As a two time winner of the event, Fred Couples should receive a lifetime invitation to the PLAYERS Championship. In fact, all multiple winners of the PLAYERS Championship should receive a lifetime invitation to the event.
Multiple winners include (in addition to Fred):
Jack Nicklaus (1974, 1976, 1978)
Hal Sutton (1983, 2000)
Steve Elkington (1991, 1997)
Davis Love III (1992, 2003)
By doing so, the PLAYERS gives that extra elevation and incentive to itself as it attempts to mold itself into a major championship. All of the multiple winners of the tournament are major championship winners. Celebrating those that have been most successful in the tournament lends the extra tradition that the PLAYERS needs in order to raise itself in the stature of golf tournaments.
As it stands now, the only way for Fred to make in the PLAYERS Championship field is to win next week’s Wachovia Championship.
(Thanks to Fantastic Freddie Fan jonesy for providing the picture of Fred’s 1984 win at the PLAYERS Championship.)
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Agreed 100%.
Wake up, Finchem!
I wouldn't cross the street to watch Sutton or Elkington. And it's more likely that Sutton would prefer to be hunting or fishing in the swamps of Louisiana than tee up at Sawgrass.
As for a smart option well that's why Fred's' not at Sawgrass this year and another chance of US/Brit Open qualification goes begging. Smart you kidding !
Yeah! Kind of makes you think old Tim doesn't even read his own email!!!!! LOL
Taylor,
The PGA cannot open the doors for one player. The only player to benefit from this would be Fred and that sort of rule won't help golf in general.
He should have used his medical exemption card if he was that keen on playing the Players this year. But he took the easy option knowing after his money earnings card he had the medical one to use next year to stay on the full tour.
He missed the Players through injury last year and he misess this one through his/advisors decision. If he wants next year he can play using his medical exemption. But 2OO9 is a long way off!
PS—The Players should never be made a Major let's stick with tradition and stick to the 4. A great tournament but keep it from being a major. What next a WGC event?
ditto – same feedback…
Hey I got that same response!
Well…Well…..Tim just got back to me .
Randy,
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In fact, all multiple winners of the PLAYERS Championship should receive a lifetime invitation to the event.
TB, I’m not sure what you’re saying here. The PGA Tour has given special exemptions for the Senior Players Championship – I don’t know if they have or not for the Players Championship. Either way, it doesn’t matter – the PGA Tour can do whatever it likes because the Players Championship is their tournament. I’m advocating that they change the rules for qualification for the Players Championship to include past multiple winners.
In so far as whether or not that going with the major medical exemption instead of his standing on the career earnings list, my guess is that he figured that this would likely be his last year to qualify for career earnings. If he’d had another health issue this year, he still held the major medical in his back pocket. While Fred should be able to get into the top 125 in earnings for a given year, his back may have prevented him from playing enough to do that. He selected the correct exemption for this year without a doubt. Exclusion from the Players should not have even been a consideration.
In the tourney? Or, just at the course?
I believe the answer is 6 at the tourney…so, 5 others besides Fred…and, his ace for par doesn't count…
LOL E.
And he hasn't written you back yet? He's such a cad!
Does anyone know how many players (besides Fred) have multiple hole-in-ones at the TPC?
The Sony is a non-event at the start of the year.Even Fulton Allem gets an invite too that.
funny stuff flog! maybe just maybe since @ is going to miss the Players they will want someone who will bring some bucks in the place. And by the way, if they can ask that loser Wie to play the Sony…..well you get my point!
I sent my 2 cents…and an e-mail to Timothy Finchem…Tiger's uncle…
….or possibly aunt…
I wrote him……….(not that it will do any good)
I sent my plea to him…..now come on people…get behind this thing…maybe we can change it.
I just simply asked him to please invite Fred because he WAS the Players to me and to many and it was not worth watching without him and I would not be watching it without him.
Must agree with TB here… FC seems to have fouled this up on his own and he shouldn't be bailed out. I think FC got a 10 yr exemption (one of the last 10yr exempts before they changed the rule) and that seems pretty fair – US Open winners receive the same exemption and I never hear any complaints about the USGA policy.
On the other hand, I can't understand why the PGA Tour continues to use the OWGR as some sort of standard… OWGR seems very inaccurate. A quick glance shows Els at 3, Stricker at 4, Rose at 9, and Sergio at 17… all guys who shouldn't be remotely near these rankings. Take a guy like Justin Leonard… 3 top 5s this year, T20 @ Augusta, and he isn't even in the top 30. O.W.G.R. = B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T. Too bad Finchem is playing Nurse Betty to Tiger instead of addressing contraversial matters.
I understand how the OWGR works, but nobody can justify how any system puts Soren Hansen in the Top 50 and put FC 200+. I see FC right around 50 and his results over the last year, despite playing fewer tournaments than average, aren't too shabby. Two Top 10s this year after sitting out most of last year is all the more proof that he has earned a higher rank.
Fred used his top 20 in the all time money list to gain exemption on tour this year.He would he have qualified for the players if he had used his medical exemption for his top 125 on the money list for 2006(top 125 for 07 qualify for the Players) rather than use the first of his two exemptions which he would have lost when falling out of the top 20 all time this year anyway.
No sorry Taylor Fred can't have his cake and eat it too.You can't change the system to allow him entry.His advisor should have told him this before he decided which exemption to use. And I can't understand why he choose the top 20 all time because he's not going to be around for much longer and i would have thought he could trust his own ability when fit to get top 125.
No Fred at the Players sad but he should know the rules.
Mr. Timothy Finchem?
dotcomfeedback@pgatourhq.com
I agree completely Taylor, who do we contact to lobby for this new idea.