 5 from Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY.  

New Nike signee Rory McIlroy will look to repeat at the PGA Championship and also at the Honda Classic (Feb. 25 – Mar. 3), the Deutsche Bank Championship (Aug. 26 – Sep. 2), and the BMW Championship (Sep. 9 – Sep. 15).

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

14 Year Old to Play at the Masters

When I heard the possibility that 14-year-old, Guan Tianlang, had a chance to qualify for the Masters I did not believe it. 14. That is hard to believe. Guan's win at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship qualified him for the Masters. The age of players playing professional golf keeps getting younger and younger but it is unexpected to most that an eight grader would have the opportunity to play in one of the most prestigious golf tournament in the world.

Guan Tianlang

Guan will be the youngest player to play in a major by a month. Last summer at the US Open, Andy Zhang who was also 14 teed it up with the best in the world. The youth in golf is hard to believe but it is a good sign for the game. Many wonder where the future of golf is heading especially with recent struggles of Tiger Woods. The more talented youth in the game will make the sport more competitive and keep viewers watching.

Andy Zhang

Tiger was the clear catalyst for the popularity in the game of golf. With young talented players coming into the game, it is difficult not to watch them on TV. For many who play golf recreationally, it is nearly impossible to image someone at the age of 14 being able to compete with the best golfers in the world. That fact will make people want to watch.

Another positive from young golfers playing professionally is the impact on the demographics of the game. Many consider golf to be a sport that is only played recreationally by older individuals. If kids have golfers they can look up to that are only a few years older than them, they are more likely to go and try to play the game themselves.

Final Thought
For all the positives that come out of young talented golfers, we must be careful on possible negatives. Guan is obviously extremely talented, but he is only 125 pounds. Therefore he can drive the ball only a mere 250 yards. At many challenging professional golf course, that will cause trouble. The last thing that golf wants is to put young men on national TV on the biggest stage and embarrass them. Although these golfers must have extreme confidence to make it to the point where they are, it is difficult to imagine what one horrendous tournament can do to someones confidence. That being said, I can't wait to watch Guan at the Masters.

 @dmrosen7

Ryder Cup Recap

When the leaderboard is tight on a Sunday afternoon at the Masters, there isn't anything more exciting in golf. Or so I thought. While watching the Ryder Cup on Sunday those same emotions felt during the last day of a major tournament were present. I was excited and nervous as the Europeans closed the gap.

The result of the tournament was unfortunate as a fan of the American squad, yet the overall tournament excitement made the result bearable. I was hoping to see, like many other fans, Tiger Woods' 18th hole to have meaning. Unfortunately, Martin Kaymer made a clutch putt on the 18th versus Steve Stricker to seal the deal for the Europeans.

Many people will question some of the decisions made by the captain of the U.S. team, David Love III. Many will say that Love's captains picks were questionable, a group that included Stricker and Furyk. Some will say that Love messed up the Saturday afternoon session when he sat a hot Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson duo in favor of a struggling Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. All of these arguments can be made, but at the end of the day the U.S. blew a significant lead and the true fault for the loss lies on the players.

The Ryder Cup has a much different feel than any other tournament. In most golf tournaments, personal pride is on the line and a nice sum of money. The Ryder Cup is played for national pride. The best golfers in the United States represent our country in hopes of bringing the Cup to the U.S. When it comes to big money prizes for the players, you won't find it at the Ryder Cup. There is no money to be won in the tournament.

Final Thought

Although I was upset that the U.S. didn't win the Ryder Cup, the story on the European side was quite remarkable. After being down 10 to 6 going into the Sunday singles matches, the European's needed a huge Sunday to retain the cup. It took a full effort from everyone on the European side to pull off the remarkable upset. In the back of all the European's minds while playing had to be the Steve Ballesteros story. Ballesteros tragically died in May of 2011 from a brain tumor, and the Europeans were playing in his honor. With Steve Ballesteros on the Europeans sleeves, they pulled off the unthinkable. Truly a good story.





 @dmrosen7 

Tiger Earns $100 Million

With Tiger Woods third place finish in the Deutsche Bank Championship he earned $544,000. This win pushed his career earnings on the PGA tour to over $100 million, $100,350,700 to be exact. Tiger has been the face of golf for many years, and it is not surprising that he is the first man to ever earn $100 million on the golf course.

The dominance of Tiger Woods against people playing in his era, can be viewed not only through wins, but through money earned. After Tiger, next on the list is Phil Mickelson who has earned nearly $67 million. Although a nice amount of money, Phil is nearly $30 million behind Tiger.

The era of golf in which Tiger has played has a lot to do with the enormous amount of career earnings. Sam Snead is the career leader in PGA Tour wins with 82. Snead's career earnings were $620,126. Sam Snead started his career in 1937 and money in golf was no where near the value of todays game. Snead's most earnings in an individual tournament was in 1968 when he came in second place in Milwaukee. He earned only $28,000 in that tournament. Tiger Woods has won $1 million dollars or more 38 different times.

The huge increase in dollars for the game of golf can be attributed to Tiger. When Tiger entered the sport as a professional, he brought with him huge crowds to the tournaments and big crowds watching on TV. Tiger spoke on the time of golf in which he played, "I won fewer tournaments than Sam Snead has, but obviously he was in a different era. It's just that we happened to time it up right and happened to play well when the purses really had a nice spike up."

Tiger is currently in contention of winning his third FedEx Cup. The FedEx Cup bonus pays $10 million. The two times that Tiger previously won the FedEx Cup, have not counted toward his career earnings.

