In 2007 and ’08, the top 144 made the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs before the number of qualifiers was trimmed to 125 for the 2009-22 seasons. This year, that number is 70.
In 2007, eight Major League Baseball teams made the playoffs. Now that number is 12.
In 2007, 12 NFL teams made the playoffs. Now, that number is 14.
In 2007, 16 NBA teams made the playoffs. Now, that number is 20.
While every other major sport is expanding with the number of participants in the playoffs, professional golf is going in the other direction by knocking out 55 spots. More money for the privileged few.
Kind of funny that one of the proponents of the new tour structure, Justin Thomas, missed out. I'll bet he didn't see that coming a year ago.
Charlie Jurgonis
Fairfax, Virginia
I read Lewine Mair’s article in Global Golf Post about the Solheim Cup and the “controversy” about giving a putt (“Pettersen gathers Solheim scoop,” Aug. 7 GGP).
I had a bird’s-eye view at the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms and watched Paula Creamer patiently wait for her playing competitor, Suzann Pettersen, to give Creamer a relatively short putt. After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, Pettersen finally barked, “Pick it up,” making Creamer pretty uncomfortable that she had to wait that long.
Pettersen’s response almost seemed like, “Of course it's good,” and everyone knows that in these match-play competitions the fire comes out. I also watched both of their faces turn pretty red over the exchange.
Joe Garbarski
St. Charles, Illinois
What a great article by Scott Michaux (“Wendell Coffee brews up a gem,” Aug. 3 GGP+).
I don’t know Wendell Coffee, but I’ve always kept up with golf in Georgia for the last 50 years, and Coffee’s name is a constant. What a gem of a driving range, short-game area and a par-3 course. Perfect combination to improve one’s golf game and bring more people into the game. Wish more of these existed.
Moody Summers
Covington, Georgia
Instead of having a model local rule for the golf ball in USGA, R&A and other tournaments, what if the loft of clubs were restricted?
The lowest loft for drivers could be set at 13-15 degrees, and maximum clubhead size could match current 3-woods, which would accomplish a reduction in distance off the tee. Players should be able to hit more fairways with a higher-lofted driving club, which would justify narrower fairways for premier events. There would be no real need to change the rest of the set. Ball manufacturers would not need to change. Club manufacturers probably would not need to change. Measuring conforming clubs would be quite simple.
Another interesting option would be restriction on loft plus reducing the number of clubs in the set for tournaments to less than 14 – say, 10-11. This would increase the required creativity by top-level players.
Bahnson Stanley
Atlanta, Georgia
If I were penalized two strokes for taking too long to putt and looking back saw that the next group had not yet reached the tee box, I would point that out to the rules official and say, “Really?” (“Boutier enjoys ride of her life at Evian,” July 31 GGP).
Six-hour round, I heard. Everyone should be penalized. Cut the payouts for all and save the sponsor some money.
Jon Haas
Orange Park, Florida
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