ZealousGolfer.com

In 2007, the PGA TOUR will enter its inaugural season under the FedEx Cup format. The FedEx Cup was made to give golf a "playoff" to end the season similar to other major sports, but most similar to NASCAR's Nextel Cup. The new plan was made to give big name golfers more initiative to play in some of the season ending events while competing for a huge prize.

The FedEx Cup will host select fields in the following four events which comprise the "playoff" part of the championship:
*Barclays Classic -- 144 players
*Deutsche Bank Championship -- 120 players
*BMW Championship -- 70 players
*THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola -- 30 players

The winner of the FedEx Cup will receive a $10 million bonus, the largest bonus ever awarded in sports. The top five players in the race will all receive prizes of over $1 million for their efforts.

Of course, this program is not a lock to attract the big guns like Tiger and Phil. Both players skipped out of several events in the late part of the season, most notably the TOUR Championship. Another downside of the program is the select fields in several events. These events will hurt graduates from the Nationwide Tour and Qualifying School because of a smaller schedule size. Players will now have to make a move early in the season as well as some of the weaker summer events to hold onto their cards.

The season will end with seven events following the TOUR Championship in 2007. These events will make up the Fall Series and will end at the Walt Disney World Resort Classic, formerly the FUNAI Classic.