Harrington says big-name 'casualties' are good for FedEx Cup
Padraig Harrington is an Irishman, but he must appreciate the old British Navy toast, "To bloody war and quick promotion." He thinks the elimination of big names from the FedEx Cup will attract more fans to golf's playoffs.
"The modifications [to the FedEx Cup] are a big improvement," Harrington said Wednesday at Cog Hill outside of Chicago, site of Round 3 of the FedEx Cup playoffs. "I think you've got to perform in the FedEx Cup if you want to win the FedEx Cup, and that's important in any playoff system. Anybody who's teeing it up in the FedEx Cup can win it, as Heath Slocum is showing, and that's what you want in a playoff situation."
Harrington himself was a victim of the volatile playoff points system last year, when the two-time major winner was bounced before the Tour Championship. No hard feelings -- that's what happens in a true playoff, Harrington said.
"That's called a playoff, and that's very important, that everybody can win and has a chance of winning, not just a mathematical chance of winning," Harrington said. "Everybody has a chance of winning, and also that big-name players get knocked out. There's no point in having a cutoff if the people that are being put off aren't some of the marquee players, because that makes it more exciting.
"Whoever plays the best in the FedEx Cup series should win the FedEx Cup. That's really what it should be. You know, you do want to see a few casualties. That's what TV is about; you've got to see a few guys knocked out, like I was knocked out last year," Harrington said.
Harrington must have been channeling his inner Vince McMahon on Wednesday because he came up with an idea for the $10 million Tour Championship finale that would make the WWE boss proud.
"I do believe they should give out the cash on the 18th green," Harrington said. "Just sit it there just to have a good look at it. It would be great, like the World Series of Poker. We could take it in a wheelbarrow up to the clubhouse. Anything that falls out, it's the caddie's."
