ATLANTA -- Addressing the PGA Tour's business health, commissioner Tim Finchem on Wednesday said he anticipates the need to replace some title sponsors on next year's schedule and would not rule out the complete loss of other tournament stops."I think it's possible we could lose a couple of events," Finchem said. "It's probable that we're going to lose some sponsors."
Already gone from next year's schedule in the Buick Open, but its place on the schedule has been filled with a new event to be played at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Finchem did respond with "unlikely'' when asked about the possibility of 2010's schedule, which will be announced in November, having a smaller number of events than in past years.
"We will have a good solid schedule for 2010, we know that,'' Finchem said. "But I think it's also important to recognize that marketing budgets are still down and with the underlying economic factors stable, but not getting worse, that's good. But it's certainly going to take a while to improve."
Woods' Grading Curve
It's no secret Tiger Woods defines the success level of a season by major championships.
This year he went without.
But after further review, Woods is being graded on a curve this year.
After all, he did have reconstructive knee surgery after last year's U.S. Open and sat out the early part of this season.
And while Woods didn't get a major, he does have six victories, the most on tour, and 13 top 10s in 16 events.
"I mean, major championships are the biggest events, and unfortunately I didn't win any of the four," he said. "But as far as the season, it's certainly been one of my most consistent seasons I've ever had. To have this many high finishes, I think it's pretty good. I think excluding a match play event, if you just do stroke play events, two of them outside the top 10, and one of them I was in 11th, I think that's a pretty good season."
Hello, Sunshine
Weather, more specifically the rains that battered Atlanta for the past week, may not be a tournament factor after all.
Although more than 10 inches of rainfall soaked East Lake GC since last week, additional showers that were being forecast for Wednesday never arrived, and the golf course appears to be in remarkably good shape.
"I came down here with the expectations of there being puddles everywhere, super soft, greens plugging, and it's far from that," Steve Stricker said. "It's in unbelievable shape for the rains they've gotten here. The greens are actually firm. You can hear the SubAir [pump] systems on every green. They're on. They're sucking that water out of there, and I think the course is in great shape."
The Numbers Speak
Finchem proclaimed the redesigned FedEx Cup playoff system a success and pointed to television ratings as proof.
"These first three weeks our ratings are up 77 percent over last year, which is a very nice increase," Finchem said. "But going back to before the PGA Championship to Bridgestone, we've had a steady week after week after week of increased ratings."
The fact Woods competed every week of the playoff series was not lost on the commissioner.
"It's not coincidental," he said. "Tiger draws ratings, there's no doubt about it. The good news for us is our tournaments this year when Tiger didn't play early, and some more recently where he didn't play, are also up. So our overall television audience is up. That's good from a trending standpoint.
"Having him back, candidly, does a lot more than just television ratings because you all write and communicate more about the sport when he's around, he generates a lot more interest in the sport, whether he's playing or not, typically."
