 Prize money in the US has gone way up during Finchem's reign |
The 2007 PGA Tour will finish with a four-event play-off series that is worth $10m (�5.5m) to the winner, tour boss Tim Finchem said on Wednesday. The FedExCup series will begin with the Barclays Classic on 23 August.
It continues with Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship before ending at The Tour Championship.
"Unlike other sports we have no play-offs and we wanted to access that kind of enthusiasm and excitement," said Finchem.
Players will earn points from every tour event, with more
points on offer at World Golf Championship tournaments.
 | It has the top
players playing against each other, which is a much more
exciting product for the fans |
The most important events will remain The Players Championship and the four majors. The leading 144 players in the points list after the Carolina Classic, which ends on 19 August, will make up the field
for the first three play-off events.
After the BMW Championship in Chicago, the top 30 advance to the Tour Championship in Atlanta a month later.
"It's an exciting time for golf," said world number one
Tiger Woods. "It's a no-brainer. We're doing the right thing."
World number two Phil Mickelson said: "It has the top
players playing against each other, which is a much more
exciting product for the fans."
Second place in the series will be worth $3m (�1.65m) and
third spot $1m (�550,000), as well as the prize money on offer at each of the closing events.
| If the New York Yankees win 315 games in the American League East, they have to start over (in the play-offs) Tim Finchem
PGA Tour commissioner |
After the Carolina Classic, the top 144 players will be
seeded according to their FedExCup ranking with the points
reset. The leader will go into the series with 100,000 points, with second place on 99,000 points and third with 1,000 points less and so on down the list.
Finchem admitted a few players had questioned the system's fairness.
"Someone might say, 'Let me understand this, Tim. If I win
six times and I've got $10m in prize money and I've got
an 8,000 lead in points, I've got to start all over again, with just a little edge in points?'"
Finchem said he would counter with, "If the New York Yankees win 315 games in the American League East, they have to start over (in the play-offs).
"And every player with whom I've had that conversation says, 'I get it. Let's tee it up'."
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