Golf: Consistency is the key in 2013
Initially PGA of America decided that only the top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings will get the tour cards for the next season.
The next 75 players on FedEx Cup standings will go to Web.com tour and from there 50 tour cards will be decided. This meant that the 2013 season would be short, running from January till August.
However, there has been a slight adjustment, as the Board has decided to keep the tour money list functional for one more year.
It does not necessarily mean that if a player is inside the top-125 in FedEx standings, then the same player would be inside the top-125 tour money list as well, or vice versa.
David Mathis is one example who is ranked 133 in the FedEx standings but in tour money list he is inside the top-125. There are few other names as well, so all that matters from now on is consistency.
Every player must look to make as many cuts as he can so that he can earn more money and get more FedEx points.
"Typically, what we've found in researching this is there's an average of a six- to seven-player difference in the two lists," said Andy Pazder, the PGA TOUR's Chief of Operations.
"Of the difference in the two lists, about half those folks have some higher status, such as a winner's exemption or medical exemption".
Overall there is not much difference in the list. That is due to the players having some other exemptions. So, on the average, around 128-9 players get the tour cards in the season. which does not affect the schedule too much.
"The net effect is somewhere between 128 and 129 getting their cards, so it doesn't have a huge impact," Pazder said.
The decision to continue with both the lists is not final yet. The Board will review this scenario next year and will take a decision then.
The aim for the players is now consistency if they want to continue to play on the PGA Tour. Heath Slocum is an example of consistency. He went into the playoffs with a FedEx Cup ranking of 124th but he was 142nd in the tour money list.
Reason? Consistency! He missed the cut eight times and finished in the top 40 nine times. In fact he did not have a top ten finish at all. His best was T13 at True South Classic.
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