Hurrah for the Ryder Cup

Filed in archive Golf Wanderings on August 18, 2008

Valhalla Golf Club, site of the 2008 Ryder Cup. Courtesy: celticgolf.com

We're closing in on the end of summer in the northern hemisphere - just 4 weeks of it left - and I find it a sad time.

Not because summer is winding down, although that's reason alone to mope a little since it means another golf season is heading into the final stretch.

No, it's a sad time because there are no more majors to get excited about.

Thank God this is a Ryder Cup year, I suppose. At least that tournament always gets the juices flowing.

Apart from the Ryder Cup, what have we got? Season two of the FedEx Cup race for the cash.

Last year was a cake walk for Tiger and many felt it was fitting for the world number one to win in Year One. Phil actually showed up a few times to wave the flag of the world number two and acquitted himself reasonably well.

But this year, it's different. And, frankly, flat out boring. Mickelson is playing golf like the absent-minded professor, Tiger is on the DL and Kenny Perry is the FedEx Cup points leader.

Kenny Perry. Now there's a guy who conjures up what golf's all about. Why, he even blew off the British Open after receiving an invitation so he could play in a bland PGA weekly. Just to add to his FedEx points total.

Of course, he won the event. Okay, so the guy was hot and figured he'd pad out his points. Gathering the most points is the sole criterion for walking off with the ridiculous cash prize in this season long "competition". He skipped one of golf's majors to pursue the money.

Last season, I wasn't interested in watching. This season, even less so. It really is obvious that Tim Finchem's theory of making the back half of the PGA season "exciting" is not working. At least, for me. Kenny Perry is one of the wealthy grinders on tour; he chose to ignore a storied major that has been won by every top player the game has ever produced so he could collect more points and score a big payday in the fall.

Who will fans remember more? Kenny Perry winning the FedEx Cup in 2008 or Padraig Harrington capturing his second straight Open over Sergio Garcia?

That's the power of the major tournament in golf. It transcends money.