Why did the Tour made minor changes to the point system in the PGA TOUR Playoffs?
The PGA Tour wanted to increase volatility, enabling players to move up faster if they play well. They wanted to create more excitement by having more players with a realistic chance to win the FedExCup going into THE TOUR Championship. At the same time, they wanted to maintain the importance of the Regular Season along with the integrity and credibility of the Playoffs.
First, they narrowed the gap between players' point totals at the reset going into the Playoffs. For example, the gap between first and second was 1,000 points last year, they have reduced that to 500 points this year.
Second, they added points in all the Playoff events. The way they did this was to increase by 2,000 the points awarded to each place receiving points. For example, a 3rd place finish was worth 3,400 points in 2007; it is now worth 5,400 points.
Due to the changes, instead of only two players "playing their way in" to the next event by moving into the top 120 for Deutsche Bank Championship or 70 for BMW Championship. With the changes, 11 players would have moved into the Deutsche Bank Championship field and 17 into the BMW Championship. THE TOUR Championship would have had at least eight players moving in, instead of three.
Instead of only six players with a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup at the Tour Championship, there would have been 12, and instead of only four players with a realistic chance of winning, there would have been six. The top seeds still have the advantage, and the players in the Top 20 who finished the first three events would still have made it into THE TOUR Championship because of their solid play in the "regular season."
The hope is that the changes will increase more interest in the FedExCup and during the stretch of the PGA Tour Playoffs that include the stop in St. Louis with third of four PGA Tour Playoff events, The BMW Championship.
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