Final Thought
It is no surprise to anyone that Tiger Woods has earned a lot of money playing golf. His dominance has been clearly witnessed by any golf fan. I think the $100 million dollar milestone is just another remarkable achievement by Tiger. His career earnings is only a fraction of the total amount he has earned because of golf. Endorsement money for Tiger Woods is in the hundreds of millions. Whether or not people like Tiger because of his off the course drama is up to them, yet there is no denying what he has accomplished on the golf course is truly amazing. As for the rest of Tigers career.... he might not be done just yet.

@dmrosen7

FedEx Playoff Approaches With Little Buzz

Wait… Did you hear that?  Neither did I.

That silence is the lack of buzz that the PGA Tour’s FedExCup playoff is generating. 

The FedExCup playoff system is very similar to NASCAR’s playoff system in that competitors earn points based on finishes in regular season events.  After the final event of the regular season, the top 125 golfers in the standings qualify for the first playoff event.

Last week’s Wyndham Championship (won by Sergio Garcia on the same day that Augusta announced their acceptance of their first woman members) was the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season.  A big reason that the lack of buzz is surprising (at least to me) is the fire power among the top five in the standings.  Fifth place currently belongs to Bubba Watson who really became a crowd favorite this year at The Masters.  Third place belongs to Rory McIlroy who is coming off of an impressive eight stroke victory at the PGA Championship.  First place belongs to none other than Tiger Woods.  Enduring intense scrutiny for not winning a major championship this yes, Tiger has put together a solid season winning three events (more than any other player on the PGA Tour this year). 

This week’s event The Barclays will be the first event of the FedExCup playoffs.  Bethpage Black in New York will play host to event and is widely considered to be one of the tougher courses on the PGA Tour schedule.  It is at The Barclays this week that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will be paired together in a group for rounds one and two for the first time in their careers.  You can bet the house that that group will be the most followed grouping on TV.

After The Barclays, the second leg of the FedExCup playoff moves to the Deutsche Bank Championship played at TPC Boston.  TPC Boston typically sees lower scores with tournament winners shooting around 20-under.  Unlike the first round at The Barclays where the top 125 players compete, the Deutsche Bank Championship whittles the field down to the top 100. 

The BMW Championship is the third leg of the playoff where the field is cut even further down to the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings.  The BMW Championship will be played at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana after a run at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. 

Finally, the FedExCup playoffs come down the Tour Championship which takes the top 30 players in the standings.  Taking place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA, the winner of the season long PGA Tour FedExCup is crowned.  Last year Bill Haas took the Tour Championship which won him the FedExCup in dramatic fashion.

Prize money is a huge reward of the FedExCup playoff.  With total prize money in the neighborhood of $35 million, the winner takes home a whopping $10 million for the season’s worth of work.  The second place finisher brings in $3 million; third place gets $2 million all the way through the top 150 players. 

 Although the prize money is big, the stakes just don’t seem to be taken too seriously by the fans and media.  There is very little build up going into these playoffs.  Moving into next year, the stakes could be raised to a point that could garner more attention among golf fans.  Starting in 2013, the FedExCup standings will essentially replace the PGA Tour Money List as the determining factor for the Tour cards the following season.  This raises the stakes much, much higher because now the top 125 spots matter as opposed to maybe the number one spot.

FedEx’s dealings with the PGA Tour began back in 1986, where it started out as a tournament sponsor (FedEx St. Jude Classic).  The FedExCup began in 2007, and prior to this year, the PGA Tour and FedEx extended the agreement containing the FedExCup playoffs through 2017. 

The change for the future that will place importance on the top 125 spots will probably not bring too much extra coverage to the playoff.  However, if the big names at the top of this year’s FedExCup standings can stay in contention (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Bubba Watson), then the playoff is sure to gain media and fan momentum by the time the Tour Championship rolls around on September 20 to 23.  For now we can enjoy The Barclays because I think most of us can agree that any golf is better than no golf at all.

--Information gathered from PGATour.com and Sports Business Journal.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter at @kevin_rossi.

Augusta Makes the Change

What could be considered the most private golf club in the world, Augusta National Golf Club, made a big change to their membership. Over the past 80 years, Augusta National has failed to open its membership to women. This has changed. Former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and South Carolina businesswoman, Daria Moore, have been admitted to Augusta.

Augusta is best known for its privacy and for one of the four major golf tournaments it holds every year, the Masters. The Masters has an exclusivity to it that no other tournament can match. In the current days of huge television deals, and obnoxious amounts of sponsors. The Masters have kept their business with an enormous amount of privacy. Augusta only has three sponsors for the Masters. They include IBM, Exxon and AT&T. Augusta also tells CBS how much Masters coverage they can have and limit the commercials. Augusta allows four minutes of commercials per hour. This is four times less than any other tournament.

Augusta further proves its little care toward potential revenue dollars, with concession prices. Although it may seem like a small thing, $1 for cookies and coffee can't be beat. The seemingly care free attitude that is exhibited by Augusta when it comes to revenue has a deeper meaning. The lack of care puts the idea of admitting women to the golf club in perspective. Most companies give into social uproar because of finances. If customers don't approve of a companies decisions, the company risks losing customers. Augusta did not make the move because of social pressures.

An uproar came about recently when IBM promoted Virginia Rometty to CEO. Traditionally IBM CEO's were offered membership to Augusta. Virginia was the first female CEO for IBM, so Augusta was feeling pressure from the outside to extend her an invite. Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne did not give in, constantly saying that he would not talk about membership issues. Time will tell now if she gets in.

Final Thought
Augusta for years would constantly flex their muscles when it came to membership. The refusal to allow women to be members was a sticking point for many years. The change they made will not reflect a financial move, rather a move that is long overdue.


 @dmrosen7