I think the PGA Tour is reveling in its post-FedExCup glory today as the golfer who won the end-of-season playoffs is the person who should have won according to the FedExCup’s design.
Tiger Woods won the FedExCup Sunday by placing second in THE TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA.
With a 6-under par performance, Woods took runner-up honors to Phil Mickelson in route to winning his second FedExCup title in its third year of existence.
However, this FedExCup victory for Tiger was a little different from his first in 2007.
With the changes in the FedExCup points setup, Tiger was forced to play consistently well in all four events of the 2009 playoffs. Not to say he didn’t in 2007 (he won two of the three events and placed in the Top-5 in all three), but he could have sloughed off with the massive points lead he developed earlier in the regular season.
Instead in 2009, Tiger’s consistency showed during the regular season (he won five tournaments before the playoffs, along with 14 Top-10 finishes) and it showed during the playoffs (one win and three Top-5 finishes in four events).
Sure, he didn’t win a major championship for the first time since 2004. But Tiger’s scoring average (68.84) was the best it has been since 2006.
In a year where he was trying to get back from knee surgery, Tiger still managed to outshoot the field and keep most golf fans awestruck by his shotmaking.
To the PGA Tour, Tiger’s consistent journey through 2009 personified what the FedExCup was designed to honor.
On an emotional sidenote, Mickelson’s victory was well deserved for a golfer who battled through professional and personal adversity for most of the season.
Only so many professional athletes could find a way to keep playing with two loved ones battling the same disease at the same time. Mickelson proved it can be done and that such hard times won’t keep a strong person down.
Overall, Sunday’s end of the season proved why people should be watching professional golf in September. Because it was in this year’s FedExCup where the best golfer won and one of the best men can win against difficult odds.
