Charles Schwab Cup: Still a work in progress for golf fans

October 23, 2009

Like the PGA Tour’s initiation of the FedEx Cup, the Champions Tour decided in 2001 its circuit needed something.Like the benefits of a mid-afternoon latte on a ho-hum workday, the Champions Tour invented the Charles Schwab Cup. Its purpose, as one tournament rolls into another week after week, is to maintain interest throughout a 25-tournament schedule spread across 10 months.The Champions Tour begins in Hawaii, advances into Florida and ends among the vineyard of the famous Napa Valley wine country. And there are also stops at fine golfing facilities in lesser-known areas from West Des Moines, Iowa, to Conover, N.C.

Via points available at each tournament and awarded based on prize money earnings, players vie for the end-of-the-year $1 million annuity top prize. Jay Haas won the grand prize over Fred Funk in the final round of the final tournament during the 2008 season.

And as the competition comes to a close this season, a similar scenario could occur. The final day of the Champions Tour season, which began Jan. 19 in Kona, Hawaii, will end Nov. 1 with the final round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, California.

But like the FedEx Cup, with its decreasing field, big-money final prize, the Charles Schwab Cup still hasn’t become a “household” concept. In fact, despite the best efforts of the promotion departments of both tours, neither of the circuits’ incentive “tournaments within tournaments” has overwhelmed golf fans.

Complete reasons are uncertain, but the public’s collection attention span likely doesn’t allow for calculating point systems and weeks of field depreciation.

The other issue for the Champions Tour is player recognition. Since its inception, winners of the Charles Schwab Cup have included: Allen Doyle (2001), Hale Irwin (2002, 2004), Tom Watson (2003, 2005), Loren Roberts (2007) and the aforementioned Jay Haas (2006, 2008).

The winners, of course, are all fine players with a good collective collection of victories in majors. But with the exception of Tom Watson and Loren Roberts, players whose careers and personalities have ingratiated fans for decades, are television-watching or on-site fans interested if Doyle, Irwin or Fred Funk is playing for a $1 million annuity?

At a recent Champions Tour event, it appeared during the third round that Roberts was in a good position to win the tournament. He didn’t, but if he had, the top of the season-to-date money list would have been very close.

When the Champions Tour media relations representative was informed about the close money list race, he abruptly said: “It’s not the money list that counts; It’s the Charles Schwab Cup points.”

The PR person’s opinion may be true for the players. But wasn’t and isn’t true for golf fans. Week after week, tournament after tournament, golf followers are still more interested in the sport for its “in-the-moment” clutch play and players’ personalities. Tournament prize money and yearlong earnings are also significant components, but to a far less degree.

But I’ve yet to hear any fan discuss the FedEx Cup events or the Charles Schwab Cup competition. The latter is a fine competition. But as this season’s new corps of key players, Tom Lehman to Fred Couples, Hal Sutton to Larry Mize, emerged on the circuit for pros age 50 and older, fans will continue to follow their respective careers for the same reasons they were interested in the players when the played on the PGA Tour.

It won’t be because of Charles Schwab Cup points.

Posted in Champions Tour, Global Golf News, Golf Tournaments, Golf Tribune Columns (By James Raia)