The Golf Watch

Finchem: Everybody hates the BCS but everybody talks about it

Tim Finchem made an appearance on Wednesday's edition of Pardon the Interruption where Tony Kornheiser and Dan Le Batard must have thrown the sheet of paper with the soft questions out the window.  Kornheiser and Le Batard challenged Finchem on the confusing point system and the excitement factor.  This is the part of the interview that jumped out at me:

Korneiser:  If I understand this correctly the way the current system is set up, Jim Furyk, who hasn’t won a tournament all year, could win the Cup and the $10M, are you at peace with that?

Finchem: I am because it is the system we have.  As long as its exciting…Everybody hates the BCS but everybody talks about it.  It doesn’t disturb me.

Finchem makes rare on course appearance at Pebble

Players and fans alike are getting a rare opportunity to watch PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem tee it up at Pebble Beach this week, playing alongside Davis Love III.  Finchem and Love strung together two pretty solid opening rounds and are four shots out of the lead.  Jim McCabe recounts the round in great detail. 

Finchem: "We’re asking every player to add a tournament or two..."

In an effort to provide higher quality fields for some of the lesser name tournaments that could lose sponsorship deals over the next few years, Tim Finchem sent a 5-minute video to Tour players and their respective agents.  As Jon Show reports:

Finchem, standing in his office in front of a painting of Fred Couples at TPC Sawgrass, addresses four areas he would like to see players focus on in '09: scheduling, sponsor appreciation, public comments and charitable involvement. "We’re asking every player to add a tournament or two to their historical schedule to assist the tournaments that historically have weak fields,” Finchem said. "We have a lot of title sponsors this year that are up for renewal. We have to put our best foot forward in terms of presenting our competitions."

Here's the real zinger though...

He also requested that players avoid making negative public comments about the Tour. "We want players to be, No. 1, upbeat and positive about what the PGA Tour is doing and where we’re going,” Finchem said. "We want you to be excited about the competitive opportunities that you have. And third, we want you to talk about PGA Tour properties when you describe what this year, 2009, is all about. Particularly the FedEx Cup."

I understand that it's important for players to serve as strong ambassadors for the Tour, but if players aren't happy with certain policies, they should be able to air their grievances. 

Finchem: Prize money will "certainly flatten"

In an interview that will air this weekend on Bloomberg Radio's "On the Ball," Tim Finchem said prize money will "certainly flatten" over the next few years.  According to Michael Buteau, Finchem said:

It will certainly flatten.  Whether it will go down, I’m not prepared to go that far. I don’t see the kind of growth that we’ve had these next three or four years versus the last six or seven, and it might be a flat period.

I suppose if the economy continues to spiral away from us, if we get significant difficulties with sponsorships, anything is possible.

That would be the worst-case scenario. We don’t know how this is going to play out. Right now, we seem to be weathering the storm pretty well.

The program On the Ball airs multiple times on Saturdays on satellite radio.  The schedule can be found here.

Tim Finchem's salary drops below the $5 million mark in 2007

Curious about PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem's salary in 2007?  Jon Show of the Sports Business Journal provides information about his earnings:

Tim Finchem received $4.8 million in compensation in 2007 as the commissioner of the PGA Tour, a drop of about $400,000 from the previous year. His income included $1.3 million in salary, $3.2 million in bonuses and another $240,000 in benefits.

As for the LPGA Tour, I found it interesting to learn from Doug Ferguson's weekly report that commissioner Carolyn Bivens earned $710,812 in 2007. 

Finchem disagrees with "mini-uprising" claim

Tim Finchem was interviewed in a roundtable discussion by Tim Rosaforte (Golf World), Larry Dorman (New York Times), and Rich Lerner (TGC) last week at the Northern Trust Open.  The interview aired on Golf Central in a two-part series this past weekend.  The first part of the series, which aired on Saturday, didn't shed any light on the recent controversies surrounding the PGA Tour, but focused primarily on Finchem's personal life (i.e. his favorite music).  On Sunday, Finchem was asked tougher questions by Rosaforte and Dorman, but played it safe, as any commissioner would, with his responses.  For example, Rosaforte mentioned that there seems to be a mini-uprising with the new cut and anti-doping policies.  Finchem responded by saying:

Well I question the premise that you asked the question.  I don’t feel an uprising at all.  I mean, I’ve been here for two days, I’ve seen 100 players.  And I think players a lot of them don’t like the way the cut change was made, even though it was a Player Advisory Council that recommended it, but they understand the reasons for it. 

Rosaforte's colleague at Golf World, John Hawkins, contradicts this statement in his most recent column:

From unrest over its drug-testing program to the recent outcry over revisions to the 36-hole cut, the PGA Tour has dealt with more in-house strife than usual in 2008. Some players will complain about anything, but this year, guys who rarely rock the boat are objecting, as much about the tour's autocratic methods of operation as the actual policies themselves.

Finchem on PTI

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem appeared on Pardon the Interruption with Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser today.  Finchem was in San Diego at the Buick Invitational and was asked by Wilbon and Kornheiser about Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson's absence the first three weeks of the year, John Daly's recent behavior, and Tiger's response to Kelly Tilghman's remarks two weeks ago.  Listen to the full interview below. 

Finchem will make announcment on drug policy tomorrow

All summer there was speculation, but now it's official.  PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem will introduce a new drug policy during a conference call with the World Golf Foundation tomorrow at 10 a.m.  Testing is expected to start during the second half of the 2008 season.  Adam Barr of The Golf Channel was on Golf Central Wednesday night reporting from this week's Turning Stone Resort Championship in New York.  Barr said, "I wouldn’t exactly say that the substance abuse policy coming up on the teleconference tomorrow morning is not a big deal, but it’s not top of the agenda here.  Most of the players didn’t even know that there was a teleconference tomorrow until the announcement came out late this afternoon."

Finchem says he doesn't have a problem with Mickelson

In an interview on The Golf Channel, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem responsed to Phil Mickelson's comments at the Deutsche Bank Championship.  Finchem said the following about his relationship with Mickelson: "I don’t think we have problems.  But I do think that we have to always be cognizant of the need as an organization to listen to players, to make sure they feel heard and to do the best we can.  We have 200 opinions on any subject, and we have to work through it."  He added that Mickelson's comments have to be put into perspective.  Although Mickelson raised several questions and made some suggestions to improve the FedEx Cup playoffs, he never said that he had any problems with Finchem. 

Finchem says he is disappointed with Woods' decision

In a press conference at The Barclays, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said he was disappointed with Tiger Woods' decision not to play this week.  "I’m disappointed with his decision.  It’s not a decision that I like to see made candidly any week of the year, but he doesn’t play them all," said Finchem.  Jim Furyk said at his news conference that Woods isn't the only person who will not playing in one of the FedEx Cup events.  Furyk has heard that several other top players will not be able to play all four weeks.  According to Steve Sands of The Golf Channel, Scott Verplank has already announced that he will not play in next week's Deutsche Bank Championship.