Fed Ex Cup playoffs suffer mightily without Tiger Woods

I know the PGA Tour suits hate hearing this kind of stuff, but the FedEx Cup playoffs, which start this week at the Barclays, are sort of like the Subway series without the Yankees.

With Tiger Woods out, interest is like the American economy, as in falling off the table.

Still, there are some very interesting scenario which will keep hardcore fans interested. To the tour’s credit, they fixed some things that made last year’s playoffs seem bogus in some respects.

First of all, that $10 million payoff. It sounded great, until we learned it came in the form of a retirement annuity. That is SO PGA Tour-like – which has shown a consistent tendency to make things as dull as possible. All of these guys are already set for life.

Wheel it out in a wheelbarrow and dump it on the winner’s head. Have Angela Jolie tuck it into her bikini. Well, not quite, but the winner will get $9 million in cash this year.

Also, more people actually have a shot at it this year, as opposed to last year. Not many, but more.

The tour narrowed the big discrepancy in points at the reset before the playoffs begin, so more players have a chance of moving up. It won’t be as status quo as last year. Victories are worth more points. More players will be more motivated, hopefully.

Wish I could say the same for the fans.