You want confusing?
Try this on for size: eighteen PGA tour players made the cut at this past weekend's Sony Open, yet didn't get to play the final 36 holes. It wasn't because of a rash of food poisoning, though that ailment did cost Kennie Ferrie his final two rounds. Ferrie was actually worse off for having to withdraw than those who fell victim to a new PGA Tour rule. From Bob Harig:
Regular PGA Tour events, which typically start with fields of 132, 144 or 156 players, have long had a 36-hole cut with the top 70 players and ties advancing to the final two rounds.But in November, in an effort to keep field sizes smaller, the PGA Tour Policy Board enacted a new rule: The top 70 and ties still make the cut. But if the cut exceeds 78 players, only the number nearest to 70 continues in the tournament.
In the case of the Sony, there were 87 players who finished at even-par 140 or better. The nearest number to 70 was 69 players at 1-under 139 or better. So 18 players were credited with a made cut and paid $9,699.
I like the idea of making rounds shorter, I really do. And yes, rarely does a player come back from making the cut on the number to win a tournament -- but it does happen(check out #4 on the Weekly 18 from Jason Sobel). So while rarely does a player come back to win, they still would have had two rounds to substantially improve their winnings, spot on the money list, and their standing in the FedEx Cup.
From later in the Harig article:
Some have suggested making cuts the top 65 and ties or -- in the case of a tournament that exceeds 78 players -- let them all play on Saturday and have another cut to 60 and ties for Sunday.
And if that's not enough, Harig and Sobel covered this an other topics in their Alternate Shot segment, in which Sobel discusses the possibility that KJ Choi may be the BPTHNWM. Which, ahem, isn't news to me.
